North Korea vs Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is 18.7 times larger than North Korea. North Korea would fit into Saudi Arabia about 19 times.

North KoreaSaudi ArabiaNorth Korea moved onto Saudi Arabia · Equal-area projection
0.05×
North Korea is 0.05× the area of Saudi Arabia. Put the other way, Saudi Arabia is 18.7× the size of North Korea.
North KoreaSaudi Arabia
Area120,540 km²2,250,000 km²
Population26,571,03636,973,555
Density220 / km²16 / km²
CapitalPyongyangRiyadh
RegionEastern AsiaWestern Asia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours37

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; Saudi Arabia at 24° N is stretched to 1.2×. That difference is why North Korea looks so much bigger than it is next to Saudi Arabia. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.

Questions about this pair

Is North Korea bigger than Saudi Arabia?
No. North Korea is 18.7 times smaller than Saudi Arabia. North Korea covers 120,540 km² and Saudi Arabia covers 2,250,000 km².
How many times does North Korea fit into Saudi Arabia?
About 19 times: Saudi Arabia has 18.7× the area of North Korea.
Why do North Korea and Saudi Arabia 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 Saudi Arabia about 1.2×. That is why North Korea looks so much bigger than it really is next to Saudi Arabia. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Which has more people, North Korea or Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Arabia: 36,973,555 people against 26,571,036. Density: North Korea 220 per km², Saudi Arabia 16 per km².