Province of China
Shanxi
山西省Shanxi is a province of China. It covers about 156,000 km² (60,300 mi²), the 19th largest of the 31 provinces and regions in Natural Earth’s file for China, and about the same size as Tunisia. About 34.9 million people live there (Wikidata, 2020).
100 km
- Tunisia
- Shanxi
Facts
| Area, measured | 156,000 km²60,300 mi² |
|---|---|
| Official area | 156,000 km²Wikidata · agrees with our measure |
| Share of China | 1.7%of the area of the 31 provinces and regions |
| Rank by area | 19th of 31provinces and regions of China |
| Population | 34.9 millionWikidata, 2020 · the census year of every unit |
| Density | 224 people per km² |
| Capital | Taiyuan |
| Latitude range | 35°N to 41°N |
| Type | ProvinceCN-SX |
What the numbers say about Shanxi
- Shanxi covers 1.7% of the area of China and ranks 18th of 31 by population, against 19th by area.
- It would take 60.1 regions the size of Shanxi to cover China.
- Shanxi holds 2.5% of the 1.41 billion people that Wikidata’s 2020 figures give for the 31 provinces and regions together: about 1 in 40.
- The largest, Xinjiang, is 10.4× the size of Shanxi; the smallest, Shanghai, is 4.3% of it.
- Closest in size within China: Shandong (156,000 km², 1.00×) and Henan (166,000 km², 1.06×).
- Counted as a country, Shanxi would be larger than 147 of the 239 countries and territories listed on sizeversus, and would rank 93rd by area, between Tunisia (157,000 km²) and Nepal (147,000 km²).
- With 34.9 million people it would rank 42nd of 238 by population.
- Shanxi has 224 people per km², about the density of Dominican Republic, which has 222 per km².
- That makes Shanxi the 18th most densely populated of the 31 provinces and regions, 1.49× the average for China (150 per km²).
- On a standard web map (Web Mercator), a place at 38°N is drawn about 1.6× too large in area, so Shanxi looks bigger there than it is.
- Laid out flat, Shanxi stretches about 685 km north to south and 380 km east to west.
- Wikidata's official figure of 156,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 156,000 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 StatesAreaGeorgia (United States)1.03× · 152,000 km²PeopleCalifornia88% · 39.5 million (2020)
- IndiaAreaOdisha1.01× · 155,000 km²PeopleTelangana0.99× · 35.2 million (2011)
- GermanyAreanone within 2×PeopleNorth Rhine-Westphalia1.95× · 17.9 million (2022)
- FranceAreaNouvelle-Aquitaine1.84× · 85,000 km²Peoplenone within 2×
- SpainAreaCastile and León1.65× · 94,800 km²Peoplenone within 2×
- JapanAreaHokkaido (Japan)1.98× · 78,800 km²Peoplenone within 2×
- BrazilAreaAcre1.01× · 154,000 km²PeopleSão Paulo79% · 44.4 million (2022)
- AustraliaAreaVictoria68% · 228,000 km²Peoplenone within 2×
- MexicoAreaCoahuila1.03× · 151,000 km²Peoplenone within 2×
Where Shanxi sits in China
All 31 drawn on one equal-area map, so sizes are comparable. Select another to open it.
Compare Shanxi
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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