Latvia vs Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is 7.17 times larger than Latvia. Latvia would fit into Papua New Guinea about 7.2 times.

LatviaPapua New GuineaLatvia moved onto Papua New Guinea · Equal-area projection
0.14×
Latvia is 0.14× the area of Papua New Guinea. Put the other way, Papua New Guinea is 7.17× the size of Latvia.
LatviaPapua New Guinea
Area64,594 km²462,840 km²
Population1,847,78510,762,817
Density29 / km²23 / km²
CapitalRigaPort Moresby
RegionNorthern EuropeMelanesia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours41

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Latvia sits at about 57°N and is stretched to 3.35× its true area; Papua New Guinea at 6° S is stretched to 1.01×. That difference is why Latvia looks so much bigger than it is next to Papua New Guinea. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.

Questions about this pair

Is Latvia bigger than Papua New Guinea?
No. Latvia is 7.17 times smaller than Papua New Guinea. Latvia covers 64,594 km² and Papua New Guinea covers 462,840 km².
How many times does Latvia fit into Papua New Guinea?
About 7.2 times: Papua New Guinea has 7.17× the area of Latvia.
Why do Latvia and Papua New Guinea look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Latvia is drawn about 3.35× its true area there and Papua New Guinea about 1.01×. That is why Latvia looks so much bigger than it really is next to Papua New Guinea. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Which has more people, Latvia or Papua New Guinea?
Papua New Guinea: 10,762,817 people against 1,847,785. Density: Latvia 29 per km², Papua New Guinea 23 per km².