Spain is 1.34× the size of Japan

Spain covers about 499,000 km² (193,000 mi²) and Japan about 374,000 km² (144,000 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

499,000km²Spain
374,000km²Japan

500 km

Spain
Japan

Outlines show main territory. Spain also has about 7,440 km² of overseas territory. These are not drawn, and not counted in the comparison.

What fits

Japan is 75% of the size of Spain.
Spain is larger by 126,000 km² (48,600 mi²), which is 34% of the area of Japan.
Measured in Belgiums: Spain is about 16.3, Japan about 12.2.

How they differ

Spain is larger, but Japan has the larger population: 123.8 million against 48.6 million, 2.55× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 331 in Japan against 96 in Spain: Japan is 3.46× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 10,500 km apart.
Together Spain and Japan cover 873,000 km², close to the size of Pakistan (873,000 km², 0.0% smaller).
The gap between them, 126,000 km², is about the size of Nicaragua (129,000 km²).
At Japan's density, Spain would have 168.0 million people (it has 48.6 million). At Spain's density, Japan would have 35.8 million (it has 123.8 million).
Spain's centre is 2.9° of latitude, about 330 km, farther north than Japan's.

Who wins on what

Measure	Winner	By
Larger area	Spain	1.34×
More people	Japan	2.55×
More crowded	Japan	3.46×
Farther north	Spain	2.9° of latitude
Stretched more on a web map	Spain	1.7× against 1.6×

Both against the same yardsticks

Yardstick	Spain	Japan
Belgium 30,700 km²	16.3×	12.2×
United Kingdom 244,000 km²	2.05×	1.53×
Germany 358,000 km²	1.40×	1.04×
France 548,000 km²	0.91×	0.68×
India 3,151,000 km²	0.16×	0.12×
Brazil 8,473,000 km²	0.06×	0.04×
United States 9,447,000 km²	0.05×	0.04×
Russia 16,980,000 km²	0.03×	0.02×

Each figure is the place's area divided by the yardstick's.

Side by side

	Spain	Japan
Area, main territory	499,000 km²193,000 mi²	374,000 km²144,000 mi²
Area with overseas territory	507,000 km²	374,000 km²
Population	48.6 millionWikidata, 2024	123.8 millionWikidata, 2024
Density	96 per km²	331 per km²
Official area	506,000 km²Wikidata	378,000 km²Wikidata
Capital	Madrid	Tokyo
Latitude range	35°N to 44°N	24°N to 46°N
Continent	Europe	Asia

Population: Wikidata 2024, covering each whole country. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).

Wikidata's official figure of 506,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 507,000 km², to within 2%.
Wikidata's official figure of 378,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 374,000 km², to within 2%.

Similar in size to Spain

Similar in size to Japan

More comparisons

Sources and method

Outlines: Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 0 - Countries, public domain
Boundary: De facto, as drawn by Natural Earth. Main territory: the largest landmass and every part within 1,000 km of it.
Area: Measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid from the full-detail outlines, shown rounded. Comparisons use main-territory area.
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: 2026-11-11

Full method