State of the United States

North Dakota

North Dakota is a state of the United States. It covers about 183,000 km² (70,600 mi²), the 18th largest of the 51 states and districts in Natural Earth’s file for the United States, and about the same size as Cambodia. About 779,000 people live there (Wikidata, 2020).

In area1.01×the size ofCambodia181,000 km² In people0.99×as many people asBhutan787,000

100 km

North Dakota
Cambodia

Facts

Area, measured	183,000 km²70,600 mi²
Official area	183,000 km²Wikidata · agrees with our measure
Share of the United States	1.9%of the area of the 51 states and districts
Rank by area	18th of 51states and districts of the United States
Population	779,000Wikidata, 2020 · the census year of every unit
Density	4.3 people per km²
Capital	Bismarck
Latitude range	46°N to 49°N
Type	StateUS-ND

What the numbers say about North Dakota

North Dakota covers 1.9% of the area of the United States and ranks 47th of 51 by population, against 18th by area.
It would take 51.8 states and districts the size of North Dakota to cover the United States.
North Dakota holds 0.2% of the 331.4 million people that Wikidata’s 2020 figures give for the 51 states and districts together: about 1 in 425.
The largest, Alaska, is 8.24× the size of North Dakota; the smallest, Washington, D.C., is less than 0.1% of it.
Closest in size within the United States: Oklahoma (181,000 km², 1.01×) and Missouri (180,000 km², 1.01×).
Counted as a country, North Dakota would be larger than 151 of the 239 countries and territories listed on sizeversus, and would rank 89th by area, between Syria (186,000 km²) and Cambodia (181,000 km²).
With 779,000 people it would rank 166th of 238 by population.
North Dakota has 4.3 people per km², about the density of Botswana, which has 4.3 per km².
That makes North Dakota the 48th most densely populated of the 51 states and districts, 12% of the average for the United States (35 per km²).
On a standard web map (Web Mercator), a place at 47°N is drawn about 2.2× too large in area, so North Dakota looks bigger there than it is.
Laid out flat, North Dakota stretches about 339 km north to south and 579 km east to west.
Wikidata's official figure of 183,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 183,000 km², to within 2%.

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.

ChinaAreaHubei0.98× · 186,000 km²Peoplenone within 2×
IndiaAreaGujarat0.99× · 184,000 km² PeopleSikkim1.18× · 658,000 (2011)
GermanyAreanone within 2×PeopleBremen1.12× · 693,000 (2022)
FranceAreanone within 2×PeopleRéunion (France)88% · 881,000 (2022)
ItalyAreanone within 2×PeopleUmbria88% · 882,000 (2019)
SpainAreaCastile and León1.93× · 94,800 km² PeopleNavarre1.15× · 678,000 (2024)
JapanAreanone within 2×PeopleFukui1.02× · 765,000 (2021)
BrazilAreaParaná0.92× · 199,000 km² PeopleAmapá1.06× · 734,000 (2022)
CanadaAreanone within 2×PeopleNew Brunswick1.00× · 776,000 (2021)
AustraliaAreaVictoria80% · 228,000 km² PeopleTasmania (Australia)1.44× · 540,000 (2020)
MexicoAreaSonora1.02× · 179,000 km² PeopleColima1.07× · 731,000 (2020)
ThailandAreanone within 2×PeopleNarathiwat0.97× · 804,000 (2020)

Where North Dakota ranks

North Dakota is the 18th 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 North Dakota

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