Rio Grande do Sul is 1.01× the size of New Zealand

Rio Grande do Sul (state of Brazil) covers about 272,000 km² (105,000 mi²) and New Zealand (Oceania) about 268,000 km² (104,000 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

272,000km²Rio Grande do Sul
268,000km²New Zealand

500 km

Rio Grande do Sul
New Zealand

What fits

New Zealand is 99% of the size of Rio Grande do Sul.
Rio Grande do Sul is larger by 3,780 km² (1,460 mi²), which is 1.4% of the area of New Zealand.
Measured in Belgiums: Rio Grande do Sul is about 8.88, New Zealand about 8.75.

How they differ

Rio Grande do Sul also has the larger population: 10.9 million against 5.3 million, 2.05× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 40 in Rio Grande do Sul against 20 in New Zealand: Rio Grande do Sul is 2.02× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 10,800 km apart.
On a standard web map New Zealand looks larger than Rio Grande do Sul: Rio Grande do Sul at 30°S is drawn about 1.3× too large and New Zealand at 42°S about 1.8×, so the map shows New Zealand as 1.33× the size of Rio Grande do Sul, when Rio Grande do Sul is 1.01× the size of New Zealand.
Together Rio Grande do Sul and New Zealand cover 541,000 km², close to the size of France (548,000 km², 1.3% bigger).
The gap between them, 3,780 km², is about the size of Cape Verde (3,930 km²).
At New Zealand's density, Rio Grande do Sul would have 5.4 million people (it has 10.9 million). At Rio Grande do Sul's density, New Zealand would have 10.7 million (it has 5.3 million).
Rio Grande do Sul's centre is 12.0° of latitude, about 1,330 km, farther north than New Zealand's.
Rio Grande do Sul is the 10th largest of the 27 states and districts of Brazil and covers 3.2% of its area; it is the 13th most densely populated of them.
New Zealand ranks 76th of 246 countries and territories by area.
Rio Grande do Sul lies about 12° of latitude (roughly 1,330 km) north of New Zealand.
Shared out evenly, each person in Rio Grande do Sul would have about 25,020 m² and each person in New Zealand about 50,590 m².
Laid side by side, Rio Grande do Sul and New Zealand would cover 541,000 km², about the same size as France.
Together they have 16.2 million people, 96% as many people as Senegal.
Counted as a country, Rio Grande do Sul would rank 75th by area and 86th by population.

Side by side

	Rio Grande do Sul	New Zealand
Is a	StateBrazil	CountryOceania
Area, measured	272,000 km²105,000 mi²	268,000 km²104,000 mi²
Official area	282,000 km²Wikidata	268,000 km²Wikidata
Rank by area	10th of 27in Brazil	75th of 239worldwide
Population	10.9 millionWikidata, 2022	5.3 millionWikidata, 2024
Rank by population	6th of 27in Brazil	119th of 237worldwide
Density	40 per km²	20 per km²
Capital	Porto Alegre	Wellington
Latitude range	34°S to 27°S	53°S to 29°S

Population: Wikidata 2022 and Wikidata 2024. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).

Our measured 272,000 km² is 3.3% below Wikidata's official figure of 282,000 km². Official figures can include inland water or count land that an outline draws differently.
Wikidata's official figure of 268,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 269,000 km², to within 2%.

Similar in size to Rio Grande do Sul

Similar in size to New Zealand

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