Prefecture of Japan
Shimane
島根県Shimane is a prefecture of Japan. It covers about 6,880 km² (2,660 mi²), the 19th largest of the 47 prefectures in Natural Earth’s file for Japan, and 1.20× the size of Brunei. About 665,000 people live there (Wikidata, 2021).
50 km
- Shimane
- Brunei
Facts
| Area, measured | 6,880 km²2,660 mi² |
|---|---|
| Official area | 6,710 km²Wikidata · 2.5% below our measure |
| Share of Japan | 1.8%of the area of the 47 prefectures |
| Rank by area | 19th of 47prefectures of Japan |
| Population | 665,000Wikidata, 2021 |
| Density | 97 people per km² |
| Capital | Matsue |
| Latitude range | 34°N to 36°N |
| Type | PrefectureJP-32 |
What the numbers say about Shimane
- Shimane covers 1.8% of the area of Japan and ranks 46th of 47 by population, against 19th by area.
- It would take 54.3 prefectures the size of Shimane to cover Japan.
- The largest, Hokkaido (Japan), is 11.5× the size of Shimane; the smallest, Kagawa, is 27% of it.
- Closest in size within Japan: Okayama (6,930 km², 1.01×) and Kochi (7,090 km², 1.03×).
- Counted as a country, Shimane would be larger than 69 of the 239 countries and territories listed on sizeversus, and would rank 171st by area, between French Southern and Antarctic Lands (6,990 km²) and Palestine (6,070 km²).
- With 665,000 people it would rank 167th of 238 by population.
- Shimane has 97 people per km², about the density of Cambodia, which has 96 per km².
- That makes Shimane the 44th most densely populated of the 47 prefectures, 29% of the average for Japan (338 per km²).
- On a standard web map (Web Mercator), a place at 35°N is drawn about 1.5× too large in area, so Shimane looks bigger there than it is.
- Laid out flat, Shimane stretches about 227 km north to south and 156 km east to west.
- Our measured 6,880 km² is 2.5% above Wikidata's official figure of 6,710 km². Official figures can include inland water or count land that an outline draws differently.
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.
- ChinaAreaShanghai1.02× · 6,750 km²Peoplenone within 2×
- United StatesAreaDelaware1.33× · 5,170 km²PeopleVermont1.03× · 643,000 (2020)
- IndiaAreaSikkim0.99× · 6,940 km²PeopleSikkim1.01× · 658,000 (2011)
- GermanyAreanone within 2×PeopleBremen0.96× · 693,000 (2022)
- FranceAreaCorsica (France)79% · 8,670 km²PeopleRéunion (France)75% · 881,000 (2022)
- ItalyAreaFriuli-Venezia Giulia0.94× · 7,340 km²PeopleBasilicata1.18× · 563,000 (2019)
- SpainAreaBasque Country0.97× · 7,060 km²PeopleNavarre0.98× · 678,000 (2024)
- BrazilAreaFederal District1.19× · 5,790 km²PeopleRoraima1.04× · 637,000 (2022)
- CanadaAreaPrince Edward Island1.20× · 5,730 km²PeopleNew Brunswick86% · 776,000 (2021)
- AustraliaAreanone within 2×PeopleTasmania (Australia)1.23× · 540,000 (2020)
- MexicoAreaColima1.17× · 5,880 km²PeopleBaja California Sur1.04× · 637,000 (2010)
- ThailandAreaKalasin1.00× · 6,840 km²PeopleTak0.99× · 670,000 (2020)
Where Shimane sits in Japan
All 47 drawn on one equal-area map, so sizes are comparable. Select another to open it.
Compare Shimane
- Tak vs Shimane
- Sikkim vs Shimane
- Shimane vs Brunei
- Shimane vs Cyprus
- Shimane vs Luxembourg
- Montenegro vs Shimane
- Shimane vs Prince Edward Island
- Shimane vs Shanghai
- Shimane vs Federal District
- Shimane vs Delaware
- Shimane vs Colima
- Basque Country vs Shimane
- Corsica (France) vs Shimane
- Friuli-Venezia Giulia vs Shimane
- Shimane vs Kalasin
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