Place comparison

Okinawa Main Island compared with Taiwan Main Island: area, population and density

Okinawa Main Island covers a small fraction of Taiwan Main Island but is settled far more densely. Both sides are physical islands, so the outlines and the figures describe the same kind of object.

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

Direct answer

How different are Okinawa Main Island and Taiwan Main Island?

Okinawa Main Island covers 1,208.5 km² (466.6 sq mi); Okinawa Main Island's area is about 3.4% of Taiwan Main Island's. Its reported population is 1,352,975; Okinawa Main Island's population is about 5.9% of Taiwan Main Island's. By average density, Okinawa Main Island's population density is 1.74 times Taiwan Main Island's.

Area difference

Okinawa Main Island's area is about 3.4% of Taiwan Main Island's 1,208.5 km² (466.6 sq mi) · 35,812.1 km² (13,827 sq mi)

Population difference

Okinawa Main Island's population is about 5.9% of Taiwan Main Island's 1,352,975 · 22,992,953

Density difference

Okinawa Main Island's population density is 1.74 times Taiwan Main Island's 1,119.6 /km² (2,900 /sq mi) · 642 /km² (1,663 /sq mi)

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

Straight-line distance between geometric centres: about 781 km; time difference: 1 hour.

On a familiar scale

Okinawa Main Island ≈ 1.55 × New York City 893 m² of land per resident
Taiwan Main Island ≈ 1.42 × Maryland (reference rung) 1,558 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

This is the island-to-island pairing. The prefecture-to-country page elsewhere on Atlas answers a different question and produces a different ratio.

Geography and shape

Okinawa Main Island is a long, narrow island running north-east to south-west, while Taiwan Main Island is a large mountainous landmass. Placing both outlines on one scale shows how much of the Ryukyu chain’s reputation rests on sea distance rather than land: the island reads as small once the sea between the groups is removed.

Population context

Okinawa Main Island holds a small share of Taiwan Main Island’s residents on a much smaller share of its land, so its average density is the higher of the two. Both averages still include mountains and farmland, so neither describes what a particular town feels like.

Boundaries and definitions

Both figures are island-only, which is the point of this page. Two limits are worth stating: Taiwan Main Island’s area is the sum of two published components because the ministry publishes no combined main-island total, and its population is derived by subtracting the offshore counties and island townships. Okinawa’s population source folds in bridge-connected satellite islands that its area excludes.

Okinawa Main Island: The main island of Okinawa, not the whole prefecture. Area is the island's own coastline, so bridge-connected satellites such as Yagaji, Henza and Sesoko are counted separately by the mapping authority. The prefectural population survey does the opposite: it reports only islands not linked by bridge, so those satellites are folded into this figure. The density shown is therefore about 2% high; a like-for-like denominator would be roughly 1,237 km². The count is the resident register, which includes foreign residents but not US military personnel stationed on the island.

Taiwan Main Island: The main island alone, excluding every offshore island. Area is the Ministry of the Interior's island-proper land (35,767.6263 km²) plus its reclaimed tidal land (44.4337 km²); the ministry publishes the two components but no combined main-island total. Population is derived from the same household-registration table used for Taiwan as a whole, subtracting Penghu, Kinmen and Lienchiang counties, the Pratas and Spratly Islands, and the Green Island, Orchid Island, Liuqiu and Qijin townships. No official body publishes a main-island population.

In-depth guide

How should Okinawa Main Island and Taiwan Main Island be understood in context?

This is the island-to-island pairing: Okinawa Main Island against Taiwan Main Island, with no prefecture or national administration wrapped around either side. Because both objects are single landmasses, the outline, the area figure and the label finally describe the same kind of thing.

Why an island-to-island pairing is different

Atlas also carries a prefecture-to-country pairing of Okinawa and Taiwan. That page measures two administrations, each of which reaches across separated island groups and open sea. This page strips those outlying islands away, so it answers a narrower question and produces a different result. Neither version is more correct; they simply describe different objects.

When both sides are landmasses, the shape you see on the map and the number printed under it come from the same boundary. That consistency is the reason this pairing is built separately instead of reusing the prefecture figures. If you quote a result from here, say that it is the main island; if you quote the other page, say that it is the prefecture.

How the Taiwan side is assembled

The ministry publishes no single combined total for Taiwan Main Island. The area used here is the sum of two published components: island-proper land plus reclaimed tidal land. Adding them is a stated construction rather than an official headline figure, and it is disclosed for that reason.

The population on this side is derived in the same spirit: offshore counties and island townships are subtracted from the national total to leave main-island residents. Any density computed from these two values inherits both steps. Carry the derivation with the number when you quote it.

A small upward bias in the Okinawa density

The Okinawa population on this page folds in bridge-connected satellite islands that the area figure excludes. Numerator and denominator therefore do not cover exactly the same ground. The effect is small: the reported density runs about 2% high.

The choice here is to disclose the bias rather than silently adjust the number, because an adjustment would need a source that separates those bridge-connected communities from the resident register. Read the density as an approximation good to a couple of percent. That is precise enough for a scale comparison and not precise enough for a ranking.

Questions people ask

About this geographic comparison

Which is bigger, Okinawa Main Island or Taiwan Main Island?

Taiwan Main Island is bigger, with a land area about 29.6× that of Okinawa Main Island (Okinawa Main Island 1,208.5 vs Taiwan Main Island 35,812.1 km², or 466.6 sq mi vs 13,827 sq mi).

How big is Okinawa Main Island compared to Taiwan Main Island?

Taiwan Main Island has 35,812.1 km² (13,827 sq mi) and Okinawa Main Island has 1,208.5 km² (466.6 sq mi): the ratio is 29.6×. Conversely, Okinawa Main Island has 3.4% of Taiwan Main Island's area.

Does Okinawa Main Island or Taiwan Main Island have more people?

Taiwan Main Island has 22,992,953 people (2025-12-31), versus 1,352,975 in Okinawa Main Island (2025-01-01): 17×. In reverse, Okinawa Main Island has 5.9% of Taiwan Main Island's population. Okinawa Main Island is 3.4% the size of Taiwan Main Island — 1,208.5 km² vs 35,812.1 km² (466.6 sq mi vs 13,827 sq mi). Population is 5.9% as high; average density is 1.74× higher. Each side’s scope and reference date are set out under “Boundaries and definitions” on this page.

Is Okinawa Main Island bigger than Taiwan Main Island?

No. Taiwan Main Island is bigger, with a land area about 29.6× that of Okinawa Main Island (Okinawa Main Island 1,208.5 vs Taiwan Main Island 35,812.1 km², or 466.6 sq mi vs 13,827 sq mi). The area difference is 34,603.6 km². Taiwan Main Island has 35,812.1 km² (13,827 sq mi) and Okinawa Main Island has 1,208.5 km² (466.6 sq mi): the ratio is 29.6×. Conversely, Okinawa Main Island has 3.4% of Taiwan Main Island's area.

How many times does Okinawa Main Island fit into Taiwan Main Island?

By land area, Okinawa Main Island fits into Taiwan Main Island about 29.6 times (35,812.1 km² vs 1,208.5 km², or 13,827 sq mi vs 466.6 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.

Why does this differ from the Okinawa Prefecture comparison?

Because the objects differ. That page compares the whole prefecture, including the Miyako and Yaeyama groups, with all of Taiwan’s administrative land. This page compares one island with one island. Neither is wrong; they answer different questions.

Is Taiwan Main Island’s population an official figure?

No. No government body publishes a main-island population, because household registration is organised by administrative unit. The figure here is derived from the same official table used for Taiwan as a whole, with the offshore counties and island townships subtracted.

Is the Okinawa density exact?

It runs about 2% high. The area covers the main island’s own coastline, while the population source includes bridge-connected satellite islands. A like-for-like denominator would be roughly 1,237 km².

Sources

Outline data: