Hokkaido (Japan) is 1.26× the size of West Virginia

Hokkaido (Japan) (prefecture of Japan) covers about 78,800 km² (30,400 mi²) and West Virginia (state of the United States) about 62,700 km² (24,200 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

78,800km²Hokkaido (Japan)
62,700km²West Virginia

100 km

Hokkaido (Japan)
West Virginia

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

West Virginia is 80% of the size of Hokkaido (Japan).
Hokkaido (Japan) is larger by 16,000 km² (6,200 mi²), which is 26% of the area of West Virginia.
Measured in Belgiums: Hokkaido (Japan) is about 2.57, West Virginia about 2.05.

How they differ

Hokkaido (Japan) also has the larger population: 5.4 million against 1.8 million, 3.03× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 69 in Hokkaido (Japan) against 29 in West Virginia: Hokkaido (Japan) is 2.41× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 9,910 km apart.
A standard web map misstates the comparison: Hokkaido (Japan) at 43°N is drawn about 1.9× too large and West Virginia at 39°N about 1.6×, so the map shows Hokkaido (Japan) as 1.45× the size of West Virginia instead of 1.26×.
Together Hokkaido (Japan) and West Virginia cover 142,000 km², close to the size of Tajikistan (142,000 km², 0.5% bigger).
The gap between them, 16,000 km², is about the size of East Timor (15,100 km²).
At West Virginia's density, Hokkaido (Japan) would have 2.3 million people (it has 5.4 million). At Hokkaido (Japan)'s density, West Virginia would have 4.3 million (it has 1.8 million).
Hokkaido (Japan)'s centre is 4.7° of latitude, about 530 km, farther north than West Virginia'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.
West Virginia is the 41st largest of the 51 states and districts of the United States and covers 0.7% of its area; it is the 30th most densely populated of them.
Hokkaido (Japan) lies about 5° of latitude (roughly 526 km) north of West Virginia.
Shared out evenly, each person in Hokkaido (Japan) would have about 14,500 m² and each person in West Virginia about 34,980 m².
Laid side by side, Hokkaido (Japan) and West Virginia would cover 142,000 km², about the same size as Tajikistan.
Together they have 7.2 million people, about as many people as Kyrgyzstan.

Side by side

	Hokkaido (Japan)	West Virginia
Is a	PrefectureJapan	StateUnited States
Area, measured	78,800 km²30,400 mi²	62,700 km²24,200 mi²
Official area	83,400 km²Wikidata	62,800 km²Wikidata
Rank by area	1st of 47in Japan	41st of 51in the United States
Population	5.4 millionWikidata, 2014	1.8 millionWikidata, 2020
Rank by population	8th of 47in Japan	39th of 51in the United States
Density	69 per km²	29 per km²
Capital	Sapporo	Charleston
Latitude range	41°N to 46°N	37°N to 41°N

Population: Wikidata 2014 and Wikidata 2020. 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 62,800 km² agrees with our measured area of 62,700 km², to within 2%.

Similar in size to Hokkaido (Japan)

Similar in size to West Virginia

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