Panama vs South Korea

South Korea is 35% larger than Panama.

PanamaSouth KoreaPanama moved onto South Korea · Equal-area projection
0.74×
Panama is 0.74× the area of South Korea. Put the other way, South Korea is 1.35× the size of Panama.
PanamaSouth Korea
Area74,177 km²100,295 km²
Population4,571,18951,684,564
Density62 / km²515 / km²
CapitalPanama CitySeoul
RegionCentral AmericaEastern Asia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours21

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Panama sits at about 9°N and is stretched to 1.02× its true area; South Korea at 36° N is stretched to 1.54×. That difference is why South Korea looks so much bigger than it is next to Panama. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.

Questions about this pair

Is Panama bigger than South Korea?
No. Panama is 26% smaller than South Korea. Panama covers 74,177 km² and South Korea covers 100,295 km².
How many times does Panama fit into South Korea?
About 1.4 times: South Korea has 1.35× the area of Panama.
Why do Panama and South Korea look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Panama is drawn about 1.02× its true area there and South Korea about 1.54×. That is why South Korea looks so much bigger than it really is next to Panama. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Which has more people, Panama or South Korea?
South Korea: 51,684,564 people against 4,571,189. Density: Panama 62 per km², South Korea 515 per km².