Place comparison

Seoul compared with Singapore: area, population and density

Seoul is about 81% of Singapore’s land but has about 1.5 times its population, so Seoul is about 1.9 times as dense.

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: Seoul and Singapore. Change the selector above and the page follows, so the reading always matches the tool.

Direct answer

How different are Seoul and Singapore?

Seoul covers 605.2 km² (233.7 sq mi); Seoul's area is about 81.3% of Singapore's. Its reported population is 9,335,444; Seoul's population is 1.53 times Singapore's. By average density, Seoul's population density is 1.88 times Singapore's.

Area difference

Seoul's area is about 81.3% of Singapore's 605.2 km² (233.7 sq mi) · 744.3 km² (287.4 sq mi)

Population difference

Seoul's population is 1.53 times Singapore's 9,335,444 · 6,111,175

Density difference

Seoul's population density is 1.88 times Singapore's 15,425.4 /km² (39,952 /sq mi) · 8,210.6 /km² (21,265 /sq mi)

Full data and sources for each place: Seoul area & population, Singapore area & population

Straight-line distance between geometric centres: about 4673 km; time difference: 1 hour.

On a familiar scale

Seoul ≈ 78% of New York City 65 m² of land per resident
Singapore ≈ the size of New York City 122 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

A smaller city than Singapore, with half again as many people.

Geography and shape

Seoul Special City spans both banks of the Han River and is ringed by mountains, with 25 districts under one city government. Singapore is a city-state on one main island and some sixty smaller islands, so its land also has to hold an airport, a port, reservoirs and military areas.

Population context

Seoul has 9,335,444 people on 605 km², about 15,425 per km². Singapore has 6,111,175 on 744 km², about 8,211 per km². Seoul holds about 1.5 times Singapore’s population on about 81% of its land.

Boundaries and definitions

Seoul uses its register-based census for 1 November 2024 and registered cadastral land; the Seoul Capital Area is about twenty times larger. Singapore uses its total land area at 31 December 2025, which grows with reclamation, and its total population at end-June 2025, including about 1.91 million non-residents.

Seoul: Seoul Special City, the 25-district city government of 605.2 km². It is not the Seoul Capital Area, the commuter region of Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, which is roughly twenty times larger and holds about 26.3 million people. Population is the 2024 register-based census total: everyone usually resident inside the city boundary on 1 November 2024, including 367,291 foreign residents, which is a different universe from the resident-registration series readers may know. Area is registered cadastral land at 31 December 2024, summed from the ministry's parcel-level file because no single line publishes the city total; the same method reproduces South Korea's national figure exactly. The two reference dates are two months apart.

Singapore: Total land area surveyed by the Singapore Land Authority as at 31 December 2025, covering the main island and its offshore islands. The figure rises with reclamation and is restated annually — it was 735.7 km² a year earlier. Population is the Department of Statistics total population at end-June 2025: citizens 3,660,683, permanent residents 543,832 and about 1.91 million non-residents, counted by place of usual residence, so tourists and short-term visitors are excluded. The two dates are six months apart, and the outline traces the main island, Pulau Ujong, which is about 88% of the official area — Pulau Tekong, Jurong Island, Pulau Ubin, Sentosa and some sixty smaller islands are counted in the figure but not drawn.

In-depth guide

How should Seoul and Singapore be understood in context?

Seoul and Singapore are both dense, high-rise places, and many people assume the city-state is the smaller of the two. It is not: Singapore has more land than Seoul, while Seoul has half again as many people.

Less land, more people

Seoul’s 605 km² is about 81% of Singapore’s 744 km², yet Seoul’s 9.34 million people are about 1.5 times Singapore’s 6.11 million. Seoul averages about 15,425 people per km², Singapore about 8,211.

Singapore’s average is lowered by everything a country needs inside its borders — Changi Airport, the port, reservoirs, nature reserves and military land — which Seoul’s region holds outside the city limits.

Questions people ask

About this geographic comparison

Which is bigger, Seoul or Singapore?

Singapore is bigger, with a land area about 1.23× that of Seoul (Seoul 605.2 vs Singapore 744.3 km², or 233.7 sq mi vs 287.4 sq mi).

How big is Seoul compared to Singapore?

Singapore has 744.3 km² (287.4 sq mi) and Seoul has 605.2 km² (233.7 sq mi): the ratio is 1.23×. Conversely, Seoul has 81.3% of Singapore's area.

Does Seoul or Singapore have more people?

Seoul has 9,335,444 people (2024-11-01), versus 6,111,175 in Singapore (2025-06-30): 1.53×. In reverse, Singapore has 65.5% of Seoul's population. Seoul is 81.3% the size of Singapore — 605.2 km² vs 744.3 km² (233.7 sq mi vs 287.4 sq mi). Population is 1.53× higher; average density is 1.88× higher. Each side’s scope and reference date are set out under “Boundaries and definitions” on this page.

Is Seoul bigger than Singapore?

No. Singapore is bigger, with a land area about 1.23× that of Seoul (Seoul 605.2 vs Singapore 744.3 km², or 233.7 sq mi vs 287.4 sq mi). The area difference is 139.1 km². Singapore has 744.3 km² (287.4 sq mi) and Seoul has 605.2 km² (233.7 sq mi): the ratio is 1.23×. Conversely, Seoul has 81.3% of Singapore's area. By land, no: Seoul’s 605 km² is about 81% of Singapore’s 744 km². By population, yes: 9.34 million against 6.11 million, about 1.5 times.

Is Seoul denser than Singapore?

Yes, about 1.9 times on average: about 15,425 people per km² against Singapore’s 8,211.

Sources

Outline data: