State of Germany

Schleswig-Holstein

Schleswig-Holstein is a state of Germany. It covers about 15,400 km² (5,960 mi²), the 12th largest of the 16 states in Natural Earth’s file for Germany, and about the same size as East Timor. About 3.0 million people live there (Wikidata, 2022).

In area1.02×the size ofEast Timor15,100 km² In people1.01×as many people asArmenia2.9 million

100 km

Schleswig-Holstein
East Timor

Facts

Area, measured	15,400 km²5,960 mi²
Official area	15,800 km²Wikidata · 2.3% above our measure
Share of Germany	4.3%of the area of the 16 states
Rank by area	12th of 16states of Germany
Population	3.0 millionWikidata, 2022 · the census year of every unit
Density	191 people per km²
Capital	Kiel
Latitude range	53°N to 55°N
Type	StateDE-SH

What the numbers say about Schleswig-Holstein

Schleswig-Holstein covers 4.3% of the area of Germany and ranks 9th of 16 by population, against 12th by area.
It would take 23.2 states the size of Schleswig-Holstein to cover Germany.
Schleswig-Holstein holds 3.6% of the 83.0 million people that Wikidata’s 2022 figures give for the 16 states together: about 1 in 28.
The largest, Bavaria, is 4.54× the size of Schleswig-Holstein; the smallest, Bremen, is 2.5% of it.
Closest in size within Germany: Thuringia (16,100 km², 1.04×) and Saxony (18,200 km², 1.18×).
Counted as a country, Schleswig-Holstein would be larger than 81 of the 239 countries and territories listed on sizeversus, and would rank 159th by area, between Eswatini (17,100 km²) and East Timor (15,100 km²).
With 3.0 million people it would rank 137th of 238 by population.
Schleswig-Holstein has 191 people per km², about the density of Uganda, which has 195 per km².
That makes Schleswig-Holstein the 10th most densely populated of the 16 states, 82% of the average for Germany (232 per km²).
On a standard web map (Web Mercator), a place at 54°N is drawn about 2.9× too large in area, so Schleswig-Holstein looks bigger there than it is.
Laid out flat, Schleswig-Holstein stretches about 190 km north to south and 196 km east to west.
Our measured 15,400 km² is 2.3% below Wikidata's official figure of 15,800 km². Official figures can include inland water or count land that an outline draws differently.

About the same size as

About as many people 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.

Compare Schleswig-Holstein

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

Full method

Schleswig-Holstein

Facts

What the numbers say about Schleswig-Holstein

About the same size as

About as many people as

Beside the regions of other countries

Where Schleswig-Holstein sits in Germany

Ranked within Germany

Compare Schleswig-Holstein

Schleswig-Holstein

Facts

What the numbers say about Schleswig-Holstein

About the same size as

About as many people as

Beside the regions of other countries

Where Schleswig-Holstein sits in Germany

Ranked within Germany

Compare Schleswig-Holstein

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