Prefecture of Japan
Niigata
新潟県Niigata is a prefecture of Japan. It covers about 12,500 km² (4,810 mi²), the 5th largest of the 47 prefectures in Natural Earth’s file for Japan, and about the same size as the Bahamas. About 2.2 million people live there (Wikidata, 2021).
200 km
- Bahamas
- Niigata
Facts
| Area, measured | 12,500 km²4,810 mi² |
|---|---|
| Official area | 12,600 km²Wikidata · agrees with our measure |
| Share of Japan | 3.3%of the area of the 47 prefectures |
| Rank by area | 5th of 47prefectures of Japan |
| Population | 2.2 millionWikidata, 2021 |
| Density | 176 people per km² |
| Capital | Niigata |
| Latitude range | 37°N to 39°N |
| Type | PrefectureJP-15 |
What the numbers say about Niigata
- Niigata covers 3.3% of the area of Japan and ranks 15th of 47 by population, against 5th by area.
- It would take 30.0 prefectures the size of Niigata to cover Japan.
- The largest, Hokkaido (Japan), is 6.33× the size of Niigata; the smallest, Kagawa, is 15% of it.
- Closest in size within Japan: Akita (11,700 km², 1.06×) and Nagano (13,700 km², 1.10×).
- Counted as a country, Niigata would be larger than 78 of the 239 countries and territories listed on sizeversus, and would rank 162nd by area, between the Bahamas (12,600 km²) and Vanuatu (12,300 km²).
- With 2.2 million people it would rank 146th of 238 by population.
- Niigata has 176 people per km², about the density of Uganda, which has 195 per km².
- That makes Niigata the 34th most densely populated of the 47 prefectures, 52% of the average for Japan (338 per km²).
- On a standard web map (Web Mercator), a place at 38°N is drawn about 1.6× too large in area, so Niigata looks bigger there than it is.
- Laid out flat, Niigata stretches about 202 km north to south and 199 km east to west.
- Wikidata's official figure of 12,600 km² agrees with our measured area of 12,500 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.
- ChinaAreaTianjin1.09× · 11,500 km²PeopleTibet60% · 3.6 million (2020)
- United StatesAreaConnecticut0.98× · 12,700 km²PeopleNew Mexico1.04× · 2.1 million (2020)
- IndiaAreaTripura1.16× · 10,700 km²PeopleNagaland1.11× · 2.0 million (2011)
- GermanyAreaSchleswig-Holstein81% · 15,400 km²PeopleSaxony-Anhalt1.02× · 2.1 million (2022)
- FranceAreaÎle-de-France1.03× · 12,100 km²PeopleCentre-Val de Loire85% · 2.6 million (2022)
- ItalyAreaCampania0.92× · 13,500 km²PeopleCalabria1.13× · 1.9 million (2019)
- SpainAreaMurcia1.10× · 11,300 km²PeopleCanary Islands0.98× · 2.2 million (2024)
- BrazilAreaSergipe58% · 21,600 km²PeopleSergipe0.99× · 2.2 million (2022)
- CanadaAreanone within 2×PeopleManitoba1.63× · 1.3 million (2021)
- AustraliaAreanone within 2×PeopleSouth Australia1.16× · 1.9 million (2024)
- MexicoAreaQuerétaro1.06× · 11,700 km²PeopleYucatán0.94× · 2.3 million (2020)
- ThailandAreaPhetchabun1.00× · 12,400 km²PeopleUbon Ratchathani1.17× · 1.9 million (2020)
Where Niigata sits in Japan
All 47 drawn on one equal-area map, so sizes are comparable. Select another to open it.
Compare Niigata
- Sergipe vs Niigata
- Connecticut vs Niigata
- Lampang vs Niigata
- Bahamas vs Niigata
- Niigata vs Vanuatu
- Belgium vs Niigata
- Slovenia vs Niigata
- Montenegro vs Niigata
- Niigata vs Tianjin
- Niigata vs Tripura
- Niigata vs Querétaro
- Niigata vs Murcia
- Niigata vs Île-de-France
- Schleswig-Holstein vs Niigata
- Campania vs Niigata
- Niigata vs Phetchabun
- Niigata vs Canary Islands
- Niigata vs Basque Country
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, 2021. Japan’s units share the 2021 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