Territory of Canada
Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories is a territory of Canada. It covers about 1,348,000 km² (521,000 mi²), the 3rd largest of the 13 provinces and territories in Natural Earth’s file for Canada, and 1.05× the size of Peru. About 41,000 people live there (Wikidata, 2021).
500 km
- Northwest Territories
- Peru
Facts
| Area, measured | 1,348,000 km²521,000 mi² |
|---|---|
| Official area | 1,346,000 km²Wikidata · agrees with our measure |
| Share of Canada | 14%of the area of the 13 provinces and territories |
| Rank by area | 3rd of 13provinces and territories of Canada |
| Population | 41,000Wikidata, 2021 · the census year of every unit |
| Density | 0.03 people per km² |
| Capital | Yellowknife |
| Latitude range | 60°N to 79°N |
| Type | TerritoryCA-NT |
What the numbers say about Northwest Territories
- Northwest Territories covers 14% of the area of Canada and ranks 11th of 13 by population, against 3rd by area.
- It would take 7.38 provinces and territories the size of Northwest Territories to cover Canada.
- Northwest Territories holds 0.1% of the 37.0 million people that Wikidata’s 2021 figures give for the 13 provinces and territories together: about 1 in 901.
- The largest, Nunavut, is 1.54× the size of Northwest Territories; the smallest, Prince Edward Island, is 0.4% of it.
- Closest in size within Canada: Quebec (1,506,000 km², 1.12×) and Ontario (1,078,000 km², 1.25×).
- Counted as a country, Northwest Territories would be larger than 220 of the 239 countries and territories listed on sizeversus, and would rank 20th by area, between Mongolia (1,565,000 km²) and Peru (1,290,000 km²).
- With 41,000 people it would rank 211th of 238 by population.
- Northwest Territories has 0.03 people per km², about the density of Greenland, which has 0.03 per km².
- That makes Northwest Territories the 12th most densely populated of the 13 provinces and territories, 0.8% of the average for Canada (3.7 per km²).
- On a standard web map (Web Mercator), a place at 66°N is drawn about 5.9× too large in area, so Northwest Territories looks bigger there than it is.
- Laid out flat, Northwest Territories stretches about 2,080 km north to south and 1,660 km east to west.
- Wikidata's official figure of 1,346,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 1,348,000 km², to within 2%.
- Until 1999, the Northwest Territories covered what is now Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Added together, today’s outlines measure 3,428,000 km², 1.09× the size of India: as one unit they would be the largest of 12, with 78,000 people (2021 figures added up) the 11th most populous.
About the same size as
About as many people 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.
- ChinaAreaInner Mongolia1.18× · 1,144,000 km²Peoplenone within 2×
- United StatesAreaAlaska90% · 1,505,000 km²Peoplenone within 2×
- IndiaAreanone within 2×PeopleLakshadweep64% · 64,000 (2011)
- BrazilAreaPará1.10× · 1,231,000 km²Peoplenone within 2×
- AustraliaAreaNorthern Territory1.00× · 1,348,000 km²Peoplenone within 2×
Where Northwest Territories sits in Canada
All 13 drawn on one equal-area map, so sizes are comparable. Select another to open it.
Ranked within Canada
- 1Nunavut2,080,000 km²
- 2Quebec1,506,000 km²
- 3Northwest Territories1,348,000 km²
- 4Ontario1,078,000 km²
- 5British Columbia946,000 km²
- 6Alberta664,000 km²
- 7Manitoba653,000 km²
All 13 provinces and territories of Canada, matched to countries
Compare Northwest Territories
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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