Nepal vs North Korea

Nepal is 22% larger than North Korea.

NepalNorth KoreaNepal moved onto North Korea · Equal-area projection
1.22×
Nepal is 1.22× the area of North Korea.
NepalNorth Korea
Area147,181 km²120,540 km²
Population29,618,11826,571,036
Density201 / km²220 / km²
CapitalKathmanduPyongyang
RegionSouthern AsiaEastern Asia
CoastlineLandlockedHas a coast
Neighbours23

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Nepal sits at about 28°N and is stretched to 1.29× its true area; North Korea at 40° N is stretched to 1.71×. 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 Nepal bigger than North Korea?
Yes. Nepal is 22% larger than North Korea. Nepal covers 147,181 km² and North Korea covers 120,540 km².
How many times does North Korea fit into Nepal?
About 1.2 times: Nepal has 1.22× the area of North Korea.
Why do Nepal and North Korea look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Nepal is drawn about 1.29× its true area there and North Korea about 1.71×. 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, Nepal or North Korea?
Nepal: 29,618,118 people against 26,571,036. Density: Nepal 201 per km², North Korea 220 per km².