Switzerland is 1.12× the size of Netherlands

Switzerland covers about 41,400 km² (16,000 mi²) and Netherlands about 37,100 km² (14,300 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

41,400km²Switzerland
37,100km²Netherlands

100 km

Switzerland
Netherlands

Outlines show main territory. Netherlands also has about 295 km² of overseas territory. These are not drawn, and not counted in the comparison.

What fits

Netherlands is 90% of the size of Switzerland.
Switzerland is larger by 4,330 km² (1,670 mi²), which is 12% of the area of Netherlands.
Measured in Belgiums: Switzerland is about 1.35, Netherlands about 1.21.

How they differ

Switzerland is larger, but Netherlands has the larger population: 17.9 million against 9.1 million, 1.97× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 480 in Netherlands against 220 in Switzerland: Netherlands is 2.18× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 636 km apart.
On a standard web map Netherlands looks larger than Switzerland: Switzerland at 47°N is drawn about 2.1× too large and Netherlands at 52°N about 2.7×, so the map shows Netherlands as 1.12× the size of Switzerland, when Switzerland is 1.12× the size of Netherlands.
Together Switzerland and Netherlands cover 78,500 km², close to the size of Czechia (78,800 km², 0.3% bigger).
The gap between them, 4,330 km², is about the size of Cape Verde (3,930 km²).
At Netherlands's density, Switzerland would have 19.9 million people (it has 9.1 million). At Switzerland's density, Netherlands would have 8.2 million (it has 17.9 million).
Netherlands's centre is 5.5° of latitude, about 610 km, farther north than Switzerland's.

Who wins on what

Measure	Winner	By
Larger area	Switzerland	1.12×
More people	Netherlands	1.97×
More crowded	Netherlands	2.18×
Farther north	Netherlands	5.5° of latitude
Stretched more on a web map	Netherlands	2.7× against 2.1×

Both against the same yardsticks

Yardstick	Switzerland	Netherlands
Belgium 30,700 km²	1.35×	1.21×
United Kingdom 244,000 km²	0.17×	0.15×
Germany 358,000 km²	0.12×	0.10×
Japan 374,000 km²	0.11×	0.10×
France 548,000 km²	0.08×	0.07×
India 3,151,000 km²	0.01×	0.01×
Brazil 8,473,000 km²	1 in 204	1 in 228
United States 9,447,000 km²	1 in 228	1 in 255
Russia 16,980,000 km²	1 in 410	1 in 458

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

Side by side

	Switzerland	Netherlands
Area, main territory	41,400 km²16,000 mi²	37,100 km²14,300 mi²
Area with overseas territory	41,400 km²	37,400 km²
Population	9.1 millionWikidata, 2025	17.9 millionWikidata, 2024
Density	220 per km²	480 per km²
Official area	41,300 km²Wikidata	37,400 km²Wikidata
Capital	Bern	Amsterdam
Latitude range	46°N to 48°N	51°N to 54°N
Continent	Europe	Europe

Population: Wikidata 2025 and Wikidata 2024, covering each whole country. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).

Wikidata's official figure of 41,300 km² agrees with our measured area of 41,400 km², to within 2%.
Wikidata's official figure of 37,400 km² agrees with our measured area of 37,400 km², to within 2%.

Similar in size to Switzerland

Similar in size to Netherlands

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