Nicaragua vs North Korea

North Korea and Nicaragua are almost exactly the same size.

NicaraguaNorth KoreaNicaragua moved onto North Korea · Equal-area projection
1.0×
Nicaragua is 1.0× the area of North Korea. Put the other way, North Korea is 1.0× the size of Nicaragua.
NicaraguaNorth Korea
Area120,340 km²120,540 km²
Population7,007,50226,571,036
Density58 / km²220 / km²
CapitalManaguaPyongyang
RegionCentral AmericaEastern Asia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours23

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Nicaragua sits at about 13°N and is stretched to 1.05× its true area; North Korea at 40° N is stretched to 1.71×. That difference is why North Korea looks so much bigger than it is next to Nicaragua. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.

Questions about this pair

Is Nicaragua bigger than North Korea?
No. Nicaragua and North Korea are almost exactly the same size. Nicaragua covers 120,340 km² and North Korea covers 120,540 km².
How many times does Nicaragua fit into North Korea?
About 1.0 times: North Korea has 1.0× the area of Nicaragua.
Why do Nicaragua and North Korea look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Nicaragua is drawn about 1.05× its true area there and North Korea about 1.71×. That is why North Korea looks so much bigger than it really is next to Nicaragua. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Which has more people, Nicaragua or North Korea?
North Korea: 26,571,036 people against 7,007,502. Density: Nicaragua 58 per km², North Korea 220 per km².