Malawi vs New Caledonia

Malawi is 6.38 times larger than New Caledonia. New Caledonia would fit into Malawi about 6.4 times.

MalawiNew CaledoniaMalawi moved onto New Caledonia · Equal-area projection
6.38×
Malawi is 6.38× the area of New Caledonia.
MalawiNew Caledonia
Area118,484 km²18,576 km²
Population22,216,120295,333
Density188 / km²16 / km²
CapitalLilongweNoum'ea
RegionEastern AfricaMelanesia
CoastlineLandlockedHas a coast
Neighbours30

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Malawi sits at about 13°S and is stretched to 1.06× its true area; New Caledonia at 21° S is stretched to 1.15×. 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 Malawi bigger than New Caledonia?
Yes. Malawi is 6.38 times larger than New Caledonia. Malawi covers 118,484 km² and New Caledonia covers 18,576 km².
How many times does New Caledonia fit into Malawi?
About 6.4 times: Malawi has 6.38× the area of New Caledonia.
Why do Malawi and New Caledonia look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Malawi is drawn about 1.06× its true area there and New Caledonia about 1.15×. 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, Malawi or New Caledonia?
Malawi: 22,216,120 people against 295,333. Density: Malawi 188 per km², New Caledonia 16 per km².