Shenzhen
1,997 km²
Sydney
12,368 km²
China
Australia
Area Comparison
Shenzhen is 6.2x smaller than Sydney
Population Comparison
Shenzhen has 3.3x more people than Sydney
Yes — Sydney is 6.2x larger than Shenzhen by area. Sydney spans 12,368 km² (4,775 mi²) while Shenzhen covers 1,997 km² (771 mi²) — a difference of 10,371 km². You could fit Shenzhen inside Sydney approximately 6 times.
To put Shenzhen's size in perspective, its area of 1,997 km² is roughly the same size as Tokyo (city proper). Meanwhile, Sydney at 12,368 km² is about 2.0x the size of Shanghai.
Picture Shenzhen another way: its area is large enough to fit about 280,000 American football fields, 34 times the area of Manhattan, or 19 times the area of Paris. For Sydney, that's about 1,700,000 American football fields, 120 times the area of Paris, or 100 times the area of San Francisco.
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.
Known as "China's Silicon Valley", Shenzhen covers 1,997 km² with a population of 17.6 million. The city was established in 1979. Shenzhen is known for Ping An Finance Centre, Window of the World, OCT Loft, among other attractions. The city's main transit system is the Shenzhen Metro.
Shenzhen grew from a small town into China's third-most-populous urban city, hitting 17.5 million residents by 2020
Sydney is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and is the most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about 80 kilometres (50 mi) from the Pacific Ocean in the east to the Blue Mountains in the west, and about 80 kilometres (50 mi) from Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park and the Hawkesbury River in the north and north-west, to the Royal National Park and Macarthur in the south and south-west.
Often called "Sydneysiders", Sydney has an area of 12,368 km² and is home to 5.3 million people. Its history stretches back to 1788. Visitors come for Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Bondi Beach, and much more. Getting around is easy with the Sydney Trains.
Sydney stretches roughly 80 km from the Pacific Ocean in the east to the Blue Mountains in the west.
Looking beyond city limits, the Sydney metropolitan area covers 12,368 km², which is 6.2x larger than greater Shenzhen at 1,997 km². The Shenzhen metro area is also more populous, with 17.6 million people compared to 5.3 million.
Shenzhen has a population density of 8,793 people per km² — a densely populated city. Sydney, with 429 people per km², is a low-density, sprawling urban area. Shenzhen is dramatically more crowded, with 20.5x the population density.
This comparison spans continents — Shenzhen in Asia versus Sydney in Oceania. Despite the geographic distance, comparing their sizes reveals surprising insights about how cities grow worldwide.
Both cities share a humid subtropical climate, though local geography creates distinct microclimates in each. When it's noon in Sydney, it's 10:00 AM in Shenzhen — a 2-hour time difference.
Size Ratio
Shenzhen fits inside Sydney ~6 times
Density Gap
Shenzhen is 20.5x more densely populated
History
Sydney is ~191 years older
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).
Sydney covers 12,368 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Chengdu (14,378 km²), Xi'an (10,097 km²), Melbourne (9,993 km²), Brisbane (15,826 km²), or Beijing (16,411 km²).
The straight-line distance from Shenzhen to Sydney is 7,403 km (4,600 miles), with an estimated flight time of ~9h 13m.
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