France is 1.18× the size of Papua New Guinea

France covers about 548,000 km² (212,000 mi²) and Papua New Guinea about 465,000 km² (180,000 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

548,000km²France
465,000km²Papua New Guinea

500 km

France
Papua New Guinea

Outlines show main territory. France also has about 88,900 km² of overseas territory. These are not drawn, and not counted in the comparison.

What fits

Papua New Guinea is 85% of the size of France.
France is larger by 82,700 km² (31,900 mi²), which is 18% of the area of Papua New Guinea.
Measured in Belgiums: France is about 17.9, Papua New Guinea about 15.2.

How they differ

France also has the larger population: 68.6 million against 8.9 million, 7.68× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 108 in France against 19 in Papua New Guinea: France is 5.61× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 14,300 km apart.
A standard web map misstates the comparison: France at 47°N is drawn about 2.1× too large and Papua New Guinea at 6°S about 1.0×, so the map shows France as 2.45× the size of Papua New Guinea instead of 1.18×.
Together France and Papua New Guinea cover 1,013,000 km², close to the size of Egypt (1,001,000 km², 1.2% smaller).
The gap between them, 82,700 km², is about the size of Austria (84,000 km²).
At Papua New Guinea's density, France would have 12.2 million people (it has 68.6 million). At France's density, Papua New Guinea would have 50.1 million (it has 8.9 million).
France's centre is 53.0° of latitude, about 5,890 km, farther north than Papua New Guinea's.

Who wins on what

Measure	Winner	By
Larger area	France	1.18×
More people	France	7.68×
More crowded	France	5.61×
Farther north	France	53.0° of latitude
Stretched more on a web map	France	2.1× against 1.0×

Both against the same yardsticks

Yardstick	France	Papua New Guinea
Belgium 30,700 km²	17.9×	15.2×
United Kingdom 244,000 km²	2.25×	1.91×
Germany 358,000 km²	1.53×	1.30×
Japan 374,000 km²	1.47×	1.25×
India 3,151,000 km²	0.17×	0.15×
Brazil 8,473,000 km²	0.06×	0.05×
United States 9,447,000 km²	0.06×	0.05×
Russia 16,980,000 km²	0.03×	0.03×

Each figure is the place's area divided by the yardstick's.

Side by side

	France	Papua New Guinea
Area, main territory	548,000 km²212,000 mi²	465,000 km²180,000 mi²
Area with overseas territory	637,000 km²	465,000 km²
Population	68.6 millionWikidata, 2025	8.9 millionWikidata, 2020
Density	108 per km²	19 per km²
Official area	644,000 km²Wikidata	463,000 km²Wikidata
Capital	Paris	Port Moresby
Latitude range	41°N to 51°N	12°S to 1°S
Continent	Europe	Oceania

Population: Wikidata 2025 and Wikidata 2020, covering each whole country. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).

Wikidata's official figure of 644,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 637,000 km², to within 2%.
Wikidata's official figure of 463,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 465,000 km², to within 2%.

Similar in size to France

Similar in size to Papua New Guinea

More comparisons

Sources and method

Outlines: Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 0 - Countries, public domain
Boundary: De facto, as drawn by Natural Earth. Main territory: the largest landmass and every part within 1,000 km of it.
Area: Measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid from the full-detail outlines, shown rounded. Comparisons use main-territory area.
Drawing: Each outline is projected with an equal-area projection centred on its own centroid, so areas stay true and the two can be laid over each other.
Data built: 2026-11-11

Full method