British Columbia is 3.52× the size of New Zealand
British Columbia (province of Canada) covers about 946,000 km² (365,000 mi²) and New Zealand (Oceania) about 268,000 km² (104,000 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.
- 946,000km²British Columbia
- 268,000km²New Zealand
500 km
- British Columbia
- New Zealand
What fits
- New Zealand fits inside British Columbia about 3.52 times by area.
- British Columbia is larger by 677,000 km² (261,000 mi²), which is 252% of the area of New Zealand.
- Measured in Belgiums: British Columbia is about 30.8, New Zealand about 8.75.
How they differ
- British Columbia is larger, but New Zealand has the larger population: 5.3 million against 5.0 million, 1.06× as many people.
- Per square kilometre that is 20 in New Zealand against 5.3 in British Columbia: New Zealand is 3.74× as densely populated.
- Their centres are about 12,200 km apart.
- A standard web map misstates the comparison: British Columbia at 55°N is drawn about 3.0× too large and New Zealand at 42°S about 1.8×, so the map shows British Columbia as 5.84× the size of New Zealand instead of 3.52×.
- Together British Columbia and New Zealand cover 1,214,000 km², close to the size of South Africa (1,220,000 km², 0.4% bigger).
- The gap between them, 677,000 km², is about the size of Myanmar (663,000 km²).
- At New Zealand's density, British Columbia would have 18.7 million people (it has 5.0 million). At British Columbia's density, New Zealand would have 1.4 million (it has 5.3 million).
- British Columbia's centre is 96.3° of latitude, about 10,710 km, farther north than New Zealand's.
- British Columbia is the 5th largest of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada and covers 9.5% of its area; it is the 7th most densely populated of them.
- New Zealand ranks 76th of 246 countries and territories by area.
- British Columbia lies about 96° of latitude (roughly 10,700 km) north of New Zealand, on the other side of the equator.
- Shared out evenly, each person in British Columbia would have about 189,090 m² and each person in New Zealand about 50,590 m².
- Laid side by side, British Columbia and New Zealand would cover 1,214,000 km², about the same size as South Africa.
- Together they have 10.3 million people, about as many people as Portugal.
- Counted as a country, British Columbia would rank 31st by area and 125th by population.
Side by side
| British Columbia | New Zealand | |
|---|---|---|
| Is a | ProvinceCanada | CountryOceania |
| Area, measured | 946,000 km²365,000 mi² | 268,000 km²104,000 mi² |
| Official area | 945,000 km²Wikidata | 268,000 km²Wikidata |
| Rank by area | 5th of 13in Canada | 75th of 239worldwide |
| Population | 5.0 millionWikidata, 2021 | 5.3 millionWikidata, 2024 |
| Rank by population | 3rd of 13in Canada | 119th of 237worldwide |
| Density | 5.3 per km² | 20 per km² |
| Capital | Victoria | Wellington |
| Latitude range | 48°N to 60°N | 53°S to 29°S |
Population: Wikidata 2021 and Wikidata 2024. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).
- Wikidata's official figure of 945,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 946,000 km², to within 2%.
- Wikidata's official figure of 268,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 269,000 km², to within 2%.
Similar in size to British Columbia
Similar in size to New Zealand
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Sources and method
- Outlines
- Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 1 - States, Provinces, public domain for the region; Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 0 - Countries, public domain
- Boundary
- De facto, as drawn by Natural Earth. A region is drawn whole, every island included; a country is its main territory.
- Area
- Measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid from the full-detail outlines, shown rounded.
- 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
- 2026-11-12