Malta vs Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is 1,465 times larger than Malta. Malta would fit into Papua New Guinea about 1465 times.

MaltaPapua New GuineaMalta moved onto Papua New Guinea · Equal-area projection
0.0×
Malta is 0.0× the area of Papua New Guinea. Put the other way, Papua New Guinea is 1,465× the size of Malta.
MaltaPapua New Guinea
Area316 km²462,840 km²
Population579,70410,762,817
Density1,835 / km²23 / km²
CapitalVallettaPort Moresby
RegionSouthern EuropeMelanesia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours01

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Malta sits at about 36°N and is stretched to 1.52× its true area; Papua New Guinea at 6° S is stretched to 1.01×. That difference is why Malta 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 Malta bigger than Papua New Guinea?
No. Malta is 1,465 times smaller than Papua New Guinea. Malta covers 316 km² and Papua New Guinea covers 462,840 km².
How many times does Malta fit into Papua New Guinea?
About 1465 times: Papua New Guinea has 1,465× the area of Malta.
Why do Malta and Papua New Guinea look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Malta is drawn about 1.52× its true area there and Papua New Guinea about 1.01×. That is why Malta 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, Malta or Papua New Guinea?
Papua New Guinea: 10,762,817 people against 579,704. Density: Malta 1,835 per km², Papua New Guinea 23 per km².