Place comparison
Taiwan compared with Hawaii: area, population and density
Taiwan has about 2.2 times Hawaii’s land and about 16 times its population, so Taiwan is about 7.5 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: Taiwan and Hawaii. Change the selector above and the page follows, so the reading always matches the tool.
Direct answer
How different are Taiwan and Hawaii?
Taiwan covers 36,197.3 km² (13,976 sq mi); Taiwan's area is 2.18 times Hawaii's. Its reported population is 23,299,132; Taiwan's population is 16.3 times Hawaii's. By average density, Taiwan's population density is 7.47 times Hawaii's.
Population difference
Taiwan's population is 16.3 times Hawaii's 23,299,132 · 1,432,820Density difference
Taiwan's population density is 7.47 times Hawaii's 643.7 /km² (1,667 /sq mi) · 86.1 /km² (223 /sq mi)Full data and sources for each place: Taiwan area & population, Hawaii area & population
Straight-line distance between geometric centres: about 8519 km; time difference: 18 hours.
On a familiar scale
- Taiwan ≈ 1.44 × Maryland (reference rung) 1,554 m² of land per resident
- Hawaii ≈ 1.33 × Connecticut (reference rung) 11,610 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
Taiwan has a little over two Hawaiis of land, but sixteen Hawaiis of people.
Geography and shape
Taiwan is a mountainous island of about 36,000 km² with outlying islands such as Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu; most people live on its western plains. Hawaii is an archipelago of volcanic islands in the North Pacific, with Hawaiʻi Island making up about 63% of its land.
Population context
Taiwan has 23,299,132 registered residents on 36,197 km², about 644 per km². Hawaii has an estimated 1,432,820 on 16,634 km² of land, about 86 per km². Taiwan has about 16 times Hawaii’s population on about 2.2 times its land.
Boundaries and definitions
Taiwan uses household registration at year-end 2025 and national administrative land area, outlying islands included. Hawaii uses the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025 estimate for 1 July 2025 and the state’s land area, which leaves out 11,777 km² of inland and coastal water. Counting that water, Hawaii covers 28,412 km², about 78% of Taiwan.
Taiwan: Registered population and official administrative land area.
Hawaii: The State of Hawaii: 16,634.44 km² of land and 1,432,820 residents. Area is the Census Bureau’s land area (ALAND) for the state in the 2025 Gazetteer; it excludes 11,777 km² of inland and coastal water, so the land-plus-water total is 28,412 km². Population is the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025 resident estimate for 1 July 2025, not a census count. Hawaiʻi Island (Hawaii County) is about 63% of the land, while Honolulu County on Oʻahu holds about 69% of the residents. The outline is Natural Earth’s admin-1 polygon showing the eight main islands; the tiny Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, strung out nearly 2,000 km further northwest, are counted in the area but not drawn. The drawn islands measure about 1.5% more than the official land area. Hawaii keeps Hawaii–Aleutian Standard Time (UTC−10) all year and does not observe daylight saving time.
In-depth guide
How should Taiwan and Hawaii be understood in context?
Taiwan and Hawaii both sit in the Pacific and both draw visitors from around the world, and their size gets compared more often than you might expect. On land, Taiwan is a little over twice Hawaii. On people, it is not close: Taiwan has about sixteen times as many.
Twice the land, sixteen times the people
Taiwan’s 36,197 km² is about 2.2 times Hawaii’s 16,634 km² of land. Its 23.3 million people are about 16 times Hawaii’s 1.43 million, so Taiwan averages about 644 people per km² against Hawaii’s 86.
Hawaii has an unusually large water area inside its boundary — 11,777 km², mostly coastal water around the islands. A total-area figure that includes it makes Hawaii look closer to Taiwan than its land really is.
Questions people ask
About this geographic comparison
Which is bigger, Taiwan or Hawaii?
Taiwan is bigger, with a land area about 2.18× that of Hawaii (Taiwan 36,197.3 vs Hawaii 16,634.4 km², or 13,976 sq mi vs 6,423 sq mi).
How big is Taiwan compared to Hawaii?
Taiwan has 36,197.3 km² (13,976 sq mi) and Hawaii has 16,634.4 km² (6,423 sq mi): the ratio is 2.18×. Conversely, Hawaii has 46% of Taiwan's area.
Does Taiwan or Hawaii have more people?
Taiwan has 23,299,132 people (2025-12-31), versus 1,432,820 in Hawaii (2025-07-01): 16.3×. In reverse, Hawaii has 6.1% of Taiwan's population. Taiwan is 2.18× the size of Hawaii — 36,197.3 km² vs 16,634.4 km² (13,976 sq mi vs 6,423 sq mi). Population is 16.3× higher; average density is 7.47× higher. Each side’s scope and reference date are set out under “Boundaries and definitions” on this page.
Is Taiwan bigger than Hawaii?
Yes. Taiwan is bigger, with a land area about 2.18× that of Hawaii (Taiwan 36,197.3 vs Hawaii 16,634.4 km², or 13,976 sq mi vs 6,423 sq mi). The area difference is 19,562.9 km². Taiwan has 36,197.3 km² (13,976 sq mi) and Hawaii has 16,634.4 km² (6,423 sq mi): the ratio is 2.18×. Conversely, Hawaii has 46% of Taiwan's area. Yes, about 2.2 times by land area: 36,197 km² against Hawaii’s 16,634 km². Hawaii’s water area is large, so with water Hawaii is 28,412 km² — still only about 78% of Taiwan.
How many times does Hawaii fit into Taiwan?
By land area, Hawaii fits into Taiwan about 2.18 times (36,197.3 km² vs 16,634.4 km², or 13,976 sq mi vs 6,423 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.
Which US state is closest to Taiwan in size?
By Census land area, Maryland (25,151 km²): Taiwan is about 1.4 times it. Hawaii, at 16,634 km², is a little under half of Taiwan.
Sources
- Ministry of the Interior, Taiwan: Land area, households and population by region
- U.S. Census Bureau: 2025 Gazetteer Files: states (land area, ALAND)
- U.S. Census Bureau: Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for the United States and States: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2025 (Vintage 2025)
Outline data:
- Natural Earth · Public domain