Province of China
Hunan
湖南省Hunan is a province of China. It covers about 211,000 km² (81,600 mi²), the 10th largest of the 31 provinces and regions in Natural Earth’s file for China, and about the same size as Guyana. About 66.4 million people live there (Wikidata, 2020).
100 km
- Hunan
- Guyana
Facts
| Area, measured | 211,000 km²81,600 mi² |
|---|---|
| Official area | 212,000 km²Wikidata · agrees with our measure |
| Share of China | 2.3%of the area of the 31 provinces and regions |
| Rank by area | 10th of 31provinces and regions of China |
| Population | 66.4 millionWikidata, 2020 · the census year of every unit |
| Density | 314 people per km² |
| Capital | Changsha |
| Latitude range | 25°N to 30°N |
| Type | ProvinceCN-HN |
What the numbers say about Hunan
- Hunan covers 2.3% of the area of China and ranks 7th of 31 by population, against 10th by area.
- It would take 44.4 regions the size of Hunan to cover China.
- Hunan holds 4.7% of the 1.41 billion people that Wikidata’s 2020 figures give for the 31 provinces and regions together: about 1 in 21.
- The largest, Xinjiang, is 7.71× the size of Hunan; the smallest, Shanghai, is 3.2% of it.
- Closest in size within China: Shaanxi (206,000 km², 1.03×) and Jilin (191,000 km², 1.11×).
- Counted as a country, Hunan would be larger than 156 of the 239 countries and territories listed on sizeversus, and would rank 84th by area, between Laos (228,000 km²) and Guyana (211,000 km²).
- With 66.4 million people it would rank 22nd of 238 by population.
- Hunan has 314 people per km², about the density of Sri Lanka, which has 323 per km².
- That makes Hunan the 13th most densely populated of the 31 provinces and regions, 2.09× the average for China (150 per km²).
- On a standard web map (Web Mercator), a place at 28°N is drawn about 1.3× too large in area, so Hunan looks bigger there than it is.
- Laid out flat, Hunan stretches about 607 km north to south and 539 km east to west.
- Wikidata's official figure of 212,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 211,000 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.
- United StatesAreaKansas0.99× · 213,000 km²PeopleCalifornia1.68× · 39.5 million (2020)
- IndiaAreaKarnataka1.10× · 192,000 km²PeopleRajasthan0.97× · 68.5 million (2011)
- BrazilAreaRoraima0.94× · 225,000 km²PeopleSão Paulo1.50× · 44.4 million (2022)
- CanadaAreaNewfoundland and Labrador52% · 403,000 km²Peoplenone within 2×
- AustraliaAreaVictoria0.93× · 228,000 km²Peoplenone within 2×
- MexicoAreaChihuahua85% · 248,000 km²Peoplenone within 2×
Where Hunan sits in China
All 31 drawn on one equal-area map, so sizes are comparable. Select another to open it.
Compare Hunan
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, 2020. China’s units share the 2020 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