Louisiana and Malawi are almost exactly the same size
Louisiana (state of the United States) covers about 120,000 km² (46,200 mi²) and Malawi (Africa) about 119,000 km² (46,100 mi²). Their outlines are laid over each other below at one scale.
- 120,000km²Louisiana
- 119,000km²Malawi
100 km
- Louisiana
- Malawi
What fits
- Malawi is 100% of the size of Louisiana.
- The measured areas differ by 151 km², less than half a percent: closer than the measurement itself is certain.
- Measured in Belgiums: Louisiana is about 3.90, Malawi about 3.89.
How they differ
- Louisiana is larger, but Malawi has the larger population: 17.6 million against 4.7 million, 3.77× as many people.
- Per square kilometre that is 147 in Malawi against 39 in Louisiana: Malawi is 3.78× as densely populated.
- Their centres are about 14,200 km apart.
- A standard web map misstates the comparison: Louisiana at 31°N is drawn about 1.4× too large and Malawi at 13°S about 1.1×, so the map shows Louisiana as 1.29× the size of Malawi instead of 1.00×.
- Together Louisiana and Malawi cover 239,000 km², close to the size of Ghana (239,000 km², 0.1% smaller).
- At Malawi's density, Louisiana would have 17.6 million people (it has 4.7 million). At Louisiana's density, Malawi would have 4.7 million (it has 17.6 million).
- Louisiana's centre is 44.3° of latitude, about 4,920 km, farther north than Malawi's.
- Louisiana is the 32nd largest of the 51 states and districts of the United States and covers 1.3% of its area; it is the 26th most densely populated of them.
- Malawi ranks 102nd of 246 countries and territories by area.
- Louisiana lies about 44° of latitude (roughly 4,920 km) north of Malawi, on the other side of the equator.
- Shared out evenly, each person in Louisiana would have about 25,670 m² and each person in Malawi about 6,800 m².
- Laid side by side, Louisiana and Malawi would cover 239,000 km², about the same size as Ghana.
- Together they have 22.2 million people, about as many people as Mali.
- Counted as a country, Louisiana would rank 101st by area and 128th by population.
Side by side
| Louisiana | Malawi | |
|---|---|---|
| Is a | StateUnited States | CountryAfrica |
| Area, measured | 120,000 km²46,200 mi² | 119,000 km²46,100 mi² |
| Official area | 135,000 km²Wikidata | 118,000 km²Wikidata |
| Rank by area | 32nd of 51in the United States | 101st of 239worldwide |
| Population | 4.7 millionWikidata, 2020 | 17.6 millionWikidata, 2018 |
| Rank by population | 25th of 51in the United States | 68th of 237worldwide |
| Density | 39 per km² | 147 per km² |
| Capital | Baton Rouge | Lilongwe |
| Latitude range | 29°N to 33°N | 17°S to 9°S |
Population: Wikidata 2020 and Wikidata 2018. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).
- Our measured 120,000 km² is 12% below Wikidata's official figure of 135,000 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 118,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 119,000 km², to within 2%.
Similar in size to Louisiana
Similar in size to Malawi
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Sources and method
- Outlines
- Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 1 - States, Provinces, public domain for the region; Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 0 - Countries, 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