New Zealand vs Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea is 73% larger than New Zealand. New Zealand would fit into Papua New Guinea about 1.7 times.
New ZealandPapua New GuineaNew Zealand moved onto Papua New Guinea · Equal-area projection
0.58×
New Zealand is 0.58× the area of Papua New Guinea. Put the other way, Papua New Guinea is 1.73× the size of New Zealand.
| New Zealand | Papua New Guinea | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 268,021 km² | 462,840 km² |
| Population | 5,324,700 | 10,762,817 |
| Density | 20 / km² | 23 / km² |
| Capital | Wellington | Port Moresby |
| Region | Australia and New Zealand | Melanesia |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 0 | 1 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. New Zealand sits at about 42°S and is stretched to 1.79× its true area; Papua New Guinea at 6° S is stretched to 1.01×. That difference is why New Zealand looks so much bigger than it is next to Papua New Guinea. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is New Zealand bigger than Papua New Guinea?
- No. New Zealand is 42% smaller than Papua New Guinea. New Zealand covers 268,021 km² and Papua New Guinea covers 462,840 km².
- How many times does New Zealand fit into Papua New Guinea?
- About 1.7 times: Papua New Guinea has 1.73× the area of New Zealand.
- Why do New Zealand and Papua New Guinea look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. New Zealand is drawn about 1.79× its true area there and Papua New Guinea about 1.01×. That is why New Zealand looks so much bigger than it really is next to Papua New Guinea. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, New Zealand or Papua New Guinea?
- Papua New Guinea: 10,762,817 people against 5,324,700. Density: New Zealand 20 per km², Papua New Guinea 23 per km².