Angola vs South Africa
Angola and South Africa are almost exactly the same size.
AngolaSouth AfricaAngola moved onto South Africa · Equal-area projection
1.02×
Angola is 1.02× the area of South Africa.
 Angola |  South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaAbout the same area | 1,246,700 km²#22 of 194 | 1,221,037 km²#24 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 4 | 6 |
| People | ||
| PopulationSouth Africa: 1.66× the population | 39,040,039#39 of 194 · 2025 | 64,747,319#24 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensitySouth Africa: 1.69× the density | 31 / km²#147 of 194 | 53 / km²#132 of 194 |
| Urban populationAngola: 1.12× the urban share | 72%#68 of 192 · 2025 | 64%#93 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateAngola: 2.29× the births per woman | 5.05 per woman#7 of 192 · 2024 | 2.21 per woman#86 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthAngola: 1.85 points higher | +3.00%#12 of 192 · 2025 | +1.15%#89 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateAngola: 2.01× the birth rate | 37.2 per 1,000#7 of 192 · 2024 | 18.5 per 1,000#81 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateSouth Africa: 1.35× the death rate | 6.8 per 1,000#112 of 192 · 2024 | 9.2 per 1,000#50 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Angola: 18.4 points higher | 44.1%#8 of 192 · 2025 | 25.7%#87 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65South Africa: 4.0 points higher | 2.9%#174 of 192 · 2025 | 6.9%#102 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSouth Africa: 2.4 per 1,000 higher | −0.1 per 1,000#78 of 192 · 2025 | +2.3 per 1,000#36 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadAngola: 17× the refugees for its size | 0.34 per 1,000#85 of 190 · 2025 | 0.02 per 1,000#145 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancySouth Africa: 1.5 years longer | 64.8 years#166 of 192 · 2024 | 66.3 years#158 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityAngola: 1.33× the infant mortality | 32.1 per 1,000 births#42 of 191 · 2024 | 24.2 per 1,000 births#58 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsSouth Africa: 3.29× the doctors per person | 0.24 per 1,000#143 of 178 · 2022 | 0.79 per 1,000#111 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentSouth Africa: 2.35× the university enrolment | 10.0%#133 of 145 · 2024 | 23.5%#109 of 145 · 2023 |
| Human Development IndexSouth Africa: 0.125 higher | 0.616#145 of 190 · 2023 | 0.741#105 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaSouth Africa: 2.19× the income per person | $2,860#135 of 185 · 2025 | $6,270#101 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPSouth Africa: 3.5× the economy | $122.18B2025 | $427.18B2025 |
| Income group | Lower-middle income | Upper-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)South Africa: 1.55× the output per person | $10,251#126 of 184 · 2025 | $15,906#107 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthAngola: 2.0 points higher | +3.1%#96 of 187 · 2025 | +1.1%#152 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationAngola: 17.0 points higher | +20.2%#11 of 176 · 2025 | +3.2%#86 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentSouth Africa: 2.3× the unemployment | 14.1%#17 of 178 · 2025 | 32.4%#2 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyAngola: 2.26× the share in extreme poverty | 39.3%#21 of 149 · 2018 | 17.4%#39 of 149 · 2022 |
| Income inequality (Gini)South Africa: 2.8 higher | 51.3#7 of 149 · 2018 | 54.1#5 of 149 · 2022 |
| Jobs in agricultureAngola: 46.5 points higher | 51.9% of jobs#21 of 178 · 2025 | 5.4% of jobs#128 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industrySouth Africa: 13.6 points higher | 7.2% of jobs#172 of 178 · 2025 | 20.8% of jobs#71 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesSouth Africa: 32.9 points higher | 40.9% of jobs#145 of 178 · 2025 | 73.8% of jobs#35 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentAngola: 2.3 points higher | 1.8% of GDP#100 of 184 · 2025 | -0.5% of GDP#171 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsSouth Africa: 8.4 points higher | 23.0% of GDP#121 of 168 · 2025 | 31.4% of GDP#98 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingAngola: 1.89× the military spending | 1.4% of GDP#92 of 155 · 2025 | 0.7% of GDP#132 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersSouth Africa: 1.93× the share online | 41%#154 of 184 · 2024 | 78%#101 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsSouth Africa: 2.56× the mobile subscriptions | 70 per 100#161 of 191 · 2024 | 179 per 100#7 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaAngola: 2.72× the forest share | 51% of land#45 of 192 · 2024 | 19% of land#123 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personSouth Africa: 9.3× the CO₂ per person | 0.74 t a year#139 of 185 · 2024 | 6.88 t a year#33 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyAngola: 43.2 points higher | 52.9%#45 of 190 · 2021 | 9.7%#143 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricitySouth Africa: 34.7 points higher | 55.5%#168 of 192 · 2024 | 90.2%#138 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)South Africa: 1.39× the air pollution | 19.9 µg/m³#85 of 191 · 2023 | 27.7 µg/m³#55 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landAngola: 1.2 points higher | 10.8% of land#141 of 191 · 2025 | 9.6% of land#143 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landSouth Africa: 6.2 points higher | 3.7% of land#142 of 190 · 2024 | 9.9% of land#102 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSouth Africa: 35.6× the water stress | 1.9%#149 of 176 · 2022 | 67.6%#26 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationAngola: 2.04× the rain and snow | 1,010 mm#95 of 180 · 2022 | 495 mm#143 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilitySouth Africa: 0.06 higher | −0.44#134 of 193 · 2025 | −0.38#129 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionSouth Africa: 0.55 higher | −0.68#130 of 193 · 2025 | −0.13#87 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateSouth Africa: 10.7× the homicide rate | 4.1 per 100,000#56 of 146 · 2016 | 43.7 per 100,000#5 of 146 · 2022 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republic | Parliamentary republic |
| Member of | — | G20, BRICS |
| Capital | Luanda | Pretoria |
| Currency | Kwanza (AOA) | South African rand (ZAR) |
| Official languages | Portuguese | English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, Sesotho, Tswana, Swazi, Tsonga, Venda, Northern Sotho, Southern Ndebele, South African Sign Language |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the left |
| Time zone | UTC+1 | UTC+2 |
| Calling code | +244 | +27 |
| Region | Middle Africa, Africa | Southern Africa, Africa |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Angola sits at about 12° S and is stretched to 1.05× its true area; South Africa at 29° S is stretched to 1.31×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Angola bigger than South Africa?
- Yes. Angola and South Africa are almost exactly the same size. Angola covers 1,246,700 km² and South Africa covers 1,221,037 km².
- How many times does South Africa fit into Angola?
- About 1.0 times: Angola has 1.02× the area of South Africa.
- Why do Angola and South Africa look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Angola is drawn about 1.05× its true area there and South Africa about 1.31×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Angola or South Africa?
- South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 39,040,039. Density: Angola 31 per km², South Africa 53 per km².
- Which is richer, Angola or South Africa?
- By gross national income per person, South Africa: $6,270 against $2,860 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 2.19× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Angola or South Africa?
- In South Africa: life expectancy at birth is 66.3 years, against 64.8 — 1.5 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Angola and South Africa have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Angola: presidential republic; South Africa: parliamentary republic.