Province of China
Qinghai
青海省Qinghai is a province of China. It covers about 714,000 km² (276,000 mi²), the 4th largest of the 31 provinces and regions in Natural Earth’s file for China, and about the same size as Chile. About 5.9 million people live there (Wikidata, 2020).
500 km
- Chile
- Qinghai
Facts
| Area, measured | 714,000 km²276,000 mi² |
|---|---|
| Official area | 697,000 km²Wikidata · 2.5% below our measure |
| Share of China | 7.6%of the area of the 31 provinces and regions |
| Rank by area | 4th of 31provinces and regions of China |
| Population | 5.9 millionWikidata, 2020 · the census year of every unit |
| Density | 8.3 people per km² |
| Capital | Xining |
| Latitude range | 32°N to 39°N |
| Type | ProvinceCN-QH |
What the numbers say about Qinghai
- Qinghai covers 7.6% of the area of China and ranks 30th of 31 by population, against 4th by area.
- It would take 13.1 regions the size of Qinghai to cover China.
- Qinghai holds 0.4% of the 1.41 billion people that Wikidata’s 2020 figures give for the 31 provinces and regions together: about 1 in 238.
- The largest, Xinjiang, is 2.28× the size of Qinghai; the smallest, Shanghai, is 0.9% of it.
- Closest in size within China: Sichuan (485,000 km², 1.47×) and Heilongjiang (452,000 km², 1.58×).
- Counted as a country, Qinghai would be larger than 200 of the 239 countries and territories listed on sizeversus, and would rank 40th by area, between Chile (736,000 km²) and Myanmar (663,000 km²).
- With 5.9 million people it would rank 115th of 238 by population.
- Qinghai has 8.3 people per km², about the density of the Central African Republic, which has 8.3 per km².
- That makes Qinghai the 30th most densely populated of the 31 provinces and regions, 5.5% of the average for China (150 per km²).
- On a standard web map (Web Mercator), a place at 36°N is drawn about 1.5× too large in area, so Qinghai looks bigger there than it is.
- Laid out flat, Qinghai stretches about 867 km north to south and 1,220 km east to west.
- Our measured 714,000 km² is 2.5% above Wikidata's official figure of 697,000 km². Official figures can include inland water or count land that an outline draws differently.
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 StatesAreaTexas1.04× · 685,000 km²PeopleWisconsin1.01× · 5.9 million (2020)
- IndiaAreanone within 2×PeopleHimachal Pradesh86% · 6.9 million (2011)
- GermanyAreanone within 2×PeopleHesse0.95× · 6.2 million (2022)
- FranceAreanone within 2×PeopleHauts-de-France0.99× · 6.0 million (2022)
- ItalyAreanone within 2×PeopleLazio1.01× · 5.9 million (2019)
- SpainAreanone within 2×PeopleValencian Community1.11× · 5.3 million (2024)
- JapanAreanone within 2×PeopleChiba0.94× · 6.3 million (2021)
- BrazilAreaMinas Gerais1.22× · 586,000 km²PeopleMaranhão87% · 6.8 million (2022)
- CanadaAreaAlberta1.08× · 664,000 km²PeopleBritish Columbia1.18× · 5.0 million (2021)
- AustraliaAreaNew South Wales89% · 802,000 km²PeopleQueensland1.05× · 5.6 million (2024)
- MexicoAreanone within 2×PeopleGuanajuato1.01× · 5.9 million (2015)
- ThailandAreanone within 2×PeopleBangkok1.04× · 5.7 million (2018)
Where Qinghai sits in China
All 31 drawn on one equal-area map, so sizes are comparable. Select another to open it.
Compare Qinghai
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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, 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