Province of China
Yunnan
云南省Yunnan is a province of China. It covers about 385,000 km² (149,000 mi²), the 8th largest of the 31 provinces and regions in Natural Earth’s file for China, and about the same size as Norway. About 47.2 million people live there (Wikidata, 2020).
500 km
- Yunnan
- Norway
Facts
| Area, measured | 385,000 km²149,000 mi² |
|---|---|
| Official area | 394,000 km²Wikidata · 2.2% above our measure |
| Share of China | 4.1%of the area of the 31 provinces and regions |
| Rank by area | 8th of 31provinces and regions of China |
| Population | 47.2 millionWikidata, 2020 · the census year of every unit |
| Density | 122 people per km² |
| Capital | Kunming |
| Latitude range | 21°N to 29°N |
| Type | ProvinceCN-YN |
What the numbers say about Yunnan
- Yunnan covers 4.1% of the area of China and ranks 12th of 31 by population, against 8th by area.
- It would take 24.3 regions the size of Yunnan to cover China.
- Yunnan holds 3.3% of the 1.41 billion people that Wikidata’s 2020 figures give for the 31 provinces and regions together: about 1 in 30.
- The largest, Xinjiang, is 4.23× the size of Yunnan; the smallest, Shanghai, is 1.8% of it.
- Closest in size within China: Gansu (406,000 km², 1.05×) and Heilongjiang (452,000 km², 1.17×).
- Counted as a country, Yunnan would be larger than 178 of the 239 countries and territories listed on sizeversus, and would rank 62nd by area, between Zimbabwe (389,000 km²) and Norway (382,000 km²).
- With 47.2 million people it would rank 32nd of 238 by population.
- Yunnan has 122 people per km², about the density of Benin, which has 122 per km².
- That makes Yunnan the 25th most densely populated of the 31 provinces and regions, 81% of the average for China (150 per km²).
- Yunnan lies at 25°N, close to the equator, where a standard web map (Web Mercator) is nearly true to size: it inflates area by only about 1.2×.
- Laid out flat, Yunnan stretches about 901 km north to south and 883 km east to west.
- Our measured 385,000 km² is 2.2% below Wikidata's official figure of 394,000 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 StatesAreaMontana1.02× · 379,000 km²PeopleCalifornia1.19× · 39.5 million (2020)
- IndiaAreaRajasthan1.12× · 343,000 km²PeopleAndhra Pradesh0.95× · 49.6 million (2011)
- BrazilAreaMato Grosso do Sul1.08× · 356,000 km²PeopleSão Paulo1.06× · 44.4 million (2022)
- CanadaAreaNewfoundland and Labrador0.96× · 403,000 km²Peoplenone within 2×
- AustraliaAreaVictoria1.69× · 228,000 km²Peoplenone within 2×
- MexicoAreaChihuahua1.55× · 248,000 km²Peoplenone within 2×
Where Yunnan sits in China
All 31 drawn on one equal-area map, so sizes are comparable. Select another to open it.
Compare Yunnan
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