Papua New Guinea vs Paraguay

Papua New Guinea is 14% larger than Paraguay.

Papua New GuineaParaguayPapua New Guinea moved onto Paraguay · Equal-area projection
1.14×
Papua New Guinea is 1.14× the area of Paraguay.
Papua New GuineaParaguay
Area462,840 km²406,756 km²
Population10,762,8177,013,078
Density23 / km²17 / km²
CapitalPort MoresbyAsuncion
RegionMelanesiaSouth America
CoastlineHas a coastLandlocked
Neighbours13

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Papua New Guinea sits at about 6°S and is stretched to 1.01× its true area; Paraguay at 23° S is stretched to 1.18×. 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.

Questions about this pair

Is Papua New Guinea bigger than Paraguay?
Yes. Papua New Guinea is 14% larger than Paraguay. Papua New Guinea covers 462,840 km² and Paraguay covers 406,756 km².
How many times does Paraguay fit into Papua New Guinea?
About 1.1 times: Papua New Guinea has 1.14× the area of Paraguay.
Why do Papua New Guinea and Paraguay look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Papua New Guinea is drawn about 1.01× its true area there and Paraguay about 1.18×. 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, Papua New Guinea or Paraguay?
Papua New Guinea: 10,762,817 people against 7,013,078. Density: Papua New Guinea 23 per km², Paraguay 17 per km².