South Korea is 1.08× the size of Portugal

South Korea covers about 98,500 km² (38,000 mi²) and Portugal about 91,400 km² (35,300 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

98,500km²South Korea
91,400km²Portugal

500 km

South Korea
Portugal

What fits

Portugal is 93% of the size of South Korea.
South Korea is larger by 7,150 km² (2,760 mi²), which is 7.8% of the area of Portugal.
Measured in Belgiums: South Korea is about 3.21, Portugal about 2.98.

How they differ

South Korea also has the larger population: 51.5 million against 10.3 million, 4.97× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 522 in South Korea against 113 in Portugal: South Korea is 4.61× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 10,500 km apart.
On a standard web map Portugal looks larger than South Korea: South Korea at 36°N is drawn about 1.5× too large and Portugal at 40°N about 1.7×, so the map shows Portugal as 1.01× the size of South Korea, when South Korea is 1.08× the size of Portugal.
Together South Korea and Portugal cover 190,000 km², close to the size of Syria (186,000 km², 2.1% smaller).
The gap between them, 7,150 km², is about the size of Palestine (6,070 km²).
At Portugal's density, South Korea would have 11.2 million people (it has 51.5 million). At South Korea's density, Portugal would have 47.7 million (it has 10.3 million).
Portugal's centre is 3.2° of latitude, about 360 km, farther north than South Korea's.

Who wins on what

Measure	Winner	By
Larger area	South Korea	1.08×
More people	South Korea	4.97×
More crowded	South Korea	4.61×
Farther north	Portugal	3.2° of latitude
Stretched more on a web map	Portugal	1.7× against 1.5×

Both against the same yardsticks

Yardstick	South Korea	Portugal
Belgium 30,700 km²	3.21×	2.98×
United Kingdom 244,000 km²	0.40×	0.37×
Germany 358,000 km²	0.28×	0.26×
Japan 374,000 km²	0.26×	0.24×
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	Portugal
Area, main territory	98,500 km²38,000 mi²	91,400 km²35,300 mi²
Population	51.5 millionWikidata, 2017	10.3 millionWikidata, 2021
Density	522 per km²	113 per km²
Official area	100,000 km²Wikidata	92,200 km²Wikidata
Capital	Seoul	Lisbon
Latitude range	33°N to 39°N	30°N to 42°N
Continent	Asia	Europe

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%.
Wikidata's official figure of 92,200 km² agrees with our measured area of 91,400 km², to within 2%.

Similar in size to South Korea

Similar in size to Portugal

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