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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 1,246,700 km² | 1,221,037 km² |
| Population | 39,040,039 | 64,747,319 |
| Density | 31 / km² | 53 / km² |
| Capital | Luanda | Pretoria |
| Region | Middle Africa | Southern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 4 | 6 |
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.