United Kingdom is 1.99× the size of North Korea

United Kingdom covers about 244,000 km² (94,100 mi²) and North Korea about 122,000 km² (47,300 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

244,000km²United Kingdom
122,000km²North Korea

200 km

United Kingdom
North Korea

What fits

North Korea is 50% of the size of United Kingdom.
United Kingdom is larger by 121,000 km² (46,900 mi²), which is 99% of the area of North Korea.
Measured in Belgiums: United Kingdom is about 7.95, North Korea about 3.99.

How they differ

United Kingdom also has the larger population: 67.3 million against 26.4 million, 2.55× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 276 in United Kingdom against 216 in North Korea: United Kingdom is 1.28× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 8,510 km apart.
A standard web map misstates the comparison: United Kingdom at 54°N is drawn about 2.9× too large and North Korea at 40°N about 1.7×, so the map shows United Kingdom as 3.38× the size of North Korea instead of 1.99×.
Together United Kingdom and North Korea cover 366,000 km², close to the size of Japan (374,000 km², 2.0% bigger).
The gap between them, 121,000 km², is about the size of Eritrea (123,000 km²).
At North Korea's density, United Kingdom would have 52.6 million people (it has 67.3 million). At United Kingdom's density, North Korea would have 33.8 million (it has 26.4 million).
United Kingdom's centre is 13.9° of latitude, about 1,550 km, farther north than North Korea's.

Who wins on what

Measure	Winner	By
Larger area	United Kingdom	1.99×
More people	United Kingdom	2.55×
More crowded	United Kingdom	1.28×
Farther north	United Kingdom	13.9° of latitude
Stretched more on a web map	United Kingdom	2.9× against 1.7×

Both against the same yardsticks

Yardstick	United Kingdom	North Korea
Belgium 30,700 km²	7.95×	3.99×
Germany 358,000 km²	0.68×	0.34×
Japan 374,000 km²	0.65×	0.33×
France 548,000 km²	0.44×	0.22×
India 3,151,000 km²	0.08×	0.04×
Brazil 8,473,000 km²	0.03×	0.01×
United States 9,447,000 km²	0.03×	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

	United Kingdom	North Korea
Area, main territory	244,000 km²94,100 mi²	122,000 km²47,300 mi²
Population	67.3 millionWikidata, 2021	26.4 millionWikidata, 2023
Density	276 per km²	216 per km²
Official area	242,000 km²Wikidata	121,000 km²Wikidata
Capital	London	Pyongyang
Latitude range	50°N to 61°N	38°N to 43°N
Continent	Europe	Asia

Population: Wikidata 2021 and Wikidata 2023, covering each whole country. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).

Wikidata's official figure of 242,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 244,000 km², to within 2%.
Wikidata's official figure of 121,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 122,000 km², to within 2%.

Similar in size to United Kingdom

Similar in size to North Korea

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