Paraíba is 1.19× the size of Lower Saxony

Paraíba (state of Brazil) covers about 56,500 km² (21,800 mi²) and Lower Saxony (state of Germany) about 47,600 km² (18,400 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

56,500km²Paraíba
47,600km²Lower Saxony

100 km

Paraíba
Lower Saxony

What fits

Lower Saxony is 84% of the size of Paraíba.
Paraíba is larger by 8,920 km² (3,440 mi²), which is 19% of the area of Lower Saxony.
Measured in Belgiums: Paraíba is about 1.84, Lower Saxony about 1.55.

How they differ

Paraíba is larger, but Lower Saxony has the larger population: 7.9 million against 4.0 million, 2.00× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 167 in Lower Saxony against 70 in Paraíba: Lower Saxony is 2.37× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 7,940 km apart.
On a standard web map Lower Saxony looks larger than Paraíba: Paraíba at 7°S is drawn about 1.0× too large and Lower Saxony at 53°N about 2.7×, so the map shows Lower Saxony as 2.26× the size of Paraíba, when Paraíba is 1.19× the size of Lower Saxony.
Together Paraíba and Lower Saxony cover 104,000 km², close to the size of Iceland (102,000 km², 1.7% smaller).
The gap between them, 8,920 km², is about the size of Lebanon (10,000 km²).
At Lower Saxony's density, Paraíba would have 9.4 million people (it has 4.0 million). At Paraíba's density, Lower Saxony would have 3.3 million (it has 7.9 million).
Lower Saxony's centre is 59.9° of latitude, about 6,660 km, farther north than Paraíba's.
Paraíba is the 21st largest of the 27 states and districts of Brazil and covers 0.7% of its area; it is the 9th most densely populated of them.
Lower Saxony is the 2nd largest of the 16 states of Germany and covers 13% of its area; it is the 12th most densely populated of them.
Lower Saxony lies about 60° of latitude (roughly 6,660 km) north of Paraíba, on the other side of the equator.
Shared out evenly, each person in Paraíba would have about 14,220 m² and each person in Lower Saxony about 5,990 m².
Laid side by side, Paraíba and Lower Saxony would cover 104,000 km², about the same size as Iceland.
Together they have 11.9 million people, about as many people as Belgium.

Side by side

	Paraíba	Lower Saxony
Is a	StateBrazil	StateGermany
Area, measured	56,500 km²21,800 mi²	47,600 km²18,400 mi²
Official area	56,600 km²Wikidata	47,600 km²Wikidata
Rank by area	21st of 27in Brazil	2nd of 16in Germany
Population	4.0 millionWikidata, 2022	7.9 millionWikidata, 2022
Rank by population	13th of 27in Brazil	4th of 16in Germany
Density	70 per km²	167 per km²
Capital	João Pessoa	Hanover
Latitude range	8°S to 6°S	51°N to 54°N

Population: Wikidata 2022. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).

Wikidata's official figure of 56,600 km² agrees with our measured area of 56,500 km², to within 2%.
Wikidata's official figure of 47,600 km² agrees with our measured area of 47,600 km², to within 2%.

Similar in size to Paraíba

Similar in size to Lower Saxony

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