Norway is 4.85× the size of Hokkaido (Japan)

Norway (Europe) covers about 382,000 km² (147,000 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.

382,000km²Norway
78,800km²Hokkaido (Japan)

500 km

Norway
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) fits inside Norway about 4.85 times by area.
Norway is larger by 303,000 km² (117,000 mi²), which is 385% of the area of Hokkaido (Japan).
Measured in Belgiums: Norway is about 12.5, Hokkaido (Japan) about 2.57.

How they differ

Norway also has the larger population: 5.6 million against 5.4 million, 1.04× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 69 in Hokkaido (Japan) against 15 in Norway: Hokkaido (Japan) is 4.68× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 7,080 km apart.
A standard web map misstates the comparison: Norway at 66°N is drawn about 6.2× too large and Hokkaido (Japan) at 43°N about 1.9×, so the map shows Norway as 16.0× the size of Hokkaido (Japan) instead of 4.85×.
Together Norway and Hokkaido (Japan) cover 461,000 km², close to the size of Cameroon (464,000 km², 0.8% bigger).
The gap between them, 303,000 km², is about the size of Italy (301,000 km²).
At Hokkaido (Japan)'s density, Norway would have 26.3 million people (it has 5.6 million). At Norway's density, Hokkaido (Japan) would have 1.2 million (it has 5.4 million).
Norway's centre is 23.0° of latitude, about 2,560 km, farther north than Hokkaido (Japan)'s.
Norway ranks 63rd of 246 countries and territories by area.
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.
Norway lies about 23° of latitude (roughly 2,560 km) north of Hokkaido (Japan).
Shared out evenly, each person in Norway would have about 67,890 m² and each person in Hokkaido (Japan) about 14,500 m².
Laid side by side, Norway and Hokkaido (Japan) would cover 461,000 km², about the same size as Cameroon.
Together they have 11.1 million people, about as many people as Somalia.
Counted as a country, Hokkaido (Japan) would rank 116th by area and 118th by population.

Side by side

	Norway	Hokkaido (Japan)
Is a	CountryEurope	PrefectureJapan
Area, measured	382,000 km²147,000 mi²	78,800 km²30,400 mi²
Official area	385,000 km²Wikidata	83,400 km²Wikidata
Rank by area	62nd of 239worldwide	1st of 47in Japan
Population	5.6 millionWikidata, 2026	5.4 millionWikidata, 2014
Rank by population	117th of 237worldwide	8th of 47in Japan
Density	15 per km²	69 per km²
Capital	Oslo	Sapporo
Latitude range	58°N to 81°N	41°N to 46°N

Population: Wikidata 2026 and Wikidata 2014. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).

Wikidata's official figure of 385,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 382,000 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 Norway

Similar in size to Hokkaido (Japan)

More comparisons

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

Full method