France is 1.47× the size of Japan
France covers about 548,000 km² (212,000 mi²) and Japan about 374,000 km² (144,000 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.
- 548,000km²France
- 374,000km²Japan
500 km
- France
- Japan
Outlines show main territory. France also has about 88,900 km² of overseas territory. These are not drawn, and not counted in the comparison.
What fits
- Japan is 68% of the size of France.
- France is larger by 174,000 km² (67,300 mi²), which is 47% of the area of Japan.
- Measured in Belgiums: France is about 17.9, Japan about 12.2.
How they differ
- France is larger, but Japan has the larger population: 123.8 million against 68.6 million, 1.80× as many people.
- Per square kilometre that is 331 in Japan against 108 in France: Japan is 3.08× as densely populated.
- Their centres are about 9,660 km apart.
- A standard web map misstates the comparison: France at 47°N is drawn about 2.1× too large and Japan at 37°N about 1.6×, so the map shows France as 1.95× the size of Japan instead of 1.47×.
- Together France and Japan cover 921,000 km², close to the size of Venezuela (913,000 km², 0.9% smaller).
- The gap between them, 174,000 km², is about the size of Uruguay (177,000 km²).
- At Japan's density, France would have 211.1 million people (it has 68.6 million). At France's density, Japan would have 40.2 million (it has 123.8 million).
- France's centre is 9.1° of latitude, about 1,010 km, farther north than Japan's.
Who wins on what
| Measure | Winner | By |
|---|---|---|
| Larger area | France | 1.47× |
| More people | Japan | 1.80× |
| More crowded | Japan | 3.08× |
| Farther north | France | 9.1° of latitude |
| Stretched more on a web map | France | 2.1× against 1.6× |
Both against the same yardsticks
| Yardstick | France | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium 30,700 km² | 17.9× | 12.2× |
| United Kingdom 244,000 km² | 2.25× | 1.53× |
| Germany 358,000 km² | 1.53× | 1.04× |
| India 3,151,000 km² | 0.17× | 0.12× |
| Brazil 8,473,000 km² | 0.06× | 0.04× |
| United States 9,447,000 km² | 0.06× | 0.04× |
| Russia 16,980,000 km² | 0.03× | 0.02× |
Each figure is the place's area divided by the yardstick's.
Side by side
| France | Japan | |
|---|---|---|
| Area, main territory | 548,000 km²212,000 mi² | 374,000 km²144,000 mi² |
| Area with overseas territory | 637,000 km² | 374,000 km² |
| Population | 68.6 millionWikidata, 2025 | 123.8 millionWikidata, 2024 |
| Density | 108 per km² | 331 per km² |
| Official area | 644,000 km²Wikidata | 378,000 km²Wikidata |
| Capital | Paris | Tokyo |
| Latitude range | 41°N to 51°N | 24°N to 46°N |
| Continent | Europe | Asia |
Population: Wikidata 2025 and Wikidata 2024, covering each whole country. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).
- Wikidata's official figure of 644,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 637,000 km², to within 2%.
- Wikidata's official figure of 378,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 374,000 km², to within 2%.
Similar in size to France
Similar in size to Japan
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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