New Caledonia vs Timor-Leste

New Caledonia is 25% larger than Timor-Leste.

New CaledoniaTimor-LesteNew Caledonia moved onto Timor-Leste · Equal-area projection
1.25×
New Caledonia is 1.25× the area of Timor-Leste.
New CaledoniaTimor-Leste
Area18,576 km²14,919 km²
Population295,3331,418,517
Density16 / km²95 / km²
CapitalNoum'eaDili
RegionMelanesiaSouth-Eastern Asia
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. New Caledonia sits at about 21°S and is stretched to 1.15× its true area; Timor-Leste at 9° S 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 Timor-Leste?
Yes. New Caledonia is 25% larger than Timor-Leste. New Caledonia covers 18,576 km² and Timor-Leste covers 14,919 km².
How many times does Timor-Leste fit into New Caledonia?
About 1.2 times: New Caledonia has 1.25× the area of Timor-Leste.
Why do New Caledonia and Timor-Leste 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 Timor-Leste 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 Timor-Leste?
Timor-Leste: 1,418,517 people against 295,333. Density: New Caledonia 16 per km², Timor-Leste 95 per km².