Hokkaido (Japan) is 1.34× the size of Michoacán

Hokkaido (Japan) (prefecture of Japan) covers about 78,800 km² (30,400 mi²) and Michoacán (state of Mexico) about 58,900 km² (22,700 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

78,800km²Hokkaido (Japan)
58,900km²Michoacán

100 km

Hokkaido (Japan)
Michoacán

Hokkaido (Japan): Part of this region's boundary is disputed with Russia. Size Versus draws Natural Earth's de facto outline, the boundary as it is held on the ground, and takes no position on it.

What fits

Michoacán is 75% of the size of Hokkaido (Japan).
Hokkaido (Japan) is larger by 19,900 km² (7,680 mi²), which is 34% of the area of Michoacán.
Measured in Belgiums: Hokkaido (Japan) is about 2.57, Michoacán about 1.92.

How they differ

Hokkaido (Japan) also has the larger population: 5.4 million against 4.6 million, 1.18× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 78 in Michoacán against 69 in Hokkaido (Japan): Michoacán is 1.13× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 10,500 km apart.
A standard web map misstates the comparison: Hokkaido (Japan) at 43°N is drawn about 1.9× too large and Michoacán at 19°N about 1.1×, so the map shows Hokkaido (Japan) as 2.26× the size of Michoacán instead of 1.34×.
Together Hokkaido (Japan) and Michoacán cover 138,000 km², close to the size of Bangladesh (137,000 km², 0.6% smaller).
The gap between them, 19,900 km², is about the size of Slovenia (20,300 km²).
At Michoacán's density, Hokkaido (Japan) would have 6.1 million people (it has 5.4 million). At Hokkaido (Japan)'s density, Michoacán would have 4.1 million (it has 4.6 million).
Hokkaido (Japan)'s centre is 24.2° of latitude, about 2,690 km, farther north than Michoacán's.
Hokkaido (Japan) is the largest of the 47 prefectures of Japan and covers 21% of its area; it is the 47th most densely populated of them.
Michoacán is the 16th largest of the 32 states of Mexico and covers 3.0% of its area; it is the 15th most densely populated of them.
Hokkaido (Japan) lies about 24° of latitude (roughly 2,690 km) north of Michoacán.
Shared out evenly, each person in Hokkaido (Japan) would have about 14,500 m² and each person in Michoacán about 12,840 m².
Laid side by side, Hokkaido (Japan) and Michoacán would cover 138,000 km², about the same size as Bangladesh.
Together they have 10.0 million people, about as many people as the United Arab Emirates.

Side by side

	Hokkaido (Japan)	Michoacán
Is a	PrefectureJapan	StateMexico
Area, measured	78,800 km²30,400 mi²	58,900 km²22,700 mi²
Official area	83,400 km²Wikidata	58,600 km²Wikidata
Rank by area	1st of 47in Japan	16th of 32in Mexico
Population	5.4 millionWikidata, 2014	4.6 millionWikidata, 2015
Rank by population	8th of 47in Japan	9th of 32in Mexico
Density	69 per km²	78 per km²
Capital	Sapporo	Morelia
Latitude range	41°N to 46°N	18°N to 20°N

Population: Wikidata 2014 and Wikidata 2015. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).

Our measured 78,800 km² is 5.6% below Wikidata's official figure of 83,400 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 58,600 km² agrees with our measured area of 58,900 km², to within 2%.

Similar in size to Hokkaido (Japan)

Similar in size to Michoacán

More comparisons

Sources and method

Outlines: Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 1 - States, Provinces, 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

Full method