State of Mexico is 1.41× the size of Iwate

State of Mexico (state of Mexico) covers about 21,800 km² (8,430 mi²) and Iwate (prefecture of Japan) about 15,500 km² (5,970 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

21,800km²State of Mexico
15,500km²Iwate

50 km

State of Mexico
Iwate

What fits

Iwate is 71% of the size of State of Mexico.
State of Mexico is larger by 6,350 km² (2,450 mi²), which is 41% of the area of Iwate.
Measured in Belgiums: State of Mexico is about 0.71, Iwate about 0.50.

How they differ

State of Mexico also has the larger population: 16.2 million against 1.2 million, 13.4× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 742 in State of Mexico against 78 in Iwate: State of Mexico is 9.52× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 10,900 km apart.
On a standard web map Iwate looks larger than State of Mexico: State of Mexico at 19°N is drawn about 1.1× too large and Iwate at 40°N about 1.7×, so the map shows Iwate as 1.06× the size of State of Mexico, when State of Mexico is 1.41× the size of Iwate.
Together State of Mexico and Iwate cover 37,300 km², close to the size of Netherlands (37,100 km², 0.5% smaller).
The gap between them, 6,350 km², is about the size of Palestine (6,070 km²).
At Iwate's density, State of Mexico would have 1.7 million people (it has 16.2 million). At State of Mexico's density, Iwate would have 11.5 million (it has 1.2 million).
Iwate's centre is 20.2° of latitude, about 2,250 km, farther north than State of Mexico's.
State of Mexico is the 25th largest of the 32 states of Mexico and covers 1.1% of its area; it is the 2nd most densely populated of them.
Iwate is the 2nd largest of the 47 prefectures of Japan and covers 4.1% of its area; it is the 46th most densely populated of them.
Iwate lies about 20° of latitude (roughly 2,250 km) north of State of Mexico.
Shared out evenly, each person in State of Mexico would have about 1,350 m² and each person in Iwate about 12,830 m².
Laid side by side, State of Mexico and Iwate would cover 37,300 km², about the same size as the Netherlands.
Together they have 17.4 million people, about as many people as Cambodia.

Side by side

	State of Mexico	Iwate
Is a	StateMexico	PrefectureJapan
Area, measured	21,800 km²8,430 mi²	15,500 km²5,970 mi²
Official area	22,400 km²Wikidata	15,300 km²Wikidata
Rank by area	25th of 32in Mexico	2nd of 47in Japan
Population	16.2 millionWikidata, 2015	1.2 millionWikidata, 2021
Rank by population	1st of 32in Mexico	32nd of 47in Japan
Density	742 per km²	78 per km²
Capital	Toluca de Lerdo	Morioka
Latitude range	18°N to 20°N	39°N to 40°N

Population: Wikidata 2015 and Wikidata 2021. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).

Our measured 21,800 km² is 2.4% below Wikidata's official figure of 22,400 km². Official figures can include inland water or count land that an outline draws differently.
Wikidata's official figure of 15,300 km² agrees with our measured area of 15,500 km², to within 2%.

Similar in size to State of Mexico

Similar in size to Iwate

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