Place comparison

Koh Samui compared with Hong Kong: area, population and density

Hong Kong has about five times Koh Samui’s main-island land area and vastly more residents, revealing a sharp density contrast.

Place A Grouped by country or region Place B Grouped by country or region

Equal-area outline comparison

Outlines are centered and scaled by official land area; position does not show geographic location.

Area

Population

Population density

Area data date

Population data date

The guide below belongs to this pair: Koh Samui and Hong Kong. Change the selector above and the page follows, so the reading always matches the tool.

Direct answer

How different are Koh Samui and Hong Kong?

Koh Samui covers 227 km² (87.6 sq mi); Koh Samui's area is about 20.4% of Hong Kong's. Its reported population is 69,689; Koh Samui's population is about 0.92% of Hong Kong's. By average density, Koh Samui's population density is about 4.5% of Hong Kong's.

Area difference

Koh Samui's area is about 20.4% of Hong Kong's 227 km² (87.6 sq mi) · 1,114.6 km² (430.3 sq mi)

Population difference

Koh Samui's population is about 0.92% of Hong Kong's 69,689 · 7,534,200

Density difference

Koh Samui's population density is about 4.5% of Hong Kong's 307 /km² (795 /sq mi) · 6,759.7 /km² (17,508 /sq mi)

Full data and sources for each place: Koh Samui area & population, Hong Kong area & population

Straight-line distance between geometric centres: about 2081 km; time difference: 1 hour.

On a familiar scale

Koh Samui ≈ 1.43 × Washington, D.C. (reference rung) 3,257 m² of land per resident
Hong Kong ≈ 1.43 × New York City 148 m² of land per resident

Reference scales come from U.S. Census Bureau: 2025 Gazetteer Files: land area of states and counties , as of 2025-01-01.

How to read it

Hong Kong is a complete territory with urban, rural and island land. Koh Samui is a physical island whose population source covers a slightly wider municipality.

Geography and shape

Koh Samui is a single tropical island. Hong Kong combines a dense urban core, the New Territories, country parks and outlying islands within one territory. Hong Kong has more land, but the visual difference is far smaller than its population gap.

Population context

Hong Kong’s year-end population is more than one hundred times the Ko Samui municipal total. Even after Hong Kong’s rural and protected land enters the denominator, its territory-wide density remains dramatically higher.

Boundaries and definitions

Hong Kong uses the full SAR. Koh Samui uses a main-island area and municipal population that includes 18 nearby islands. The page preserves this limitation rather than presenting a false exact density.

Koh Samui: Area is for Koh Samui main island. Population is the 2024 Ko Samui City Municipality total, whose 252 km² administration includes the 227 km² main island and 18 surrounding islands; density is therefore approximate for the main island.

Hong Kong: Year-end population and total land area of the Hong Kong SAR.

In-depth guide

How should Koh Samui and Hong Kong be understood in context?

Koh Samui and Hong Kong are both associated with islands in travel language, yet Hong Kong is a complete territory with millions of residents. Their land gap is modest beside the enormous population contrast.

The names describe different units

Koh Samui is represented by its physical main island. Hong Kong includes Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, the New Territories and outlying islands.

That distinction matters because comparing Koh Samui only with Hong Kong Island would answer a different question and require different data.

Population dominates the comparison

Hong Kong has only several times the land but more than one hundred times the reported residents. The resulting territory-wide density is in a completely different range.

Even that Hong Kong average is not the density of its most urban neighbourhoods, because country parks, hills, reservoirs and rural land remain inside the boundary.

Use the page for scale, not crowd forecasts

The page explains permanent population and land. It does not count hotel capacity, visitors, seasonal peaks or the concentration of attractions.

Koh Samui’s population boundary also extends beyond the main-island outline, so its density stays explicitly approximate.

Questions people ask

About this geographic comparison

Which is bigger, Koh Samui or Hong Kong?

Hong Kong is bigger, with a land area about 4.91× that of Koh Samui (Koh Samui 227 vs Hong Kong 1,114.6 km², or 87.6 sq mi vs 430.3 sq mi).

How big is Koh Samui compared to Hong Kong?

Hong Kong has 1,114.6 km² (430.3 sq mi) and Koh Samui has 227 km² (87.6 sq mi): the ratio is 4.91×. Conversely, Koh Samui has 20.4% of Hong Kong's area.

Does Koh Samui or Hong Kong have more people?

Hong Kong has 7,534,200 people (2024-12-31), versus 69,689 in Koh Samui (2024-12-31): 108.1×. In reverse, Koh Samui has 0.92% of Hong Kong's population. Koh Samui is 20.4% the size of Hong Kong — 227 km² vs 1,114.6 km² (87.6 sq mi vs 430.3 sq mi). Population is 0.92% as high; average density is 4.5% as high. Each side’s scope and reference date are set out under “Boundaries and definitions” on this page.

Is Koh Samui bigger than Hong Kong?

No. Hong Kong is bigger, with a land area about 4.91× that of Koh Samui (Koh Samui 227 vs Hong Kong 1,114.6 km², or 87.6 sq mi vs 430.3 sq mi). The area difference is 887.6 km². Hong Kong has 1,114.6 km² (430.3 sq mi) and Koh Samui has 227 km² (87.6 sq mi): the ratio is 4.91×. Conversely, Koh Samui has 20.4% of Hong Kong's area.

How many times does Koh Samui fit into Hong Kong?

By land area, Koh Samui fits into Hong Kong about 4.91 times (1,114.6 km² vs 227 km², or 430.3 sq mi vs 87.6 sq mi). It is an area ratio, not a jigsaw fit: coastlines and shapes differ, which the outlines on this page show at one scale.

Is Hong Kong larger than Koh Samui?

Yes. Hong Kong’s total land area is close to five times the 227 km² Koh Samui main island.

Why is the density difference so large?

Hong Kong carries millions of residents in a territory only several times larger, while Ko Samui’s municipal count is under seventy thousand.

Does Hong Kong mean Hong Kong Island only?

No. It covers the entire SAR, including Kowloon, the New Territories and outlying islands.

Sources

Outline data:

Natural Earth · Public domain