The True Size of Japan
Compare Japan with other countries and regions on an interactive map to see their actual relative sizes.
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Type a country name and press Enter to add it to the map.
How big is Japan?
Japan covers about 377,915 km² (145,914 sq mi). On a Mercator map its apparent size depends entirely on latitude — drag the outline above onto another part of the world to see how it really compares.
Japan on a Mercator map
The centre of this country lies at 37° N, where the Mercator projection stretches area by about 1.6×. Its outline takes up as much room on the map as 603,460 km² would at the equator.
Its real area is 377,915 km². The country closest to that size: Norway.
Japan compared with other countries
Total areas including inland water; ratios are rounded.
| Country | Area (km²) | Compared with Japan |
|---|---|---|
 Russia | 17,098,242 | 45× larger |
 Canada | 9,984,670 | 26× larger |
 United States | 9,833,517 | 26× larger |
 China | 9,596,960 | 25× larger |
 Brazil | 8,515,770 | 23× larger |
 Australia | 7,741,220 | 20× larger |
 India | 3,287,263 | 8.7× larger |
 Argentina | 2,780,400 | 7.4× larger |
 Greenland | 2,166,086 | 5.7× larger |
 Mexico | 1,964,375 | 5.2× larger |
 Indonesia | 1,904,569 | 5× larger |
 Pakistan | 796,095 | 2.1× larger |
 France | 643,801 | 1.7× larger |
 Ukraine | 603,550 | 1.6× larger |
 Poland | 312,685 | 1.2× smaller |
 New Zealand | 268,838 | 1.4× smaller |
 United Kingdom | 243,610 | 1.6× smaller |
 Netherlands | 41,543 | 9.1× smaller |
Countries closest in size to Japan
Measured on the globe from the same outlines the map draws, so the figures are approximate. Drag any of them next to Japan to see the difference for yourself.
Slightly larger
Norway384,265 km²3.8% larger
Zimbabwe390,203 km²5.4% larger
Paraguay400,901 km²8.3% larger
Slightly smaller
Germany356,164 km²3.8% smaller
Congo - Brazzaville346,858 km²6.3% smaller
Finland330,483 km²10.7% smaller
How big Japan looks at other latitudes
Drag the outline so its centre sits on each of these latitudes and the map draws it this many times larger than its real area. Mercator stretches area roughly by the square of the scale, so the growth is steep.
| Where it actually sits (37° N) | 1.6× its real size |
| At the equator (Indonesia, Kenya, Ecuador) | its real size |
| At 30° (Egypt, northern Mexico, central Argentina) | 1.3× its real size |
| At 45° (northern Italy, Minnesota, New Zealand) | 2× its real size |
| At 60° (Oslo, Helsinki, southern Alaska) | 4.1× its real size |
| At 72° (central Greenland) | 11.7× its real size |
Questions about the size of Japan
How big is Japan?+
Japan has a total area of about 377,915 km² (145,914 sq mi), including inland water. The country closest to it in size is Norway.
Is Japan bigger than Norway?+
Not quite. Norway covers about 384,265 km², roughly 3.8% more than Japan. Put both on the map and the difference stays the same wherever you drag them, because every outline is drawn at its true size.
Why does Japan look bigger on a map than it really is?+
Because the Mercator projection stretches area the further you get from the equator. The centre of Japan is at 37° N, where the map draws it about 1.6× too large — as much room as 603,460 km² would take at the equator. Drag the outline toward the equator and it shrinks to its honest size.