State of the United States

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state of the United States. It covers about 120,000 km² (46,200 mi²), the 32nd largest of the 51 states and districts in Natural Earth’s file for the United States, and about the same size as Malawi. About 4.7 million people live there (Wikidata, 2020).

In area1.00×the size ofMalawi119,000 km² In people0.98×as many people asMauritania4.7 million

100 km

Louisiana
Malawi

Facts

Area, measured	120,000 km²46,200 mi²
Official area	135,000 km²Wikidata · 12% above our measure
Share of the United States	1.3%of the area of the 51 states and districts
Rank by area	32nd of 51states and districts of the United States
Population	4.7 millionWikidata, 2020 · the census year of every unit
Density	39 people per km²
Capital	Baton Rouge
Latitude range	29°N to 33°N
Type	StateUS-LA

What the numbers say about Louisiana

Louisiana covers 1.3% of the area of the United States and ranks 25th of 51 by population, against 32nd by area.
It would take 79.2 states and districts the size of Louisiana to cover the United States.
Louisiana holds 1.4% of the 331.4 million people that Wikidata’s 2020 figures give for the 51 states and districts together: about 1 in 71.
The largest, Alaska, is 12.6× the size of Louisiana; the smallest, Washington, D.C., is 0.1% of it.
Closest in size within the United States: Pennsylvania (119,000 km², 1.00×) and Ohio (116,000 km², 1.03×).
Counted as a country, Louisiana would be larger than 139 of the 239 countries and territories listed on sizeversus, and would rank 101st by area, between North Korea (122,000 km²) and Malawi (119,000 km²).
With 4.7 million people it would rank 128th of 238 by population.
Louisiana has 39 people per km², about the density of Zimbabwe, which has 39 per km².
That makes Louisiana the 26th most densely populated of the 51 states and districts, 1.11× the average for the United States (35 per km²).
On a standard web map (Web Mercator), a place at 31°N is drawn about 1.4× too large in area, so Louisiana looks bigger there than it is.
Laid out flat, Louisiana stretches about 453 km north to south and 483 km east to west.
Our measured 120,000 km² is 12% below Wikidata's official figure of 135,000 km². Official figures can include inland water or count land that an outline draws differently. This difference is flagged for review.

About the same size as

About as many people 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.

Where Louisiana ranks

Louisiana is the 32nd largest of the 51 states and districts of the United States.

Ranked within the United States

All 51 states and districts of the United States, matched to countries

Compare Louisiana

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

Full method