Northwest Territories (Canada): Size & Scale

The Northwest Territories (NWT) is Canada's second-largest territory (after Nunavut) and third-largest jurisdiction overall (after Quebec, Nunavut).

Area Breakdown

• Total: 1,346,106 km² (519,735 sq mi)
• Land: 1,183,085 km² (456,791 sq mi)
• Water: 163,021 km² (62,943 sq mi) — 12% water (Great Bear Lake, Great Slave Lake, Mackenzie River system).

Comparison

• Canada Total: 9,984,670 km² — NWT = 13.5% of Canada.
• Larger than: France, Germany, Spain, California, Texas + Montana combined.
• Smaller than: Quebec (1.54M km²), Nunavut (2.09M km²), Ontario (1.08M km² land).

Population (2023)

~45,000 — 0.1% of Canada. Capital: Yellowknife (20k).

Vast, watery, mineral-rich (diamonds, gold, rare earths), Indigenous-majority (Dene, Inuvialuit, Métis), and sparsely populated—the NWT is a frontier jurisdiction of global resource significance.