South Korea is 1.03× the size of Liberia

South Korea covers about 98,500 km² (38,000 mi²) and Liberia about 95,300 km² (36,800 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

98,500km²South Korea
95,300km²Liberia

100 km

South Korea
Liberia

What fits

Liberia is 97% of the size of South Korea.
South Korea is larger by 3,250 km² (1,250 mi²), which is 3.4% of the area of Liberia.
Measured in Belgiums: South Korea is about 3.21, Liberia about 3.11.

How they differ

South Korea also has the larger population: 51.5 million against 5.2 million, 9.87× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 522 in South Korea against 55 in Liberia: South Korea is 9.55× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 13,500 km apart.
A standard web map misstates the comparison: South Korea at 36°N is drawn about 1.5× too large and Liberia at 6°N about 1.0×, so the map shows South Korea as 1.57× the size of Liberia instead of 1.03×.
Together South Korea and Liberia cover 194,000 km², close to the size of Senegal (196,000 km², 1.2% bigger).
The gap between them, 3,250 km², is about the size of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (3,320 km²).
At Liberia's density, South Korea would have 5.4 million people (it has 51.5 million). At South Korea's density, Liberia would have 49.8 million (it has 5.2 million).
South Korea's centre is 29.9° of latitude, about 3,330 km, farther north than Liberia's.

Who wins on what

Measure	Winner	By
Larger area	South Korea	1.03×
More people	South Korea	9.87×
More crowded	South Korea	9.55×
Farther north	South Korea	29.9° of latitude
Stretched more on a web map	South Korea	1.5× against 1.0×

Both against the same yardsticks

Yardstick	South Korea	Liberia
Belgium 30,700 km²	3.21×	3.11×
United Kingdom 244,000 km²	0.40×	0.39×
Germany 358,000 km²	0.28×	0.27×
Japan 374,000 km²	0.26×	0.26×
France 548,000 km²	0.18×	0.17×
India 3,151,000 km²	0.03×	0.03×
Brazil 8,473,000 km²	0.01×	0.01×
United States 9,447,000 km²	0.01×	0.01×
Russia 16,980,000 km²	0.01×	0.01×

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

Side by side

	South Korea	Liberia
Area, main territory	98,500 km²38,000 mi²	95,300 km²36,800 mi²
Population	51.5 millionWikidata, 2017	5.2 millionWikidata, 2021
Density	522 per km²	55 per km²
Official area	100,000 km²Wikidata	111,000 km²Wikidata
Capital	Seoul	Monrovia
Latitude range	33°N to 39°N	4°N to 9°N
Continent	Asia	Africa

Population: Wikidata 2017 and Wikidata 2021, covering each whole country. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).

Wikidata's official figure of 100,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 98,500 km², to within 2%.
Our measured 95,300 km² is 14% below Wikidata's official figure of 111,000 km². Official figures can include inland water or count land that an outline draws differently. This difference is flagged for review.

Similar in size to South Korea

Similar in size to Liberia

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