Edinburgh
259 km²
Shenzhen
1,997 km²
United Kingdom
China
Area Comparison
Edinburgh is 7.7x smaller than Shenzhen
Population Comparison
Edinburgh has 35.8x fewer people than Shenzhen
Yes — Shenzhen is 7.7x larger than Edinburgh by area. Shenzhen spans 1,997 km² (771 mi²) while Edinburgh covers 259 km² (100 mi²) — a difference of 1,738 km². You could fit Edinburgh inside Shenzhen approximately 7 times.
To put Edinburgh's size in perspective, its area of 259 km² is about 1.2x the size of Amsterdam. Meanwhile, Shenzhen at 1,997 km² is roughly the same size as Tokyo (city proper).
Edinburgh's footprint is roughly about 36,000 American football fields, 130 times the area of Monaco, or 76 times the area of Central Park — pick whichever unit feels intuitive. Shenzhen works out to about 280,000 American football fields, 34 times the area of Manhattan, or 19 times the area of Paris.
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. It is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh had a population of 506,520 in 2020, making it the second-most-populous city in Scotland and the seventh-most-populous in the United Kingdom. The wider metropolitan area had a population of 912,490 in the same year.
Known as "Auld Reekie", Edinburgh covers 259 km² with a population of 0.5 million. The city was established in 601. Edinburgh is known for Edinburgh Castle, Royal Mile, Arthur's Seat, among other attractions.
Edinburgh is bounded by the Firth of Forth to the north and the Pentland Hills to the south.
Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong, bordering Hong Kong to the south, Dongguan to the north, Huizhou to the northeast, and Macau to the southwest. With a population of 17.5 million in 2020, Shenzhen is the third-most-populous city by urban population in China after Shanghai and Beijing.
Also known as "China's Silicon Valley", Shenzhen has an area of 1,997 km² and is home to 17.6 million people. The city dates back to 1979. Visitors come for Ping An Finance Centre, Window of the World, OCT Loft, and much more. Getting around is easy with the Shenzhen Metro.
Shenzhen grew from a small town into China's third-most-populous urban city, hitting 17.5 million residents by 2020
Edinburgh has a population density of 1,892 people per km² — a relatively spread-out city. Shenzhen, with 8,793 people per km², is a densely populated city. Shenzhen is dramatically more crowded, with 4.6x the population density.
Size Ratio
Edinburgh fits inside Shenzhen ~7 times
Density Gap
Shenzhen is 4.6x more densely populated
History
Edinburgh is ~1,378 years older
Edinburgh covers 259 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Taipei (272 km²), Kuala Lumpur (243 km²), Boston (232 km²), Osaka (225 km²), or Amsterdam (219 km²).
Shenzhen covers 1,997 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Ho Chi Minh City (2,061 km²), Tokyo (2,194 km²), Riyadh (1,798 km²), Houston (1,725 km²), or Johannesburg (1,644 km²).
The straight-line distance from Edinburgh to Shenzhen is 9,491 km (5,898 miles), with an estimated flight time of ~11h 40m.
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