Botswana vs Canada
Canada is 17.2 times larger than Botswana. Botswana would fit into Canada about 17 times.
BotswanaCanadaBotswana moved onto Canada · Equal-area projection
0.06×
Botswana is 0.06× the area of Canada. Put the other way, Canada is 17.2× the size of Botswana.
 Botswana |  Canada | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaCanada: 17.2× the area | 581,737 km²#47 of 194 | 9,984,670 km²#2 of 194 |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 3 | 1 |
| People | ||
| PopulationCanada: 16.3× the population | 2,562,122#141 of 194 · 2025 | 41,651,653#38 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityBotswana: 1.06× the density | 4.4 / km²#186 of 194 | 4.2 / km²#188 of 194 |
| Urban populationCanada: 1.22× the urban share | 68%#81 of 192 · 2025 | 83%#36 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateBotswana: 2.16× the births per woman | 2.70 per woman#62 of 192 · 2024 | 1.25 per woman#171 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthBotswana: 0.67 points higher | +1.61%#63 of 192 · 2025 | +0.94%#100 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateBotswana: 2.74× the birth rate | 24.4 per 1,000#53 of 192 · 2024 | 8.9 per 1,000#157 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateCanada: 1.39× the death rate | 5.7 per 1,000#148 of 192 · 2024 | 7.9 per 1,000#72 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Botswana: 17.0 points higher | 32.0%#58 of 192 · 2025 | 15.0%#162 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Canada: 16.2 points higher | 4.1%#139 of 192 · 2025 | 20.3%#30 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationCanada: 10.0 per 1,000 higher | −2.2 per 1,000#147 of 192 · 2025 | +7.8 per 1,000#11 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadBotswana: 15× the refugees for its size | 0.15 per 1,000#110 of 190 · 2025 | 0.01 per 1,000#155 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyCanada: 12.8 years longer | 69.3 years#135 of 192 · 2024 | 82.1 years#28 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityBotswana: 6.83× the infant mortality | 32.1 per 1,000 births#42 of 191 · 2024 | 4.7 per 1,000 births#144 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsCanada: 7.42× the doctors per person | 0.38 per 1,000#133 of 178 · 2023 | 2.82 per 1,000#65 of 178 · 2023 |
| University enrolmentCanada: 3.57× the university enrolment | 21.4%#112 of 145 · 2024 | 76.3%#36 of 145 · 2023 |
| Human Development IndexCanada: 0.208 higher | 0.731#110 of 190 · 2023 | 0.939#15 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaCanada: 7.63× the income per person | $7,390#93 of 185 · 2025 | $56,420#16 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPCanada: 116× the economy | $19.93B2025 | $2.32T2025 |
| Income group | Upper-middle income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Canada: 3.22× the output per person | $20,698#91 of 184 · 2025 | $66,746#24 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthCanada: 2.4 points higher | −0.7%#178 of 187 · 2025 | +1.7%#141 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationBotswana: 0.6 points higher | +2.7%#96 of 176 · 2025 | +2.1%#116 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentBotswana: 3.55× the unemployment | 24.5%#4 of 178 · 2025 | 6.9%#58 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyBotswana: 71.3× the share in extreme poverty | 21.4%#34 of 149 · 2015 | 0.3%#116 of 149 · 2022 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Botswana: 23.4 higher | 54.9#2 of 149 · 2015 | 31.5#107 of 149 · 2022 |
| Jobs in agricultureBotswana: 16.9 points higher | 18.0% of jobs#83 of 178 · 2025 | 1.1% of jobs#169 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryCanada: 2.9 points higher | 15.8% of jobs#133 of 178 · 2025 | 18.7% of jobs#96 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesCanada: 13.9 points higher | 66.2% of jobs#66 of 178 · 2025 | 80.1% of jobs#13 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentCanada: 6.3 points higher | -3.3% of GDP#180 of 184 · 2025 | 3.0% of GDP#65 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsBotswana: 0.7 points higher | 32.0% of GDP#93 of 168 · 2025 | 31.3% of GDP#100 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingBotswana: 1.91× the military spending | 3.1% of GDP#28 of 155 · 2025 | 1.6% of GDP#80 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersCanada: 1.64× the share online | 58%#138 of 184 · 2024 | 94%#28 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsBotswana: 1.74× the mobile subscriptions | 164 per 100#17 of 191 · 2024 | 94 per 100#137 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaCanada: 1.51× the forest share | 28% of land#105 of 192 · 2024 | 42% of land#62 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personCanada: 5.11× the CO₂ per person | 2.74 t a year#87 of 185 · 2024 | 14.0 t a year#11 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyBotswana: 3.6 points higher | 27.4%#88 of 190 · 2021 | 23.8%#96 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityCanada: 19.8 points higher | 80.2%#148 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Botswana: 2.0× the air pollution | 13.2 µg/m³#133 of 191 · 2023 | 6.6 µg/m³#176 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landBotswana: 14.7 points higher | 27.6% of land#45 of 191 · 2025 | 12.9% of land#131 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landCanada: 3.8 points higher | 0.5% of land#182 of 190 · 2024 | 4.3% of land#134 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressCanada: 1.68× the water stress | 2.2%#143 of 176 · 2022 | 3.7%#132 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationCanada: 1.29× the rain and snow | 416 mm#149 of 180 · 2022 | 537 mm#138 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityBotswana: 0.27 higher | +1.08#29 of 193 · 2025 | +0.81#48 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionCanada: 1.00 higher | +0.59#52 of 193 · 2025 | +1.59#15 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateBotswana: 5.7× the homicide rate | 11.4 per 100,000#25 of 146 · 2021 | 2.0 per 100,000#80 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Parliamentary republic | Constitutional monarchyfederal parliamentary democracy (Parliament of Canada) under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm; federal and state authorities and responsibilities regulated in constitution |
| Member of | — | NATO, OECD, G7, G20 |
| Capital | Gaborone | Ottawa |
| Currency | Botswana pula (BWP) | Canadian dollar (CAD) |
| Official languages | English | English, French |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+2 | UTC−5, summer time UTC−4 · UTC−8 to UTC−3:30, 6 time zones |
| Calling code | +267 | +1 |
| Region | Southern Africa, Africa | Northern America, North America |
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. Botswana sits at about 22° S and is stretched to 1.17× its true area; Canada at 60° N is stretched to 4.1×. That difference is why Canada looks so much bigger than it is next to Botswana. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Botswana bigger than Canada?
- No. Botswana is 17.2 times smaller than Canada. Botswana covers 581,737 km² and Canada covers 9,984,670 km².
- How many times does Botswana fit into Canada?
- About 17 times: Canada has 17.2× the area of Botswana.
- Why do Botswana and Canada look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Botswana is drawn about 1.17× its true area there and Canada about 4.1×. That is why Canada looks so much bigger than it really is next to Botswana. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Botswana or Canada?
- Canada: 41,651,653 people against 2,562,122. Density: Botswana 4.4 per km², Canada 4.2 per km².
- Which is richer, Botswana or Canada?
- By gross national income per person, Canada: $56,420 against $7,390 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 7.63× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Botswana or Canada?
- In Canada: life expectancy at birth is 82.1 years, against 69.3 — 12.8 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Botswana and Canada have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Botswana: parliamentary republic; Canada: constitutional monarchy.