States and union territories of India, matched to countries
Natural Earth’s file divides India into 36 states and union territories. Below, each is drawn at true scale and matched to the country closest to it in area and in population.
Part of the boundary of Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir is disputed. Size Versus draws Natural Earth’s de facto outline, the boundary as it is held on the ground, and takes no position on it.
Population: the 2011 figures Wikidata holds, for 33 of the 36 states and union territories. The only figure it has for Uttar Pradesh (2025), Chhattisgarh (2020) and Andaman and Nicobar Islands (2005) is a different year, and it is shown with that year. Every population on these pages carries its year; they are not one count taken on one day.
At a glance
- Rajasthan, the largest, is 10,061× the size of Lakshadweep, the smallest.
- The five largest, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, cover 44% of India.
- 3 of the 36 are larger than the United Kingdom (244,000 km²).
- None of the 36 is larger than France (548,000 km²).
- Delhi, the most crowded, has 11,325 people per km²: 2,653× Ladakh, the least crowded (4.3).
- Half of the people counted live in the 6 most populous (Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu), which cover 37% of the area; the years of the figures differ.
- 22 of the 36 have more people than the median of the 38 European countries listed here (6.6 million), and Uttar Pradesh more than Russia, the most populous at 146.1 million.
- 10 would rank among the 30 most populous countries if counted as one: Uttar Pradesh (5th), Maharashtra (15th), Bihar (16th), West Bengal (18th), Madhya Pradesh (20th), Tamil Nadu (20th) and others.
- 23 of the 36 are within 10% in area of a European country, among them Jammu and Kashmir and Denmark (1.00×), Jharkhand and Serbia (1.00×), Ladakh and Latvia (1.01×).
Every state or union territory matched to a country
Largest first. The matches are the countries closest in area and in population from Natural Earth’s country list; contested places and dependencies are never used as matches. Population is the newest figure Wikidata holds, with its year.
- Rajasthan343,000 km² · 68.5 million (2011)Size ofRepublic of the Congo0.99× · 345,000 km²People ofFrance1.00× · 68.6 million
- Madhya Pradesh310,000 km² · 72.6 million (2011)Size ofOman0.99× · 311,000 km²People ofFrance1.06× · 68.6 million
- Maharashtra307,000 km² · 112.4 million (2011)Size ofOman0.99× · 311,000 km²People ofPhilippines1.00× · 112.7 million
- Uttar Pradesh240,000 km² · 246.3 million (2025)Size ofUganda0.99× · 242,000 km²People ofPakistan1.10× · 223.8 million
- Karnataka192,000 km² · 61.1 million (2011)Size ofSenegal0.98× · 196,000 km²People ofSouth Africa0.99× · 62.0 million
- Gujarat184,000 km² · 60.4 million (2011)Size ofSyria0.99× · 186,000 km²People ofItaly1.03× · 58.9 million
- Andhra Pradesh161,000 km² · 49.6 million (2011)Size ofTunisia1.03× · 157,000 km²People ofSpain1.02× · 48.6 million
- Odisha155,000 km² · 42.0 million (2011)Size ofTunisia0.99× · 157,000 km²People ofAfghanistan1.01× · 41.5 million
- Chhattisgarh135,000 km² · 29.4 million (2020)Size ofBangladesh0.98× · 137,000 km²People ofMozambique0.99× · 29.7 million
- Tamil Nadu131,000 km² · 72.1 million (2011)Size ofGreece0.99× · 131,000 km²People ofFrance1.05× · 68.6 million
- Telangana115,000 km² · 35.2 million (2011)Size ofBenin0.99× · 116,000 km²People ofUzbekistan1.01× · 34.9 million
- Bihar94,700 km² · 103.8 million (2011)Size ofLiberia0.99× · 95,300 km²People ofDemocratic Republic of the Congo0.98× · 105.8 million
- West Bengal86,400 km² · 91.3 million (2011)Size ofAzerbaijan1.00× · 86,200 km²People ofIran0.99× · 92.4 million
- Arunachal Pradesh80,600 km² · 1.4 million (2011)Size ofCzechia1.02× · 78,800 km²People ofEstonia1.01× · 1.4 million
- Assam79,500 km² · 31.2 million (2011)Size ofCzechia1.01× · 78,800 km²People ofIvory Coast1.00× · 31.2 million
- Jharkhand77,900 km² · 33.0 million (2011)Size ofSerbia1.00× · 77,600 km²People ofSaudi Arabia1.00× · 33.0 million
- Ladakh64,300 km² · 274,000 (2011)Size ofLatvia1.00× · 64,600 km²People ofVanuatu0.91× · 300,000
- Himachal Pradesh55,400 km² · 6.9 million (2011)Size ofCroatia1.01× · 55,000 km²People ofLaos1.00× · 6.9 million
- Uttarakhand52,600 km² · 10.1 million (2011)Size ofBosnia and Herzegovina1.02× · 51,800 km²People ofAzerbaijan0.99× · 10.2 million
- Punjab50,400 km² · 27.7 million (2011)Size ofCosta Rica0.98× · 51,200 km²People ofAustralia1.00× · 27.6 million
- Haryana43,900 km² · 25.4 million (2011)Size ofDenmark1.03× · 42,700 km²People ofNorth Korea0.96× · 26.4 million
- Jammu and Kashmir42,600 km² · 12.3 million (2011)Size ofDenmark1.00× · 42,700 km²People ofBolivia1.00× · 12.2 million
- Kerala37,700 km² · 33.4 million (2011)Size ofNetherlands1.02× · 37,100 km²People ofSaudi Arabia1.01× · 33.0 million
- Meghalaya23,100 km² · 3.0 million (2011)Size ofBelize1.04× · 22,300 km²People ofArmenia1.01× · 2.9 million
- Manipur21,700 km² · 2.9 million (2011)Size ofDjibouti0.99× · 21,800 km²People ofLithuania1.00× · 2.9 million
- Mizoram21,200 km² · 1.1 million (2011)Size ofDjibouti0.97× · 21,800 km²People ofDjibouti0.95× · 1.2 million
- Nagaland16,300 km² · 2.0 million (2011)Size ofEswatini0.95× · 17,100 km²People ofLesotho0.99× · 2.0 million
- Tripura10,700 km² · 3.7 million (2011)Size ofGambia1.02× · 10,500 km²People ofBosnia and Herzegovina0.96× · 3.8 million
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands7,110 km² · 356,000 (2005)Size ofBrunei1.24× · 5,720 km²People ofIceland0.98× · 364,000
- Sikkim6,940 km² · 658,000 (2011)Size ofBrunei1.21× · 5,720 km²People ofLuxembourg0.95× · 691,000
- Goa3,420 km² · 1.5 million (2011)Size ofCape Verde87% · 3,930 km²People ofEast Timor1.04× · 1.4 million
- Delhi1,480 km² · 16.8 million (2011)Size ofComoros89% · 1,670 km²People ofSenegal0.99× · 16.9 million
- Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu574 km² · 586,000 (2011)Size ofIsle of Man1.00× · 575 km²People ofSuriname1.04× · 563,000
- Puducherry526 km² · 1.4 million (2011)Size ofPalau1.07× · 492 km²People ofEast Timor1.00× · 1.4 million
- Chandigarh119 km² · 1.1 million (2011)Size ofJersey1.00× · 119 km²People ofDjibouti0.92× · 1.2 million
- Lakshadweep34.1 km² · 64,000 (2011)Size ofSint Maarten1.00× · 34.0 km²People ofGreenland1.14× · 57,000
Too small to see on the map
At the scale of the map these units are a few pixels wide or less, so they are ringed on the map and drawn here as discs of true relative area. Each is matched to the small countries and island nations, not to the countries of 1,000 km² and more.
- Delhi1,480 km² · official 1,48089% Comoros1,670 km²
- Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu574 km² · official 6031.00× Isle of Man575 km²
- Puducherry526 km² · official 4921.07× Palau492 km²
- Chandigarh119 km² · official 1141.00× Jersey119 km²
- Lakshadweep34.1 km² · official 32.01.00× Sint Maarten34.0 km²
The closest matches in size
How crowded they are
What the reorganisations did to the numbers
India has reorganised its units. Undoing each change on today’s outlines shows what it did to the size and rank of the units. The years are from this site’s configuration; the numbers are added up from the outlines and Wikidata’s figures.
- 2014
Until 2014, Andhra Pradesh covered what is now Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
275,000 km² added together, about the same size as Burkina Faso. As one unit: 4th of 35 by area, 5th by people with 84.8 million (2011), 0.99× as many as Turkey. As two: Andhra Pradesh 7th and Telangana 11th of 36.
Wikidata still holds an older area of 275,000 km² for the undivided whole: within 0.1% of the two outlines added up.
- 2019
Until 2019, the state of Jammu and Kashmir covered what is now Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
107,000 km² added together, about the same size as Guatemala. As one unit: 12th of 35 by area, 20th by people with 12.5 million (2011), the same as South Sudan. As two: Jammu and Kashmir 22nd and Ladakh 17th of 36.
- 2020
In 2020, the two union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and of Daman and Diu were merged into one: Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
574 km², drawn by Natural Earth as 3 separate pieces of 516, 50.4 and 8.1 km². The pieces are too small for the 1:10m file to draw well; the official figure is 603 km².
The outline against the official figure
Natural Earth’s 36 outlines add up to 3,151,000 km². Wikidata gives India 3,288,000 km², 137,000 km² (4.2%) more. Where the difference sits, as far as this file can say:
- Gilgit-Baltistandrawn as part of Pakistan65,200 km²
- Azad Kashmirdrawn as part of Pakistan12,000 km²
- Siachen Glaciera feature of its own in the file2,090 km²
- Drawn beside the 36, not in them58% of the difference79,300 km²
- Not separable in this filethe rest of the difference57,600 km²
Where the file puts a few named reference points:
- A point near the centre of Aksai Chin: inside Xinjiang (China)
- A point in the Shaksgam Valley: inside Xinjiang (China)
- Tawang, in the west of Arunachal Pradesh: inside Arunachal Pradesh
- A point in the far north of Arunachal Pradesh: inside Arunachal Pradesh
- Kalapani, in the east of Uttarakhand: inside Uttarakhand
Wikidata’s own figures for the 36 units add up to 3,169,000 km², 119,000 km² (3.6%) less than its figure for India: the units’ figures and the country’s do not describe the same land.
| Boundary contested | Outline | Wikidata | Outline against it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arunachal Pradesh | 80,600 km² | 83,700 km² | −3.8% |
| Ladakh | 64,300 km² | 59,200 km² | +8.5% |
| Uttarakhand | 52,600 km² | 53,600 km² | −1.7% |
| Jammu and Kashmir | 42,600 km² | 42,200 km² | +0.7% |
Size Versus draws one outline for every reader, in every language and wherever they are. Other maps draw these lines differently; this site does not choose between them.
Beside the regions of other countries
Every state or union territory also has a closest match, by area and by people, among the 359 regions of the other 12 countries. All the matches, in both directions, are on one page.
Sources and method
- Outlines
- Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 1 - States, Provinces, public domain. The 36 listed are all of the features Natural Earth has for India.
- Boundary
- De facto, as drawn by Natural Earth.
- Area
- Measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid from the full-detail outlines, shown rounded. The 36 areas add up to 3,151,000 km², within 0.1% of the country’s measured area.
- Official figures
- Area, population and capital from Wikidata (CC0), fetched 2026-11-12. Population is the 2011 figure where Wikidata has it, otherwise its newest; the year is shown. Where Wikidata qualifies an area as one part of a unit, the whole-unit statement is used (Delhi).
- Labels checked
- Natural Earth’s labels were compared with Wikidata’s. Natural Earth gives Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh another type than Wikidata does; the page follows Wikidata. 4 ISO 3166-2 codes differ (Uttarakhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Telangana); no code is shown for those.
- Data built
- 2026-11-12