New Caledonia vs Palau

New Caledonia is 39.9 times larger than Palau. Palau would fit into New Caledonia about 40 times.

New CaledoniaPalauNew Caledonia moved onto Palau · Equal-area projection
39.9×
New Caledonia is 39.9× the area of Palau.
New CaledoniaPalau
Area18,576 km²466 km²
Population295,33317,663
Density16 / km²38 / km²
CapitalNoum'eaKoror
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; Palau at 7° N is stretched to 1.02×. 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 Palau?
Yes. New Caledonia is 39.9 times larger than Palau. New Caledonia covers 18,576 km² and Palau covers 466 km².
How many times does Palau fit into New Caledonia?
About 40 times: New Caledonia has 39.9× the area of Palau.
Why do New Caledonia and Palau 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 Palau about 1.02×. 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 Palau?
New Caledonia: 295,333 people against 17,663. Density: New Caledonia 16 per km², Palau 38 per km².