New Caledonia vs Northern Mariana Islands

New Caledonia is 40 times larger than Northern Mariana Islands. Northern Mariana Islands would fit into New Caledonia about 40 times.

New CaledoniaNorthern Mariana IslandsNew Caledonia moved onto Northern Mariana Islands · Equal-area projection
40×
New Caledonia is 40× the area of Northern Mariana Islands.
New CaledoniaNorthern Mariana Islands
Area18,576 km²464 km²
Population295,33343,541
Density16 / km²94 / km²
CapitalNoum'eaSaipan
RegionMelanesiaMicronesia
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. New Caledonia sits at about 21°S and is stretched to 1.15× its true area; Northern Mariana Islands at 16° N is stretched to 1.08×. 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 New Caledonia bigger than Northern Mariana Islands?
Yes. New Caledonia is 40 times larger than Northern Mariana Islands. New Caledonia covers 18,576 km² and Northern Mariana Islands covers 464 km².
How many times does Northern Mariana Islands fit into New Caledonia?
About 40 times: New Caledonia has 40× the area of Northern Mariana Islands.
Why do New Caledonia and Northern Mariana Islands look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. New Caledonia is drawn about 1.15× its true area there and Northern Mariana Islands about 1.08×. 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, New Caledonia or Northern Mariana Islands?
New Caledonia: 295,333 people against 43,541. Density: New Caledonia 16 per km², Northern Mariana Islands 94 per km².