State of the United States
Illinois
Illinois is a state of the United States. It covers about 150,000 km² (58,000 mi²), the 24th largest of the 51 states and districts in Natural Earth’s file for the United States, and about the same size as Nepal. About 12.8 million people live there (Wikidata, 2020).
200 km
- Illinois
- Nepal
Facts
| Area, measured | 150,000 km²58,000 mi² |
|---|---|
| Official area | 150,000 km²Wikidata · agrees with our measure |
| Share of the United States | 1.6%of the area of the 51 states and districts |
| Rank by area | 24th of 51states and districts of the United States |
| Population | 12.8 millionWikidata, 2020 · the census year of every unit |
| Density | 85 people per km² |
| Capital | Springfield |
| Latitude range | 37°N to 43°N |
| Type | StateUS-IL |
What the numbers say about Illinois
- Illinois covers 1.6% of the area of the United States and ranks 6th of 51 by population, against 24th by area.
- It would take 63.0 states and districts the size of Illinois to cover the United States.
- Illinois holds 3.9% of the 331.4 million people that Wikidata’s 2020 figures give for the 51 states and districts together: about 1 in 26.
- The largest, Alaska, is 10.0× the size of Illinois; the smallest, Washington, D.C., is 0.1% of it.
- Closest in size within the United States: Georgia (United States) (152,000 km², 1.01×) and Florida (147,000 km², 1.02×).
- Counted as a country, Illinois would be larger than 147 of the 239 countries and territories listed on sizeversus, and would rank 93rd by area, between Tunisia (157,000 km²) and Nepal (147,000 km²).
- With 12.8 million people it would rank 78th of 238 by population.
- Illinois has 85 people per km², about the density of Serbia, which has 85 per km².
- That makes Illinois the 14th most densely populated of the 51 states and districts, 2.44× the average for the United States (35 per km²).
- On a standard web map (Web Mercator), a place at 40°N is drawn about 1.7× too large in area, so Illinois looks bigger there than it is.
- Laid out flat, Illinois stretches about 616 km north to south and 376 km east to west.
- Wikidata's official figure of 150,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 150,000 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.
- ChinaAreaLiaoning1.02× · 147,000 km²PeopleTianjin0.92× · 13.9 million (2020)
- IndiaAreaOdisha0.97× · 155,000 km²PeopleJammu and Kashmir1.05× · 12.3 million (2011)
- GermanyAreanone within 2×PeopleBavaria0.98× · 13.0 million (2022)
- FranceAreaNouvelle-Aquitaine1.77× · 85,000 km²PeopleÎle-de-France1.03× · 12.4 million (2022)
- ItalyAreanone within 2×PeopleLombardy1.27× · 10.1 million (2019)
- SpainAreaCastile and León1.58× · 94,800 km²PeopleAndalusia1.49× · 8.6 million (2024)
- JapanAreaHokkaido (Japan)1.91× · 78,800 km²PeopleTokyo90% · 14.3 million (2022)
- BrazilAreaCeará1.00× · 150,000 km²PeopleBahia0.91× · 14.1 million (2022)
- CanadaAreanone within 2×PeopleOntario0.90× · 14.2 million (2021)
- AustraliaAreaVictoria66% · 228,000 km²PeopleNew South Wales1.50× · 8.5 million (2024)
- MexicoAreaCoahuila0.99× · 151,000 km²PeopleState of Mexico79% · 16.2 million (2015)
Where Illinois ranks
Illinois is the 24th largest of the 51 states and districts of the United States.
Compare Illinois
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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, 2020. United States’s units share the 2020 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