Hamburg
755 km²
Shanghai
6,341 km²
Germany
China
Area Comparison
Hamburg is 8.4x smaller than Shanghai
Population Comparison
Hamburg has 13.0x fewer people than Shanghai
In terms of area, Shanghai is 8.4x the size of Hamburg. Shanghai spans 6,341 km² (2,448 mi²) while Hamburg covers 755 km² (292 mi²) — a difference of 5,586 km². You could fit Hamburg inside Shanghai approximately 8 times.
To put Hamburg's size in perspective, its area of 755 km² is roughly the same size as New York City. Meanwhile, Shanghai at 6,341 km² is about 1.5x the size of Los Angeles metro.
Hamburg's footprint is roughly about 106,000 American football fields, 13 times the area of Manhattan, or 7 times the area of Paris — pick whichever unit feels intuitive. For Shanghai, that's about 888,000 American football fields, 110 times the area of Manhattan, or 60 times the area of Paris.
Hamburg, officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, is the second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and seventh-largest city in the European Union, with a population of over 1.9 million. The Hamburg Metropolitan Region has a population of over 5.1 million and is the tenth-largest metropolitan region by GDP in the European Union.
Known as "Gateway to the World", Hamburg covers 755 km² with a population of 1.9 million. Hamburg is known for Port of Hamburg, Elbphilharmonie concert hall, Reeperbahn nightlife district, among other attractions.
Hamburg is the second-largest city in Germany and the seventh-largest in the European Union.
Shanghai is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. It has a population of 29,558,908 in the urban area as of 2025. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River bisecting the city. Shanghai is a global center for finance, business and economics, research, science and technology, manufacturing, transportation, tourism, and culture. The Port of Shanghai is the world's busiest container port.
Also known as "Pearl of the Orient", Shanghai has an area of 6,341 km² and is home to 24.9 million people. It was established in 1291. Visitors come for The Bund, Oriental Pearl Tower, Shanghai Tower, and much more. Getting around is easy with the Shanghai Metro.
Shanghai's urban population reached 29.5 million in 2025, making it the most populous urban area in all of China.
Hamburg has a population density of 2,530 people per km² — a moderately dense city. Shanghai, with 3,922 people per km², is a moderately dense city. Shanghai is noticeably denser, packing 1.6 times more people per square kilometer.
Size Ratio
Hamburg fits inside Shanghai ~8 times
Density Gap
Shanghai is 1.6x more densely populated
Hamburg covers 755 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Bangalore (741 km²), Singapore (733 km²), Tehran (730 km²), New York (783 km²), or Nairobi (696 km²).
Shanghai covers 6,341 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Perth (6,417 km²), Istanbul (5,461 km²), Guangzhou (7,434 km²), Wuhan (8,569 km²), or Dubai (4,114 km²).
The straight-line distance from Hamburg to Shanghai is 8,522 km (5,295 miles), with an estimated flight time of ~10h 32m.
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