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Northern Mariana Islands vs Panama

Panama is 160 times larger than Northern Mariana Islands. Northern Mariana Islands would fit into Panama about 160 times.

Northern Mariana IslandsPanamaNorthern Mariana Islands moved onto Panama · Equal-area projection
0.01×
Northern Mariana Islands is 0.01× the area of Panama. Put the other way, Panama is 160× the size of Northern Mariana Islands.
Northern Mariana IslandsPanama
Area464 km²74,177 km²
Population43,5414,571,189
Density94 / km²62 / km²
CapitalSaipanPanama City
RegionMicronesiaCentral America
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours02

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Northern Mariana Islands sits at about 16°N and is stretched to 1.08× its true area; Panama at 9° N 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.

Open in the atlasLay Panama over Northern Mariana Islands

Questions about this pair

Is Northern Mariana Islands bigger than Panama?
No. Northern Mariana Islands is 160 times smaller than Panama. Northern Mariana Islands covers 464 km² and Panama covers 74,177 km².
How many times does Northern Mariana Islands fit into Panama?
About 160 times: Panama has 160× the area of Northern Mariana Islands.
Why do Northern Mariana Islands and Panama look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Northern Mariana Islands is drawn about 1.08× its true area there and Panama 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, Northern Mariana Islands or Panama?
Panama: 4,571,189 people against 43,541. Density: Northern Mariana Islands 94 per km², Panama 62 per km².
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