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North Korea vs Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is 3.84 times larger than North Korea. North Korea would fit into Papua New Guinea about 3.8 times.

North KoreaPapua New GuineaNorth Korea moved onto Papua New Guinea · Equal-area projection
0.26×
North Korea is 0.26× the area of Papua New Guinea. Put the other way, Papua New Guinea is 3.84× the size of North Korea.
North KoreaPapua New Guinea
Area120,540 km²462,840 km²
Population26,571,03610,762,817
Density220 / km²23 / km²
CapitalPyongyangPort Moresby
RegionEastern AsiaMelanesia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours31

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. North Korea sits at about 40°N and is stretched to 1.71× its true area; Papua New Guinea at 6° S is stretched to 1.01×. That difference is why North Korea 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.

Open in the atlasLay Papua New Guinea over North Korea

Questions about this pair

Is North Korea bigger than Papua New Guinea?
No. North Korea is 3.84 times smaller than Papua New Guinea. North Korea covers 120,540 km² and Papua New Guinea covers 462,840 km².
How many times does North Korea fit into Papua New Guinea?
About 3.8 times: Papua New Guinea has 3.84× the area of North Korea.
Why do North Korea and Papua New Guinea look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. North Korea is drawn about 1.71× its true area there and Papua New Guinea about 1.01×. That is why North Korea 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, North Korea or Papua New Guinea?
North Korea: 26,571,036 people against 10,762,817. Density: North Korea 220 per km², Papua New Guinea 23 per km².
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