Belgium vs South Africa
South Africa is 39.8 times larger than Belgium. Belgium would fit into South Africa about 40 times.
BelgiumSouth AfricaBelgium moved onto South Africa · Equal-area projection
0.03×
Belgium is 0.03× the area of South Africa. Put the other way, South Africa is 39.8× the size of Belgium.
| Belgium | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 30,688 km² | 1,221,037 km² |
| Population | 11,941,781 | 64,747,319 |
| Density | 389 / km² | 53 / km² |
| Capital | Brussels | Pretoria |
| Region | Western Europe | 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. Belgium sits at about 51°N and is stretched to 2.49× its true area; South Africa at 29° S is stretched to 1.31×. That difference is why Belgium looks so much bigger than it is next to South Africa. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Belgium bigger than South Africa?
- No. Belgium is 39.8 times smaller than South Africa. Belgium covers 30,688 km² and South Africa covers 1,221,037 km².
- How many times does Belgium fit into South Africa?
- About 40 times: South Africa has 39.8× the area of Belgium.
- Why do Belgium and South Africa look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Belgium is drawn about 2.49× its true area there and South Africa about 1.31×. That is why Belgium looks so much bigger than it really is next to South Africa. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Belgium or South Africa?
- South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 11,941,781. Density: Belgium 389 per km², South Africa 53 per km².