Japan is 1.08× the size of Republic of the Congo

Japan covers about 374,000 km² (144,000 mi²) and Republic of the Congo about 345,000 km² (133,000 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

374,000km²Japan
345,000km²Republic of the Congo

500 km

Japan
Republic of the Congo

What fits

Republic of the Congo is 92% of the size of Japan.
Japan is larger by 28,600 km² (11,000 mi²), which is 8.3% of the area of Republic of the Congo.
Measured in Belgiums: Japan is about 12.2, Republic of the Congo about 11.2.

How they differ

Japan also has the larger population: 123.8 million against 6.1 million, 20.2× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 331 in Japan against 18 in Republic of the Congo: Japan is 18.6× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 12,900 km apart.
A standard web map misstates the comparison: Japan at 37°N is drawn about 1.6× too large and Republic of the Congo at 1°S about 1.0×, so the map shows Japan as 1.72× the size of Republic of the Congo instead of 1.08×.
Together Japan and Republic of the Congo cover 718,000 km², close to the size of Chile (736,000 km², 2.5% bigger).
The gap between them, 28,600 km², is about the size of Albania (28,300 km²).
At Republic of the Congo's density, Japan would have 6.7 million people (it has 123.8 million). At Japan's density, Republic of the Congo would have 114.3 million (it has 6.1 million).
Japan's centre is 38.3° of latitude, about 4,250 km, farther north than Republic of the Congo's.

Who wins on what

Measure	Winner	By
Larger area	Japan	1.08×
More people	Japan	20.2×
More crowded	Japan	18.6×
Farther north	Japan	38.3° of latitude
Stretched more on a web map	Japan	1.6× against 1.0×

Both against the same yardsticks

Yardstick	Japan	Republic of the Congo
Belgium 30,700 km²	12.2×	11.2×
United Kingdom 244,000 km²	1.53×	1.41×
Germany 358,000 km²	1.04×	0.96×
France 548,000 km²	0.68×	0.63×
India 3,151,000 km²	0.12×	0.11×
Brazil 8,473,000 km²	0.04×	0.04×
United States 9,447,000 km²	0.04×	0.04×
Russia 16,980,000 km²	0.02×	0.02×

Each figure is the place's area divided by the yardstick's.

Side by side

	Japan	Republic of the Congo
Area, main territory	374,000 km²144,000 mi²	345,000 km²133,000 mi²
Population	123.8 millionWikidata, 2024	6.1 millionWikidata, 2023
Density	331 per km²	18 per km²
Official area	378,000 km²Wikidata	342,000 km²Wikidata
Capital	Tokyo	Brazzaville
Latitude range	24°N to 46°N	5°S to 4°N
Continent	Asia	Africa

Population: Wikidata 2024 and Wikidata 2023, covering each whole country. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).

Wikidata's official figure of 378,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 374,000 km², to within 2%.
Wikidata's official figure of 342,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 345,000 km², to within 2%.

Similar in size to Japan

Similar in size to Republic of the Congo

More comparisons

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

Full method