Malaysia vs Norway

Norway is 16% larger than Malaysia.

MalaysiaNorwayMalaysia moved onto Norway · Equal-area projection
0.86×
Malaysia is 0.86× the area of Norway. Put the other way, Norway is 1.16× the size of Malaysia.
MalaysiaNorway
Area330,803 km²385,207 km²
Population35,977,8385,610,870
Density109 / km²15 / km²
CapitalKuala LumpurOslo
RegionSouth-Eastern AsiaNorthern Europe
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours33

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Malaysia sits at about 4°N and is stretched to 1.0× its true area; Norway at 66° N is stretched to 6.22×. That difference is why Norway looks so much bigger than it is next to Malaysia. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.

Questions about this pair

Is Malaysia bigger than Norway?
No. Malaysia is 14% smaller than Norway. Malaysia covers 330,803 km² and Norway covers 385,207 km².
How many times does Malaysia fit into Norway?
About 1.2 times: Norway has 1.16× the area of Malaysia.
Why do Malaysia and Norway look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Malaysia is drawn about 1.0× its true area there and Norway about 6.22×. That is why Norway looks so much bigger than it really is next to Malaysia. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Which has more people, Malaysia or Norway?
Malaysia: 35,977,838 people against 5,610,870. Density: Malaysia 109 per km², Norway 15 per km².