Maldives vs New Caledonia

New Caledonia is 62.3 times larger than Maldives. Maldives would fit into New Caledonia about 62 times.

MaldivesNew CaledoniaMaldives moved onto New Caledonia · Equal-area projection
0.02×
Maldives is 0.02× the area of New Caledonia. Put the other way, New Caledonia is 62.3× the size of Maldives.
MaldivesNew Caledonia
Area298 km²18,576 km²
Population529,676295,333
Density1,777 / km²16 / km²
CapitalMaleNoum'ea
RegionSouthern AsiaMelanesia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours00

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Maldives sits at about 4°N and is stretched to 1.0× 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 Maldives bigger than New Caledonia?
No. Maldives is 62.3 times smaller than New Caledonia. Maldives covers 298 km² and New Caledonia covers 18,576 km².
How many times does Maldives fit into New Caledonia?
About 62 times: New Caledonia has 62.3× the area of Maldives.
Why do Maldives and New Caledonia look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Maldives is drawn about 1.0× 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, Maldives or New Caledonia?
Maldives: 529,676 people against 295,333. Density: Maldives 1,777 per km², New Caledonia 16 per km².