Asia · Eastern Asia
Japan
Japan covers about 374,000 km² (144,000 mi²), the 64th largest of the 246 places listed here. That is close to Norway, at about 382,000 km².
- 374,000km²Area, main territory
- 123.8 millionPopulation
- 12.2In Belgiums
500 km
- Japan
Facts
| Area, main territory | 374,000 km²144,000 mi² |
|---|---|
| Official area | 378,000 km²Wikidata · agrees with our measure |
| In Belgiums | 12.2 |
| Capital | Tokyo |
| Population | 123.8 millionWikidata, 2024 |
| Density | 331 people per km² |
| Latitude range | 24°N to 46°N |
| In other languages | Japón Español · Japon Français · Japão Português · 日本 日本語 · 日本 中文 · 일본 한국어 |
| Continent | Asia#17 of 51 countries by area |
What the numbers say about Japan
- Russia, the largest place listed, is 45.5× the size of Japan.
- Japan ranks 12th of 237 by population but only 63rd of 239 by area: it holds more people than its size suggests.
- At 331 people per km², Japan is the 18th most densely populated of the 185 places over 1,000 km²; the median is 72 per km².
- On a standard web map (Web Mercator), a place at 37°N is drawn about 1.6× too large in area, so Japan looks bigger there than it is.
- Laid out flat, Japan's main territory stretches about 2,270 km north to south and 2,080 km east to west.
- Wikidata's official figure of 378,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 374,000 km², to within 2%.
How Japan measures up
Japan holds 1.2% of the land area and 2.7% of the people of the 51 countries listed for Asia. In Eastern Asia it is the 3rd largest of 8.
| Where it ranks | Figure | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 374,000 km² | 63rd of 239 |
| Population | 123.8 million | 12th of 237 |
| Density | 331 per km² | 18th of 185 |
| Farthest north | 37.4°N | 63rd of 212 |
| Compared with | Its area | Japan is |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 30,700 km² | 12.2× its size |
| United Kingdom | 244,000 km² | 1.53× its size |
| Germany | 358,000 km² | 1.04× its size |
| France | 548,000 km² | 0.68× its size |
| India | 3,151,000 km² | 0.12× its size |
| Brazil | 8,473,000 km² | 0.04× its size |
| United States | 9,447,000 km² | 0.04× its size |
| Russia | 16,980,000 km² | 0.02× its size |
Where Japan sits
- Japan's centre lies at 37.4°N, 137.6°E, in the northern and eastern hemispheres, about 4,160 km from the equator.
- Its main territory spans 24°N to 46°N, about 2,370 km from its southern edge to its northern.
Closest neighbours, by distance between centres
On the same latitude, elsewhere in the world
If Japan had other densities
- At Bangladesh's density of 1,252 people per km², Japan would have 467.8 million people. It has 123.8 million.
- At Canada's density of 3.7 people per km², Japan would have 1.4 million people. It has 123.8 million.
- At the median density of the places listed, 72 per km², it would have 27.0 million.
Prefectures of Japan
Natural Earth’s file divides Japan into 47 prefectures. Each has its own page, drawn at true size and matched to the countries closest to it in area and in people.
About the same size as
Largest in Asia
Compare Japan
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Sources and method
- Outline
- Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 0 - Countries, public domain
- Boundary
- De facto, as drawn by Natural Earth.
- Area
- Measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid from the full-detail outline, shown rounded
- Official figures
- Area, population and capital from Wikidata (CC0), fetched 2026-11-11
- Population
- Wikidata, 2024; covers the whole country, overseas territory included
- Data built
- 2026-11-11