State of Brazil
Maranhão
Maranhão is a state of Brazil. It covers about 326,000 km² (126,000 mi²), the 8th largest of the 27 states and districts in Natural Earth’s file for Brazil, and about the same size as Malaysia. About 6.8 million people live there (Wikidata, 2022).
5,000 km
- Malaysia
- Maranhão
Facts
| Area, measured | 326,000 km²126,000 mi² |
|---|---|
| Official area | 332,000 km²Wikidata · agrees with our measure |
| Share of Brazil | 3.8%of the area of the 27 states and districts |
| Rank by area | 8th of 27states and districts of Brazil |
| Population | 6.8 millionWikidata, 2022 · the census year of every unit |
| Density | 21 people per km² |
| Capital | São Luís |
| Latitude range | 10°S to 1°S |
| Type | StateBR-MA |
What the numbers say about Maranhão
- Maranhão covers 3.8% of the area of Brazil and ranks 12th of 27 by population, against 8th by area.
- It would take 26.0 states and districts the size of Maranhão to cover Brazil.
- Maranhão holds 3.3% of the 203.1 million people that Wikidata’s 2022 figures give for the 27 states and districts together: about 1 in 30.
- The largest, Amazonas, is 4.80× the size of Maranhão; the smallest, Federal District, is 1.8% of it.
- Closest in size within Brazil: Goiás (341,000 km², 1.05×) and Mato Grosso do Sul (356,000 km², 1.09×).
- Counted as a country, Maranhão would be larger than 171 of the 239 countries and territories listed on sizeversus, and would rank 69th by area, between Malaysia (328,000 km²) and Ivory Coast (321,000 km²).
- With 6.8 million people it would rank 108th of 238 by population.
- Maranhão has 21 people per km², about the density of South Sudan, which has 20 per km².
- That makes Maranhão the 16th most densely populated of the 27 states and districts, 87% of the average for Brazil (24 per km²).
- Maranhão lies at 5°S, close to the equator, where a standard web map (Web Mercator) is nearly true to size: it inflates area by only about 1.0×.
- Laid out flat, Maranhão stretches about 1,030 km north to south and 768 km east to west.
- Wikidata's official figure of 332,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 326,000 km², to within 2%.
About the same size as
Beside the regions of other countries
The closest region by area and by people in each of the other countries that have regional pages here, within a factor of 2. All 395 regions side by side.
- ChinaAreaYunnan85% · 385,000 km²PeopleNingxia0.94× · 7.2 million (2020)
- United StatesAreaNew Mexico1.04× · 315,000 km²PeopleIndiana1.00× · 6.8 million (2020)
- IndiaAreaRajasthan0.95× · 343,000 km²PeopleHimachal Pradesh0.99× · 6.9 million (2011)
- GermanyAreanone within 2×PeopleHesse1.09× · 6.2 million (2022)
- FranceAreanone within 2×PeopleNouvelle-Aquitaine1.11× · 6.1 million (2022)
- ItalyAreanone within 2×PeopleLazio1.15× · 5.9 million (2019)
- SpainAreanone within 2×PeopleCommunity of Madrid0.97× · 7.0 million (2024)
- JapanAreanone within 2×PeopleChiba1.08× · 6.3 million (2021)
- CanadaAreaNewfoundland and Labrador81% · 403,000 km²PeopleQuebec80% · 8.5 million (2021)
- AustraliaAreaVictoria1.43× · 228,000 km²PeopleVictoria0.97× · 7.0 million (2024)
- MexicoAreaChihuahua1.32× · 248,000 km²PeoplePuebla1.10× · 6.2 million (2015)
- ThailandAreanone within 2×PeopleBangkok1.19× · 5.7 million (2018)
Where Maranhão sits in Brazil
All 27 drawn on one equal-area map, so sizes are comparable. Select another to open it.
Compare Maranhão
- Malaysia vs Maranhão
- Vietnam vs Maranhão
- Paraguay vs Maranhão
- Maranhão vs Denmark
- Finland vs Maranhão
- Maranhão vs Victoria
- Newfoundland and Labrador vs Maranhão
- Yunnan vs Maranhão
- Maranhão vs New Mexico
- Rajasthan vs Maranhão
- Maranhão vs Chihuahua
- Maranhão vs Indiana
- Maranhão vs Himachal Pradesh
- Maranhão vs Madhya Pradesh
- Maranhão vs Maharashtra
- Maranhão vs Tennessee
Share this outline
Sources and method
- Outline
- Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 1 - States, Provinces, public domain
- Boundary
- De facto, as drawn by Natural Earth.
- Area
- Measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid from the full-detail outline, shown rounded. The region’s whole area is counted, every island included.
- Official figures
- Area, population and capital from Wikidata (CC0), fetched 2026-11-12
- Population
- Wikidata, 2022. Brazil’s units share the 2022 figures where Wikidata has them; the year is shown wherever the figure is.
- Matching
- Countries come from Natural Earth’s country file. Places whose status is contested and dependencies are never used as automatic matches. A region under 2,500 km² is matched against the small countries and island nations.
- Data built
- 2026-11-12