Prefecture of Japan
Wakayama
和歌山県Wakayama is a prefecture of Japan. It covers about 4,430 km² (1,710 mi²), the 32nd largest of the 47 prefectures in Natural Earth’s file for Japan, and 1.13× the size of Cape Verde. About 911,000 people live there (Wikidata, 2021).
50 km
- Wakayama
- Cape Verde
Facts
| Area, measured | 4,430 km²1,710 mi² |
|---|---|
| Official area | 4,730 km²Wikidata · 6.3% above our measure |
| Share of Japan | 1.2%of the area of the 47 prefectures |
| Rank by area | 32nd of 47prefectures of Japan |
| Population | 911,000Wikidata, 2021 |
| Density | 206 people per km² |
| Capital | Wakayama |
| Latitude range | 33°N to 34°N |
| Type | PrefectureJP-30 |
What the numbers say about Wakayama
- Wakayama covers 1.2% of the area of Japan and ranks 40th of 47 by population, against 32nd by area.
- It would take 84.3 prefectures the size of Wakayama to cover Japan.
- The largest, Hokkaido (Japan), is 17.8× the size of Wakayama; the smallest, Kagawa, is 42% of it.
- Closest in size within Japan: Toyama (4,370 km², 1.01×) and Yamanashi (4,510 km², 1.02×).
- Counted as a country, Wakayama would be larger than 65 of the 239 countries and territories listed on sizeversus, and would rank 175th by area, between Trinidad and Tobago (5,120 km²) and Cape Verde (3,930 km²).
- With 911,000 people it would rank 163rd of 238 by population.
- Wakayama has 206 people per km², about the density of Nepal, which has 198 per km².
- That makes Wakayama the 29th most densely populated of the 47 prefectures, 61% of the average for Japan (338 per km²).
- On a standard web map (Web Mercator), a place at 34°N is drawn about 1.5× too large in area, so Wakayama looks bigger there than it is.
- Laid out flat, Wakayama stretches about 104 km north to south and 87 km east to west.
- Our measured 4,430 km² is 6.3% below Wikidata's official figure of 4,730 km². Official figures can include inland water or count land that an outline draws differently. This difference is flagged for review.
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.
- ChinaAreaShanghai66% · 6,750 km²Peoplenone within 2×
- United StatesAreaDelaware86% · 5,170 km²PeopleSouth Dakota1.03× · 887,000 (2020)
- IndiaAreaGoa1.29× · 3,420 km²PeopleChandigarh86% · 1.1 million (2011)
- GermanyAreaSaarland1.67× · 2,650 km²PeopleSaarland0.90× · 1.0 million (2022)
- FranceAreaRéunion (France)1.71× · 2,580 km²PeopleRéunion (France)1.03× · 881,000 (2022)
- ItalyAreaMolise0.98× · 4,530 km²PeopleUmbria1.03× · 882,000 (2019)
- SpainAreaBalearic Islands87% · 5,120 km²PeopleAsturias0.90× · 1.0 million (2024)
- BrazilAreaFederal District76% · 5,790 km²PeopleAcre1.10× · 830,000 (2022)
- CanadaAreaPrince Edward Island77% · 5,730 km²PeopleNova Scotia0.94× · 969,000 (2021)
- AustraliaAreaAustralian Capital Territory1.89× · 2,350 km²PeopleTasmania (Australia)1.69× · 540,000 (2020)
- MexicoAreaTlaxcala1.14× · 3,870 km²PeopleCampeche0.98× · 928,000 (2020)
- ThailandAreaNarathiwat1.00× · 4,430 km²PeopleNakhon Pathom0.99× · 921,000 (2020)
Where Wakayama sits in Japan
All 47 drawn on one equal-area map, so sizes are comparable. Select another to open it.
Compare Wakayama
- Narathiwat vs Wakayama
- Wakayama vs Cape Verde
- Trinidad and Tobago vs Wakayama
- Wakayama vs Comoros
- Wakayama vs Luxembourg
- Wakayama vs Australian Capital Territory
- Prince Edward Island vs Wakayama
- Shanghai vs Wakayama
- Federal District vs Wakayama
- Delaware vs Wakayama
- Wakayama vs Goa
- Wakayama vs Tlaxcala
- Balearic Islands vs Wakayama
- Wakayama vs Réunion (France)
- Wakayama vs Saarland
- Molise vs Wakayama
- Campeche vs Wakayama
- Wakayama vs Nakhon Pathom
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