Place comparison

Shanghai compared with Taiwan: area, population and density

Taiwan has about 5.71 times Shanghai’s land, but Shanghai has about 6.7% more people, so Shanghai is about six times as dense on average.

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

Direct answer

How different are Shanghai and Taiwan?

Shanghai covers 6,340.5 km²; Shanghai's area is about 17.5% of Taiwan's. Its reported population is 24,854,100; Shanghai's population is 1.07 times Taiwan's. By average density, Shanghai's population density is 6.09 times Taiwan's.

Area difference

Shanghai's area is about 17.5% of Taiwan's 6,340.5 km² · 36,197.3 km²

Population difference

Shanghai's population is 1.07 times Taiwan's 24,854,100 · 23,299,132

Density difference

Shanghai's population density is 6.09 times Taiwan's 3,919.9 /km² · 643.7 /km²

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

Straight-line distance between geometric centres: about 829 km; time difference: none.

On a familiar scale

Shanghai ≈ 2.15 × Kaohsiung City (reference rung) 255 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

A single city with more people than an entire island of 23 million, on less than a fifth of the land.

Geography and shape

Shanghai sits on the flat Yangtze delta and includes Chongming, Changxing and Hengsha islands in the estuary; almost all of its land is low-lying plain. Taiwan is a mountainous island whose Central Mountain Range leaves most people on the western plains, plus outlying islands such as Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu.

Population context

Shanghai had 24,854,100 permanent residents at year-end 2025 on 6,340.5 km², about 3,920 per km². Taiwan had 23,299,132 registered residents at year-end 2025 on 36,197.3371 km², about 644 per km². Taipei City, at about 8,975 per km², is denser than Shanghai’s municipality-wide average.

Boundaries and definitions

Shanghai’s land area is the Shanghai Municipal Statistics Bureau’s 2017 total, the latest it publishes; its population is permanent residents (six months or more) at year-end 2025. Taiwan uses household registration at year-end 2025 and includes its outlying islands. Shanghai’s outline is Natural Earth’s feature, about 6.4% larger than the 2017 area, consistent with its growing coastline.

Shanghai: Shanghai Municipality, the whole province-level city: all 16 districts, including the islands of Chongming, Changxing and Hengsha in the Yangtze estuary. Area is the 6,340.5 km² land area published by the Shanghai Municipal Statistics Bureau for year-end 2017, the most recent total it publishes; the population is the Bureau’s 24,854,100 permanent residents at year-end 2025 (15,109,100 with local household registration and 9,745,000 from elsewhere). Because the two figures are eight years apart and Shanghai’s shoreline keeps growing through reclamation and estuary deposition, the density is an approximation. “Permanent residents” (常住人口) counts people living in Shanghai for six months or more — a different definition from Taiwan’s household registration. The outline is Natural Earth’s Shanghai feature, which measures about 6,746 km² (+6.4%), within the gap this site accepts for coastal outlines; sizes on the page come from the official area, not from the drawing.

Taiwan: Registered population and official administrative land area.

In-depth guide

How should Shanghai and Taiwan be understood in context?

Taiwan has about 5.71 times Shanghai’s land, but Shanghai has slightly more people — about 24.85 million against Taiwan’s 23.30 million. Shanghai is one city; Taiwan is an island of 23 million spread across mountains, plains and outlying islands.

More people on a fifth of the land

Shanghai Municipality covers 6,340.5 km², about 17.5% of Taiwan’s 36,197.3371 km². Its 24,854,100 permanent residents are about 6.7% more than Taiwan’s 23,299,132 registered residents, so its average density — about 3,920 per km² — is roughly six times Taiwan’s 644. Put another way, each Shanghai resident has on average about 255 m² of land, against about 1,550 m² per person in Taiwan.

Taiwan’s average is dragged down by its mountains, which cover much of the island and hold few people. Compared with Taiwan’s own big cities, Shanghai is less extreme: its average of about 3,920 per km² is below Taipei City’s roughly 8,975, because Shanghai’s boundary still includes farmland, water towns and Chongming Island.

Read the two populations with care

The two population counts use different definitions. Shanghai counts permanent residents — people who have lived there for six months or more, including 9.745 million from elsewhere in China. Taiwan counts household registration, which records where people are registered. Shanghai’s land area is also its 2017 figure, the latest total the Statistics Bureau publishes, while its coastline has kept growing since. The direction of every comparison on this page holds; the exact decimals are approximate.

Questions people ask

About this geographic comparison

Which is bigger, Shanghai or Taiwan?

Taiwan is bigger, with a land area about 5.71× that of Shanghai (6,340.5 vs 36,197.3 km²).

How do Shanghai and Taiwan differ in area, population and density?

Shanghai is 17.5% the size of Taiwan — 6,340.5 km² vs 36,197.3 km². Population is 1.07× higher; average density is 6.09× higher. Each side’s scope and reference date are set out under “Boundaries and definitions” on this page.

Does Shanghai have more people than Taiwan?

Yes, slightly: about 24.85 million permanent residents at year-end 2025 against Taiwan’s 23.30 million registered residents, about 6.7% more. The two counts use different definitions, but the gap is larger than that difference would explain.

Is Shanghai denser than Taipei?

Not on these averages. Shanghai’s municipality-wide average is about 3,920 per km², while Taipei City’s is about 8,975, because Shanghai’s boundary still includes farmland, water towns and Chongming Island. Shanghai’s central districts are far denser than its average.

Sources

Outline data:

Natural Earth · Public domain