Bhutan is 1.09× the size of Netherlands

Bhutan covers about 40,400 km² (15,600 mi²) and Netherlands about 37,100 km² (14,300 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

40,400km²Bhutan
37,100km²Netherlands

100 km

Bhutan
Netherlands

Outlines show main territory. Netherlands also has about 295 km² of overseas territory. These are not drawn, and not counted in the comparison.

What fits

Netherlands is 92% of the size of Bhutan.
Bhutan is larger by 3,320 km² (1,280 mi²), which is 8.9% of the area of Netherlands.
Measured in Belgiums: Bhutan is about 1.32, Netherlands about 1.21.

How they differ

Bhutan is larger, but Netherlands has the larger population: 17.9 million against 787,000, 22.8× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 480 in Netherlands against 19 in Bhutan: Netherlands is 24.6× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 7,290 km apart.
On a standard web map Netherlands looks larger than Bhutan: Bhutan at 27°N is drawn about 1.3× too large and Netherlands at 52°N about 2.7×, so the map shows Netherlands as 1.93× the size of Bhutan, when Bhutan is 1.09× the size of Netherlands.
Together Bhutan and Netherlands cover 77,500 km², close to the size of Serbia (77,600 km², 0.1% bigger).
The gap between them, 3,320 km², is about the size of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (3,320 km²).
At Netherlands's density, Bhutan would have 19.4 million people (it has 787,000). At Bhutan's density, Netherlands would have 729,000 (it has 17.9 million).
Netherlands's centre is 24.8° of latitude, about 2,760 km, farther north than Bhutan's.

Who wins on what

Measure	Winner	By
Larger area	Bhutan	1.09×
More people	Netherlands	22.8×
More crowded	Netherlands	24.6×
Farther north	Netherlands	24.8° of latitude
Stretched more on a web map	Netherlands	2.7× against 1.3×

Both against the same yardsticks

Yardstick	Bhutan	Netherlands
Belgium 30,700 km²	1.32×	1.21×
United Kingdom 244,000 km²	0.17×	0.15×
Germany 358,000 km²	0.11×	0.10×
Japan 374,000 km²	0.11×	0.10×
France 548,000 km²	0.07×	0.07×
India 3,151,000 km²	0.01×	0.01×
Brazil 8,473,000 km²	1 in 210	1 in 228
United States 9,447,000 km²	1 in 234	1 in 255
Russia 16,980,000 km²	1 in 420	1 in 458

Each figure is the place's area divided by the yardstick's.

Side by side

	Bhutan	Netherlands
Area, main territory	40,400 km²15,600 mi²	37,100 km²14,300 mi²
Area with overseas territory	40,400 km²	37,400 km²
Population	787,000Wikidata, 2023	17.9 millionWikidata, 2024
Density	19 per km²	480 per km²
Official area	38,400 km²Wikidata	37,400 km²Wikidata
Capital	Thimphu	Amsterdam
Latitude range	27°N to 28°N	51°N to 54°N
Continent	Asia	Europe

Population: Wikidata 2023 and Wikidata 2024, covering each whole country. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).

Our measured 40,400 km² is 5.3% above Wikidata's official figure of 38,400 km². Official figures can include inland water or count land that an outline draws differently. This difference is flagged for review.
Wikidata's official figure of 37,400 km² agrees with our measured area of 37,400 km², to within 2%.

Similar in size to Bhutan

Similar in size to Netherlands

More comparisons

Sources and method

Outlines: Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 0 - Countries, public domain
Boundary: De facto, as drawn by Natural Earth. Main territory: the largest landmass and every part within 1,000 km of it.
Area: Measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid from the full-detail outlines, shown rounded. Comparisons use main-territory area.
Drawing: Each outline is projected with an equal-area projection centred on its own centroid, so areas stay true and the two can be laid over each other.
Data built: 2026-11-11

Full method