Kentucky is 1.33× the size of Hokkaido (Japan)

Kentucky (state of the United States) covers about 105,000 km² (40,400 mi²) and Hokkaido (Japan) (prefecture of Japan) about 78,800 km² (30,400 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

105,000km²Kentucky
78,800km²Hokkaido (Japan)

200 km

Kentucky
Hokkaido (Japan)

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

Hokkaido (Japan) is 75% of the size of Kentucky.
Kentucky is larger by 25,800 km² (9,960 mi²), which is 33% of the area of Hokkaido (Japan).
Measured in Belgiums: Kentucky is about 3.41, Hokkaido (Japan) about 2.57.

How they differ

Kentucky is larger, but Hokkaido (Japan) has the larger population: 5.4 million against 4.5 million, 1.21× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 69 in Hokkaido (Japan) against 43 in Kentucky: Hokkaido (Japan) is 1.60× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 9,810 km apart.
A standard web map misstates the comparison: Kentucky at 38°N is drawn about 1.6× too large and Hokkaido (Japan) at 43°N about 1.9×, so the map shows Kentucky as 1.12× the size of Hokkaido (Japan) instead of 1.33×.
Together Kentucky and Hokkaido (Japan) cover 183,000 km², close to the size of Cambodia (181,000 km², 1.3% smaller).
The gap between them, 25,800 km², is about the size of North Macedonia (25,400 km²).
At Hokkaido (Japan)'s density, Kentucky would have 7.2 million people (it has 4.5 million). At Kentucky's density, Hokkaido (Japan) would have 3.4 million (it has 5.4 million).
Hokkaido (Japan)'s centre is 5.8° of latitude, about 650 km, farther north than Kentucky's.
Kentucky is the 36th largest of the 51 states and districts of the United States and covers 1.1% of its area; it is the 23rd most densely populated of them.
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.
Hokkaido (Japan) lies about 6° of latitude (roughly 650 km) north of Kentucky.
Shared out evenly, each person in Kentucky would have about 23,210 m² and each person in Hokkaido (Japan) about 14,500 m².
Laid side by side, Kentucky and Hokkaido (Japan) would cover 183,000 km², about the same size as Cambodia.
Together they have 9.9 million people, about as many people as the United Arab Emirates.

Side by side

	Kentucky	Hokkaido (Japan)
Is a	StateUnited States	PrefectureJapan
Area, measured	105,000 km²40,400 mi²	78,800 km²30,400 mi²
Official area	105,000 km²Wikidata	83,400 km²Wikidata
Rank by area	36th of 51in the United States	1st of 47in Japan
Population	4.5 millionWikidata, 2020	5.4 millionWikidata, 2014
Rank by population	26th of 51in the United States	8th of 47in Japan
Density	43 per km²	69 per km²
Capital	Frankfort	Sapporo
Latitude range	36°N to 39°N	41°N to 46°N

Population: Wikidata 2020 and Wikidata 2014. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).

Wikidata's official figure of 105,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 105,000 km², to within 2%.
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.

Similar in size to Kentucky

Similar in size to Hokkaido (Japan)

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