Japan vs North Macedonia

Japan is 14.7 times larger than North Macedonia. North Macedonia would fit into Japan about 15 times.

JapanNorth MacedoniaJapan moved onto North Macedonia · Equal-area projection
14.7×
Japan is 14.7× the area of North Macedonia.
JapanNorth Macedonia
Area377,972 km²25,713 km²
Population123,366,7341,820,909
Density326 / km²71 / km²
CapitalTokyoSkopje
RegionEastern AsiaSouthern Europe
CoastlineHas a coastLandlocked
Neighbours05

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Japan sits at about 37°N and is stretched to 1.59× its true area; North Macedonia at 42° N is stretched to 1.79×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.

Questions about this pair

Is Japan bigger than North Macedonia?
Yes. Japan is 14.7 times larger than North Macedonia. Japan covers 377,972 km² and North Macedonia covers 25,713 km².
How many times does North Macedonia fit into Japan?
About 15 times: Japan has 14.7× the area of North Macedonia.
Why do Japan and North Macedonia look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Japan is drawn about 1.59× its true area there and North Macedonia about 1.79×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Which has more people, Japan or North Macedonia?
Japan: 123,366,734 people against 1,820,909. Density: Japan 326 per km², North Macedonia 71 per km².