Same size, very different crowds
Some places cover the same ground and hold wildly different numbers of people; others hold the same number of people on wildly different amounts of land. Here are the biggest gaps we can find, worked out from the data.
Nearly the same area, very different populations
Pairs whose areas are within 10% of each other, ranked by how much larger the population is on one side. Each place appears once.
3,589×the people
Mexico and Nunavut, Canada cover about the same area, 1,958,000 and 2,080,000 km². Mexico has 132.3 million people (Wikidata, 2024), Nunavut 37,000 (Wikidata, 2021).
2,080×the people
Sichuan, China and Yukon, Canada cover about the same area, 485,000 and 484,000 km². Sichuan has 83.7 million people (Wikidata, 2020), Yukon 40,000 (Wikidata, 2021).
1,869×the people
Democratic Republic of the Congo and Greenland cover about the same area, 2,325,000 and 2,154,000 km². Democratic Republic of the Congo has 105.8 million people (Wikidata, 2023), Greenland 57,000 (Wikidata, 2023).
895×the people
Angola and Northwest Territories, Canada cover about the same area, 1,245,000 and 1,348,000 km². Angola has 36.7 million people (Wikidata, 2023), Northwest Territories 41,000 (Wikidata, 2021).
427×the people
Uttar Pradesh, India and Wyoming, United States cover about the same area, 240,000 and 253,000 km². Uttar Pradesh has 246.3 million people (Wikidata, 2025), Wyoming 577,000 (Wikidata, 2020).
317×the people
West Bengal, India and French Guiana, France cover about the same area, 86,400 and 83,200 km². West Bengal has 91.3 million people (Wikidata, 2011), French Guiana 288,000 (Wikidata, 2022).
304×the people
Bangladesh and Suriname cover about the same area, 137,000 and 145,000 km². Bangladesh has 171.5 million people (Wikidata, 2023), Suriname 563,000 (Wikidata, 2017).
285×the people
Bihar, India and Iceland cover about the same area, 94,700 and 102,000 km². Bihar has 103.8 million people (Wikidata, 2011), Iceland 364,000 (Wikidata, 2019).
Nearly the same population, very different areas
Pairs whose populations are within 10% of each other, ranked by how much larger one area is. Each place appears once.
1,106×the area
Queensland, Australia and Bangkok, Thailand have about the same number of people, 5.6 million and 5.7 million. Queensland covers 1,730,000 km², Bangkok 1,560 km²: 0.1% of it.
1,095×the area
Quebec, Canada and Mexico City, Mexico have about the same number of people, 8.5 million and 8.9 million. Quebec covers 1,506,000 km², Mexico City 1,380 km²: 0.1% of it.
752×the area
Alaska, United States and Pattani, Thailand have about the same number of people, 733,000 and 726,000. Alaska covers 1,505,000 km², Pattani 2,000 km²: 0.1% of it.
663×the area
Pará, Brazil and Osaka, Japan have about the same number of people, 8.1 million and 8.8 million. Pará covers 1,231,000 km², Osaka 1,860 km²: 0.2% of it.
614×the area
Northern Territory, Australia and Nakhon Nayok, Thailand have about the same number of people, 262,000 and 260,000. Northern Territory covers 1,348,000 km², Nakhon Nayok 2,200 km²: 0.2% of it.
494×the area
Ontario, Canada and Tokyo, Japan have about the same number of people, 14.2 million and 14.3 million. Ontario covers 1,078,000 km², Tokyo 2,180 km²: 0.2% of it.
440×the area
Saskatchewan, Canada and Pathum Thani, Thailand have about the same number of people, 1.1 million and 1.2 million. Saskatchewan covers 651,000 km², Pathum Thani 1,480 km²: 0.2% of it.
436×the area
Western Australia, Australia and Federal District, Brazil have about the same number of people, 3.0 million and 2.8 million. Western Australia covers 2,528,000 km², Federal District 5,790 km²: 0.2% of it.
How these were found
- Places
- Countries from Natural Earth (public domain), leaving out dependencies, places whose status is contested, places drawn as separate entries of a country that has region pages (Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) and anything under 1,000 km²; and the first-level divisions of China, the United States, India, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, Brazil, Canada, Australia, Mexico and Thailand from Natural Earth’s admin-1 file (public domain).
- Rule
- Two places count as the same size, or as having the same population, when the figures are within 10% of each other. A place and the country it belongs to are never paired. Within each ranking a place appears once, so the list is not one story told eight times.
- Population
- The newest figure Wikidata holds (CC0), or Natural Earth’s estimate for a country without one, with the year shown. Years differ between places, so a pair is a comparison of two published figures, not of one census.
- Area
- Measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid from the full-detail outlines; a country’s area is its main territory. Official figures can differ from the measured ones; each place’s page shows both.