New Caledonia vs Puerto Rico

New Caledonia is 2.04 times larger than Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico would fit into New Caledonia about 2.0 times.

New CaledoniaPuerto RicoNew Caledonia moved onto Puerto Rico · Equal-area projection
2.04×
New Caledonia is 2.04× the area of Puerto Rico.
New CaledoniaPuerto Rico
Area18,576 km²9,104 km²
Population295,3333,184,835
Density16 / km²350 / km²
CapitalNoum'eaSan Juan
RegionMelanesiaCaribbean
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; Puerto Rico at 18° N is stretched to 1.11×. 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 Puerto Rico?
Yes. New Caledonia is 2.04 times larger than Puerto Rico. New Caledonia covers 18,576 km² and Puerto Rico covers 9,104 km².
How many times does Puerto Rico fit into New Caledonia?
About 2.0 times: New Caledonia has 2.04× the area of Puerto Rico.
Why do New Caledonia and Puerto Rico 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 Puerto Rico about 1.11×. 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 Puerto Rico?
Puerto Rico: 3,184,835 people against 295,333. Density: New Caledonia 16 per km², Puerto Rico 350 per km².