Which is bigger: North Korea or Malawi?

North Korea is larger (120,538 km²) — about 1.0 times the size of Malawi (117,726 km²).

Why do North Korea and Malawi look different on the map than in reality?

The common Mercator projection enlarges areas the farther they lie from the equator, so the on-map size proportions of North Korea and Malawi are distorted compared to their true land area.

02Act II · 1:1 studioChange pair ↙

North Korea×Malawi

Put North Korea and Malawi on the same scale. Drag, separate, and see what the Mercator map hides.

Reverse order ⇄

True-size comparison

Same scale. Real difference.

Drag the outlines to overlap them, or place them side by side.

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North Korea ↗

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Total surface area120,538 km²ed. 2024

Population26,571,0362025

Land area120,410 km²2023

TypeCountry

Malawi ↗

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Total surface area117,726 km²ed. 2024

Population22,216,1202025

Land area94,280 km²2023

TypeCountry