Province of China
Sichuan
四川省Sichuan is a province of China. It covers about 485,000 km² (187,000 mi²), the 5th largest of the 31 provinces and regions in Natural Earth’s file for China, and about the same size as Somalia. About 83.7 million people live there (Wikidata, 2020).
200 km
- Sichuan
- Somalia
Facts
| Area, measured | 485,000 km²187,000 mi² |
|---|---|
| Official area | 485,000 km²Wikidata · agrees with our measure |
| Share of China | 5.2%of the area of the 31 provinces and regions |
| Rank by area | 5th of 31provinces and regions of China |
| Population | 83.7 millionWikidata, 2020 · the census year of every unit |
| Density | 173 people per km² |
| Capital | Chengdu |
| Latitude range | 26°N to 34°N |
| Type | ProvinceCN-SC |
What the numbers say about Sichuan
- Sichuan covers 5.2% of the area of China and ranks 5th of 31 by both area and population.
- It would take 19.3 regions the size of Sichuan to cover China.
- Sichuan holds 5.9% of the 1.41 billion people that Wikidata’s 2020 figures give for the 31 provinces and regions together: about 1 in 17.
- The largest, Xinjiang, is 3.36× the size of Sichuan; the smallest, Shanghai, is 1.4% of it.
- Closest in size within China: Heilongjiang (452,000 km², 1.07×) and Gansu (406,000 km², 1.20×).
- Counted as a country, Sichuan would be larger than 188 of the 239 countries and territories listed on sizeversus, and would rank 52nd by area, between Spain (499,000 km²) and Somalia (472,000 km²).
- With 83.7 million people it would rank 19th of 238 by population.
- Sichuan has 173 people per km², about the density of Guatemala, which has 159 per km².
- That makes Sichuan the 22nd most densely populated of the 31 provinces and regions, 1.15× the average for China (150 per km²).
- On a standard web map (Web Mercator), a place at 31°N is drawn about 1.3× too large in area, so Sichuan looks bigger there than it is.
- Laid out flat, Sichuan stretches about 919 km north to south and 1,050 km east to west.
- Wikidata's official figure of 485,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 485,000 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 StatesAreaCalifornia1.18× · 410,000 km²Peoplenone within 2×
- IndiaAreaRajasthan1.41× · 343,000 km²PeopleWest Bengal0.92× · 91.3 million (2011)
- BrazilAreaBahia87% · 560,000 km²PeopleSão Paulo1.88× · 44.4 million (2022)
- CanadaAreaYukon1.00× · 484,000 km²Peoplenone within 2×
- AustraliaAreaNew South Wales60% · 802,000 km²Peoplenone within 2×
- MexicoAreaChihuahua1.96× · 248,000 km²Peoplenone within 2×
Where Sichuan sits in China
All 31 drawn on one equal-area map, so sizes are comparable. Select another to open it.
Compare Sichuan
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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