South Africa at its true size
South Africa covers 1,221,037 km², number 24 of 194 countries by area. Home to 64,747,319 people (2025). Sitting near the equator, it is one of the few places Mercator gets almost right.
Equal-area projection · Natural Earth 50m
| Area | 1,221,037 km² Wikidata |
|---|---|
| Population | 64,747,319 World Bank, 2025 |
| Density | 53 per km² |
| Capital | Pretoria |
| Local time in Pretoria | |
| Time zone | UTC+2 IANA |
| Currency | South African rand (ZAR) Wikidata |
| Languages | English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, Sesotho, Tswana, Swazi, Tsonga, Venda, Northern Sotho, Southern Ndebele, South African Sign Language |
| Traffic | On the left |
| Region | Southern Africa, Africa |
| Status | Independent state |
| Member of | G20BRICS |
| Coast | Has a coastline |
| Calling code | +27 |
| Codes | ZA · ZAF · 710 |
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Where South Africa ranks
Among the independent states, in 44 rankings. Each links to its table.
People
- Population#24 of 19465 million people#6 of 54 in Africa
- Population density#132 of 19453 people per km²#32 of 54 in Africa
- Urban population#93 of 19264% urban#13 of 54 in Africa
- Fertility rate#86 of 1922.21 births per woman#49 of 54 in Africa
- Population growth#89 of 192+1.15% a year#46 of 54 in Africa
- Birth rate#81 of 19218.5 births per 1,000 people#48 of 54 in Africa
- Death rate#50 of 1929.2 deaths per 1,000 people#8 of 54 in Africa
- Children under 15#87 of 19225.7% under 15#49 of 54 in Africa
- People over 65#102 of 1926.9% aged 65 and over#6 of 54 in Africa
- Net migration#36 of 192+2.3 per 1,000 people#3 of 54 in Africa
- Refugees abroad#145 of 1900.02 refugees abroad per 1,000 people#48 of 54 in Africa
Health & education
- Life expectancy#158 of 19266.3 years#24 of 54 in Africa
- Infant mortality#58 of 19124.2 infant deaths per 1,000 live births#45 of 54 in Africa
- Doctors#111 of 1780.79 doctors per 1,000 people#5 of 51 in Africa
- University enrolment#109 of 14523.5% gross enrolment#7 of 29 in Africa
- Human Development Index#105 of 190an index of 0.741#6 of 54 in Africa
Economy
- GNI per capita#101 of 185$6,270 a person#6 of 52 in Africa
- Internet users#101 of 18478% online#4 of 52 in Africa
- GDP per capita (PPP)#107 of 184$15,906 a person#9 of 52 in Africa
- GDP growth#152 of 187+1.1% a year#48 of 52 in Africa
- Inflation#86 of 176+3.2% a year#29 of 50 in Africa
- Unemployment#2 of 17832.4% of the labour force#2 of 53 in Africa
- Extreme poverty#39 of 14917.4% under $3.00 a day#36 of 47 in Africa
- Income inequality (Gini)#5 of 149a Gini index of 54.1#4 of 47 in Africa
- Jobs in agriculture#128 of 1785.4% of jobs#51 of 53 in Africa
- Jobs in industry#71 of 17820.8% of jobs#10 of 53 in Africa
- Jobs in services#35 of 17873.8% of jobs#3 of 53 in Africa
- Foreign investment#171 of 184-0.5% of GDP#51 of 52 in Africa
- Exports#98 of 16831.4% of GDP#23 of 49 in Africa
- Military spending#132 of 1550.7% of GDP#41 of 50 in Africa
- Mobile subscriptions#7 of 191179 subscriptions per 100 people#3 of 54 in Africa
Energy & environment
- CO₂ per person#33 of 1856.88 tonnes a person#3 of 53 in Africa
- Forest area#123 of 19219% forest#30 of 54 in Africa
- Renewable energy#143 of 1909.7% renewable#48 of 54 in Africa
- Access to electricity#138 of 19290.2% with electricity#11 of 54 in Africa
- Air pollution (PM2.5)#55 of 19127.7 µg/m³#26 of 54 in Africa
- Protected land#143 of 1919.6% of the land protected#38 of 54 in Africa
- Arable land#102 of 1909.9% of the land arable#31 of 54 in Africa
- Water stress#26 of 17667.6% of its available fresh water#7 of 53 in Africa
- Precipitation#143 of 180495 mm a year#38 of 54 in Africa
Governance & safety
Countries of a similar size
Every country within 25% of South Africa’s area, lit up on the map →
- Mali0.98×South Africa and Mali are almost exactly the same size.
- Angola0.98×South Africa and Angola are almost exactly the same size.
- Niger0.96×South Africa is 4% smaller than Niger.
- Chad0.95×South Africa is 5% smaller than Chad.
- Peru0.95×South Africa is 5% smaller than Peru.
- Colombia1.07×South Africa is 7% larger than Colombia.
How many times does South Africa fit into…
- Russia: about 14 times
- Canada: about 8.2 times
- United States: about 8.0 times
The land itself
Rivers, summits and lakes South Africa shares with the rest of the world. Turn on “Rivers & lakes” and “Physical names” in the atlas to see them on the map.
Rivers
- Orange2,200 km
- Limpopo1,750 km
- Vaal1,120 km
Summits
- Mafadi3,450 m
- Compassberg2,502 m
- Seweweekspoortpiek2,325 m
- Emlembe1,862 m
Rivers are listed by the published length of their whole course, not the part inside South Africa. Figures from Wikidata, features from Natural Earth.
Neighbours
Questions about South Africa
- How big is South Africa?
- South Africa covers 1,221,037 km², which makes it number 24 of 194 countries by area. About 64,747,319 people live there (2025), 53 per km².
- Is South Africa bigger than Mali?
- South Africa and Mali are almost exactly the same size. South Africa: 1,221,037 km²; Mali: 1,240,192 km².
- How much does the Mercator map distort South Africa?
- South Africa lies close to the equator, so Mercator draws it at nearly its true size. It is the countries far from the equator that Mercator inflates.
- Which countries border South Africa?
- South Africa shares a land border with Namibia, Mozambique, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini.