Province of Canada
British Columbia
British Columbia is a province of Canada. It covers about 946,000 km² (365,000 mi²), the 5th largest of the 13 provinces and territories in Natural Earth’s file for Canada, and about the same size as Tanzania. About 5.0 million people live there (Wikidata, 2021).
500 km
- British Columbia
- Tanzania
Facts
| Area, measured | 946,000 km²365,000 mi² |
|---|---|
| Official area | 945,000 km²Wikidata · agrees with our measure |
| Share of Canada | 9.5%of the area of the 13 provinces and territories |
| Rank by area | 5th of 13provinces and territories of Canada |
| Population | 5.0 millionWikidata, 2021 · the census year of every unit |
| Density | 5.3 people per km² |
| Capital | Victoria |
| Latitude range | 48°N to 60°N |
| Type | ProvinceCA-BC |
What the numbers say about British Columbia
- British Columbia covers 9.5% of the area of Canada and ranks 3rd of 13 by population, against 5th by area.
- It would take 10.5 provinces and territories the size of British Columbia to cover Canada.
- British Columbia holds 14% of the 37.0 million people that Wikidata’s 2021 figures give for the 13 provinces and territories together: about 1 in 7.
- The largest, Nunavut, is 2.20× the size of British Columbia; the smallest, Prince Edward Island, is 0.6% of it.
- Closest in size within Canada: Ontario (1,078,000 km², 1.14×) and Alberta (664,000 km², 1.42×).
- Counted as a country, British Columbia would be larger than 209 of the 239 countries and territories listed on sizeversus, and would rank 31st by area, between Egypt (1,001,000 km²) and Tanzania (942,000 km²).
- With 5.0 million people it would rank 125th of 238 by population.
- British Columbia has 5.3 people per km², about the density of Mauritania, which has 4.6 per km².
- That makes British Columbia the 7th most densely populated of the 13 provinces and territories, 1.42× the average for Canada (3.7 per km²).
- On a standard web map (Web Mercator), a place at 55°N is drawn about 3.0× too large in area, so British Columbia looks bigger there than it is.
- Laid out flat, British Columbia stretches about 1,390 km north to south and 1,560 km east to west.
- Wikidata's official figure of 945,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 946,000 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.
- ChinaAreaTibet84% · 1,130,000 km²PeopleQinghai84% · 5.9 million (2020)
- United StatesAreaTexas1.38× · 685,000 km²PeopleAlabama1.00× · 5.0 million (2020)
- IndiaAreanone within 2×PeopleTripura1.36× · 3.7 million (2011)
- GermanyAreanone within 2×PeopleRhineland-Palatinate1.22× · 4.1 million (2022)
- FranceAreanone within 2×PeopleProvence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur0.97× · 5.2 million (2022)
- ItalyAreanone within 2×PeopleSicily (Italy)1.00× · 5.0 million (2019)
- SpainAreanone within 2×PeopleValencian Community0.94× · 5.3 million (2024)
- JapanAreanone within 2×PeopleFukuoka0.98× · 5.1 million (2020)
- BrazilAreaMato Grosso1.05× · 903,000 km²PeopleParaíba1.26× · 4.0 million (2022)
- AustraliaAreaSouth Australia0.96× · 984,000 km²PeopleQueensland89% · 5.6 million (2024)
- MexicoAreanone within 2×PeopleNuevo León0.96× · 5.2 million (2015)
- ThailandAreanone within 2×PeopleBangkok88% · 5.7 million (2018)
Where British Columbia sits in Canada
All 13 drawn on one equal-area map, so sizes are comparable. Select another to open it.
Compare British Columbia
- South Australia vs British Columbia
- British Columbia vs Tanzania
- British Columbia vs Venezuela
- British Columbia vs Nigeria
- Egypt vs British Columbia
- British Columbia vs Nicaragua
- British Columbia vs Ireland
- British Columbia vs New Zealand
- British Columbia vs Ukraine
- Tibet vs British Columbia
- British Columbia vs Mato Grosso
- British Columbia vs Texas
- British Columbia vs Alabama
- British Columbia vs Sicily (Italy)
- British Columbia vs New South Wales
- British Columbia vs Veneto
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, 2021. Canada’s units share the 2021 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