Hokkaido (Japan) is 1.39× the size of Paraíba

Hokkaido (Japan) (prefecture of Japan) covers about 78,800 km² (30,400 mi²) and Paraíba (state of Brazil) about 56,500 km² (21,800 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

78,800km²Hokkaido (Japan)
56,500km²Paraíba

100 km

Hokkaido (Japan)
Paraíba

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

Paraíba is 72% of the size of Hokkaido (Japan).
Hokkaido (Japan) is larger by 22,300 km² (8,600 mi²), which is 39% of the area of Paraíba.
Measured in Belgiums: Hokkaido (Japan) is about 2.57, Paraíba about 1.84.

How they differ

Hokkaido (Japan) also has the larger population: 5.4 million against 4.0 million, 1.37× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 70 in Paraíba against 69 in Hokkaido (Japan): Paraíba is 1.02× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 16,000 km apart.
A standard web map misstates the comparison: Hokkaido (Japan) at 43°N is drawn about 1.9× too large and Paraíba at 7°S about 1.0×, so the map shows Hokkaido (Japan) as 2.60× the size of Paraíba instead of 1.39×.
Together Hokkaido (Japan) and Paraíba cover 135,000 km², close to the size of Bangladesh (137,000 km², 1.2% bigger).
The gap between them, 22,300 km², is about the size of Belize (22,300 km²).
At Paraíba's density, Hokkaido (Japan) would have 5.5 million people (it has 5.4 million). At Hokkaido (Japan)'s density, Paraíba would have 3.9 million (it has 4.0 million).
Hokkaido (Japan)'s centre is 50.5° of latitude, about 5,620 km, farther north than Paraíba'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.
Paraíba is the 21st largest of the 27 states and districts of Brazil and covers 0.7% of its area; it is the 9th most densely populated of them.
Hokkaido (Japan) lies about 50° of latitude (roughly 5,620 km) north of Paraíba, on the other side of the equator.
Shared out evenly, each person in Hokkaido (Japan) would have about 14,500 m² and each person in Paraíba about 14,220 m².
Laid side by side, Hokkaido (Japan) and Paraíba would cover 135,000 km², about the same size as Bangladesh.
Together they have 9.4 million people, about as many people as Tajikistan.

Side by side

	Hokkaido (Japan)	Paraíba
Is a	PrefectureJapan	StateBrazil
Area, measured	78,800 km²30,400 mi²	56,500 km²21,800 mi²
Official area	83,400 km²Wikidata	56,600 km²Wikidata
Rank by area	1st of 47in Japan	21st of 27in Brazil
Population	5.4 millionWikidata, 2014	4.0 millionWikidata, 2022
Rank by population	8th of 47in Japan	13th of 27in Brazil
Density	69 per km²	70 per km²
Capital	Sapporo	João Pessoa
Latitude range	41°N to 46°N	8°S to 6°S

Population: Wikidata 2014 and Wikidata 2022. 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 56,600 km² agrees with our measured area of 56,500 km², to within 2%.

Similar in size to Hokkaido (Japan)

Similar in size to Paraíba

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