Place comparison

Miyako Island compared with Taiwan: area, population and density

Taiwan has about 228 times Miyako Island’s land. On a Taiwanese scale, Miyako is a little larger than all of Penghu County’s islands put together.

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: Miyako Island and Taiwan. Change the selector above and the page follows, so the reading always matches the tool.

Direct answer

How different are Miyako Island and Taiwan?

Miyako Island covers 158.5 km²; Miyako Island's area is about 0.44% of Taiwan's. Its reported population is 50,218; Miyako Island's population is about 0.22% of Taiwan's. By average density, Miyako Island's population density is about 49.2% of Taiwan's.

Area difference

Miyako Island's area is about 0.44% of Taiwan's 158.5 km² · 36,197.3 km²

Population difference

Miyako Island's population is about 0.22% of Taiwan's 50,218 · 23,299,132

Density difference

Miyako Island's population density is about 49.2% of Taiwan's 316.8 /km² · 643.7 /km²

Full data and sources for each place: Miyako Island area & population, Taiwan area & population

Straight-line distance between geometric centres: about 468 km; time difference: 1 hours.

On a familiar scale

Miyako Island ≈ the size of Kinmen County (reference rung) 3,157 m² of land per resident
Taiwan ≈ 12.3 × Kaohsiung City (reference rung) 1,554 m² of land per resident

Reference scales come from Department of Household Registration, Ministry of the Interior: Land area, households and population density by township and district (year-end 2025) , as of 2025-12-31.

How to read it

Against Taiwan, Miyako Island is tiny; against Taiwan’s own outlying islands, it is large.

Geography and shape

Miyako Island is a low, flat coral island in the Miyako group of Okinawa Prefecture, between Okinawa Main Island and Ishigaki. Taiwan is a mountainous island of about 36,000 km² including its outlying islands.

Population context

Miyako Island has 50,218 residents on 158.54 km², about 317 per km²; Taiwan averages about 644. Its population is about half of Penghu County’s roughly 107,000.

Boundaries and definitions

Miyako is the island alone; its population excludes the other islands of Miyakojima City such as Irabu, Ikema and Kurima. Taiwan uses the national land area including outlying islands. For a like-sized comparison, see Miyako Island and Penghu.

Miyako Island: Miyako Island only. Population excludes Ikema, Kurima, Ogami, Irabu and Shimoji islands, even though all are part of Miyakojima City.

Taiwan: Registered population and official administrative land area.

In-depth guide

How should Miyako Island and Taiwan be understood in context?

Compared with Taiwan, Miyako Island is tiny: Taiwan has about 228 times its land. The comparison that actually helps is with Taiwan’s own islands — Miyako is a little larger than all of Penghu County.

The right yardstick is Penghu, not Taiwan

Miyako Island’s 158.54 km² is about 1.24 times Penghu County’s 127.96 km² and almost the same as Kinmen County’s 151.66 km². Its 50,218 residents are about half of Penghu’s.

Against Taiwan as a whole, Miyako is about 0.44% of the land and about 0.22% of the population, and its density of about 317 per km² is roughly half Taiwan’s national average.

Questions people ask

About this geographic comparison

Which is bigger, Miyako Island or Taiwan?

Taiwan is bigger, with a land area about 228.3× that of Miyako Island (158.5 vs 36,197.3 km²).

How do Miyako Island and Taiwan differ in area, population and density?

Miyako Island is 0.44% the size of Taiwan — 158.5 km² vs 36,197.3 km². Population is 0.22% as high; average density is 49.2% as high. Each side’s scope and reference date are set out under “Boundaries and definitions” on this page.

What Taiwanese place is about the size of Miyako Island?

Penghu County is the closest: its 90 islands total 127.96 km², so Miyako Island (158.54 km²) is about 1.24 times Penghu. Kinmen County, at 151.66 km², is almost the same size.

Is Miyako Island bigger than Ishigaki Island?

No. Ishigaki Island is 222.24 km², about 1.4 times Miyako’s 158.54 km², though the two have almost the same population.

Sources

Outline data:

Natural Earth · Public domain