Place comparison
Singapore compared with Tokyo’s 23 wards: area, population and density
Singapore has about 1.19 times the land of Tokyo’s 23 wards, but the wards hold about 1.6 times as many people, so they are about 1.9 times as dense.
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
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The guide below belongs to this pair: Singapore and Tokyo 23 Special Wards. Change the selector above and the page follows, so the reading always matches the tool.
Direct answer
How different are Singapore and Tokyo 23 Special Wards?
Singapore covers 744.3 km² (287.4 sq mi); Singapore's area is 1.19 times Tokyo 23 Special Wards's. Its reported population is 6,111,175; Singapore's population is about 61.9% of Tokyo 23 Special Wards's. By average density, Singapore's population density is about 52.2% of Tokyo 23 Special Wards's.
Population difference
Singapore's population is about 61.9% of Tokyo 23 Special Wards's 6,111,175 · 9,873,999Density difference
Singapore's population density is about 52.2% of Tokyo 23 Special Wards's 8,210.6 /km² (21,265 /sq mi) · 15,735.2 /km² (40,754 /sq mi)Full data and sources for each place: Singapore area & population, Tokyo 23 Special Wards area & population
Straight-line distance between geometric centres: about 5316 km; time difference: 1 hour.
On a familiar scale
- Singapore ≈ the size of New York City 122 m² of land per resident
- Tokyo 23 Special Wards ≈ 81% of New York City 64 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
Singapore and Tokyo’s 23 wards are close in size; the wards pack in far more people.
Geography and shape
Singapore is a city-state of one main island and some sixty smaller ones at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, with land added every year by reclamation. Tokyo’s 23 special wards are the core of Tokyo Metropolis on the Kanto Plain at the head of Tokyo Bay.
Population context
Tokyo’s 23 wards held 9,873,999 residents (October 2024 estimate), about 1.6 times Singapore’s 6,111,175 (end-June 2025, including non-residents). That is about 15,735 people per km² in the wards against about 8,211 in Singapore.
Boundaries and definitions
Singapore’s 744.3 km² is the Singapore Land Authority’s total land area at end-2025, including its offshore islands, and grows with reclamation; its population counts everyone usually resident, including about 1.91 million non-residents. Tokyo’s 627.51 km² is the Geospatial Information Authority’s reference value for the 23 wards only, not Tokyo Metropolis (2,199.94 km²).
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.
Tokyo 23 Special Wards: The 23 special wards only, not Tokyo Metropolis and not the wider Greater Tokyo area. The wards hold about 70% of the metropolis population on under 30% of its land; the metropolis additionally contains 26 cities, 13 towns and villages and the Izu and Ogasawara islands. The area is a Geospatial Information Authority reference value because five wards have partly undetermined boundaries, and it includes 4.68 km² of river-mouth and bay landfill not assigned to any individual ward. Daytime population is far larger than the resident count: the 2020 census recorded 12.35 million people in the wards on a weekday.
In-depth guide
How should Singapore and Tokyo 23 Special Wards be understood in context?
Ask in Japan how big Singapore is and the usual answer is “about the size of Tokyo’s 23 wards”. That holds: Singapore’s 744.3 km² is about 1.19 times the wards’ 627.51 km². The difference is in the people — the 23 wards hold about 1.6 times Singapore’s population.
Which Tokyo, again
Against the 23 wards Singapore is slightly larger; against Tokyo Metropolis (2,199.94 km², including the Izu and Ogasawara islands) it is only about 34%. “Singapore is as big as Tokyo” is true only for the wards.
Singapore is also still growing: its official land area was 735.7 km² a year earlier, and reclamation keeps adding to it.
Same size, very different crowding
With 9,873,999 residents on 627.51 km², the 23 wards average about 15,735 people per km²; Singapore’s 6,111,175 on 744.3 km² average about 8,211. The wards are about 1.9 times as dense.
Singapore’s figure includes about 1.91 million non-residents counted where they usually live, and large areas of reservoirs, military land and offshore islands; the wards are almost entirely built up.
Questions people ask
About this geographic comparison
Which is bigger, Singapore or Tokyo 23 Special Wards?
Singapore is bigger, with a land area about 1.19× that of Tokyo 23 Special Wards (Singapore 744.3 vs Tokyo 23 Special Wards 627.5 km², or 287.4 sq mi vs 242.3 sq mi).
How big is Singapore compared to Tokyo 23 Special Wards?
Singapore has 744.3 km² (287.4 sq mi) and Tokyo 23 Special Wards has 627.5 km² (242.3 sq mi): the ratio is 1.19×. Conversely, Tokyo 23 Special Wards has 84.3% of Singapore's area.
Does Singapore or Tokyo 23 Special Wards have more people?
Tokyo 23 Special Wards has 9,873,999 people (2024-10-01), versus 6,111,175 in Singapore (2025-06-30): 1.62×. In reverse, Singapore has 61.9% of Tokyo 23 Special Wards's population. Singapore is 1.19× the size of Tokyo 23 Special Wards — 744.3 km² vs 627.5 km² (287.4 sq mi vs 242.3 sq mi). Population is 61.9% as high; average density is 52.2% as high. Each side’s scope and reference date are set out under “Boundaries and definitions” on this page.
Is Singapore bigger than Tokyo 23 Special Wards?
Yes. Singapore is bigger, with a land area about 1.19× that of Tokyo 23 Special Wards (Singapore 744.3 vs Tokyo 23 Special Wards 627.5 km², or 287.4 sq mi vs 242.3 sq mi). The area difference is 116.8 km². Singapore has 744.3 km² (287.4 sq mi) and Tokyo 23 Special Wards has 627.5 km² (242.3 sq mi): the ratio is 1.19×. Conversely, Tokyo 23 Special Wards has 84.3% of Singapore's area.
Is Singapore about the same size as Tokyo?
About the same as Tokyo’s 23 wards: Singapore’s 744.3 km² is about 1.19 times their 627.51 km². Against Tokyo Metropolis (2,199.94 km²) Singapore is only about a third.
Which is more crowded, Singapore or Tokyo’s 23 wards?
Tokyo’s 23 wards, by about 1.9 times on average: about 15,735 people per km² against about 8,211. Both averages include land where nobody lives.
Sources
- Singapore Land Authority: Total Land Area of Singapore
- Singapore Department of Statistics: Indicators on Population, Annual (Table M810001)
- Geospatial Information Authority of Japan: Area by prefecture and municipality as of October 1, 2024 (E2-No.86), special wards subtotal
- Tokyo Metropolitan Government: Estimated population of Tokyo as of October 1, 2024
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