State of Germany
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is a state of Germany. It covers about 34,500 km² (13,300 mi²), the 4th largest of the 16 states in Natural Earth’s file for Germany, and 1.04× the size of Moldova. About 17.9 million people live there (Wikidata, 2022).
50 km
- North Rhine-Westphalia
- Moldova
Facts
| Area, measured | 34,500 km²13,300 mi² |
|---|---|
| Official area | 34,100 km²Wikidata · agrees with our measure |
| Share of Germany | 9.7%of the area of the 16 states |
| Rank by area | 4th of 16states of Germany |
| Population | 17.9 millionWikidata, 2022 · the census year of every unit |
| Density | 518 people per km² |
| Capital | Düsseldorf |
| Latitude range | 50°N to 53°N |
| Type | StateDE-NW |
What the numbers say about North Rhine-Westphalia
- North Rhine-Westphalia covers 9.7% of the area of Germany and ranks 1st of 16 by population, against 4th by area.
- It would take 10.4 states the size of North Rhine-Westphalia to cover Germany.
- North Rhine-Westphalia holds 22% of the 83.0 million people that Wikidata’s 2022 figures give for the 16 states together: about 1 in 5.
- The largest, Bavaria, is 2.03× the size of North Rhine-Westphalia; the smallest, Bremen, is 1.1% of it.
- Closest in size within Germany: Baden-Württemberg (36,100 km², 1.05×) and Brandenburg (30,000 km², 1.15×).
- Counted as a country, North Rhine-Westphalia would be larger than 102 of the 239 countries and territories listed on sizeversus, and would rank 138th by area, between Taiwan (36,200 km²) and Moldova (33,200 km²).
- With 17.9 million people it would rank 68th of 238 by population.
- North Rhine-Westphalia has 518 people per km², about the density of South Korea, which has 522 per km².
- That makes North Rhine-Westphalia the 4th most densely populated of the 16 states, 2.23× the average for Germany (232 per km²).
- On a standard web map (Web Mercator), a place at 51°N is drawn about 2.6× too large in area, so North Rhine-Westphalia looks bigger there than it is.
- Laid out flat, North Rhine-Westphalia stretches about 245 km north to south and 250 km east to west.
- Wikidata's official figure of 34,100 km² agrees with our measured area of 34,500 km², to within 2%.
About the same size as
Beside the regions of other countries
The closest region by area and by people in each of the other countries that have regional pages here, within a factor of 2. All 395 regions side by side.
- ChinaAreaHainan1.02× · 33,800 km²PeopleBeijing82% · 21.9 million (2020)
- United StatesAreaMaryland1.36× · 25,500 km²PeopleNew York89% · 20.2 million (2020)
- IndiaAreaKerala0.92× · 37,700 km²PeopleDelhi1.07× · 16.8 million (2011)
- FranceAreaPays de la Loire1.07× · 32,100 km²PeopleÎle-de-France1.44× · 12.4 million (2022)
- ItalyAreaSicily (Italy)1.34× · 25,900 km²PeopleLombardy1.78× · 10.1 million (2019)
- SpainAreaCatalonia1.08× · 32,000 km²Peoplenone within 2×
- JapanAreanone within 2×PeopleTokyo1.25× · 14.3 million (2022)
- BrazilAreaAlagoas1.25× · 27,600 km²PeopleRio de Janeiro1.11× · 16.1 million (2022)
- CanadaAreaNova Scotia63% · 55,100 km²PeopleOntario1.26× · 14.2 million (2021)
- AustraliaAreaTasmania (Australia)51% · 68,100 km²Peoplenone within 2×
- MexicoAreaPuebla1.00× · 34,600 km²PeopleState of Mexico1.11× · 16.2 million (2015)
- ThailandAreaChiang Mai1.52× · 22,800 km²Peoplenone within 2×
Where North Rhine-Westphalia sits in Germany
All 16 drawn on one equal-area map, so sizes are comparable. Select another to open it.
Ranked within Germany
Compare North Rhine-Westphalia
- Puebla vs North Rhine-Westphalia
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- Romania vs North Rhine-Westphalia
- Tasmania (Australia) vs North Rhine-Westphalia
- Nova Scotia vs North Rhine-Westphalia
- North Rhine-Westphalia vs Hainan
- North Rhine-Westphalia vs Alagoas
- North Rhine-Westphalia vs Maryland
- Kerala vs North Rhine-Westphalia
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- North Rhine-Westphalia vs Pays de la Loire
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- North Rhine-Westphalia vs Chiang Mai
Share this outline
Sources and method
- Outline
- Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 1 - States, Provinces, public domain
- Boundary
- De facto, as drawn by Natural Earth.
- Area
- Measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid from the full-detail outline, shown rounded. The region’s whole area is counted, every island included.
- Official figures
- Area, population and capital from Wikidata (CC0), fetched 2026-11-12
- Population
- Wikidata, 2022. Germany’s units share the 2022 figures where Wikidata has them; the year is shown wherever the figure is.
- Matching
- Countries come from Natural Earth’s country file. Places whose status is contested and dependencies are never used as automatic matches. A region under 2,500 km² is matched against the small countries and island nations.
- Data built
- 2026-11-12