Botswana vs Somalia
Somalia is 10% larger than Botswana.
BotswanaSomaliaBotswana moved onto Somalia · Equal-area projection
0.91×
Botswana is 0.91× the area of Somalia. Put the other way, Somalia is 1.1× the size of Botswana.
 Botswana |  Somalia | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaSomalia: 1.1× the area | 581,737 km²#47 of 194 | 637,657 km²#43 of 194 |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 3 | 2 |
| People | ||
| PopulationSomalia: 7.67× the population | 2,562,122#141 of 194 · 2025 | 19,654,739#67 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensitySomalia: 7.0× the density | 4.4 / km²#186 of 194 | 31 / km²#149 of 194 |
| Urban populationBotswana: 1.23× the urban share | 68%#81 of 192 · 2025 | 55%#123 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateSomalia: 2.23× the births per woman | 2.70 per woman#62 of 192 · 2024 | 6.01 per woman#2 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthSomalia: 1.73 points higher | +1.61%#63 of 192 · 2025 | +3.34%#8 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateSomalia: 1.73× the birth rate | 24.4 per 1,000#53 of 192 · 2024 | 42.3 per 1,000#3 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateSomalia: 1.7× the death rate | 5.7 per 1,000#148 of 192 · 2024 | 9.7 per 1,000#41 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Somalia: 14.6 points higher | 32.0%#58 of 192 · 2025 | 46.6%#2 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Botswana: 1.5 points higher | 4.1%#139 of 192 · 2025 | 2.6%#180 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSomalia: 2.8 per 1,000 higher | −2.2 per 1,000#147 of 192 · 2025 | +0.6 per 1,000#55 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadSomalia: 303× the refugees for its size | 0.15 per 1,000#110 of 190 · 2025 | 45.39 per 1,000#8 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyBotswana: 10.3 years longer | 69.3 years#135 of 192 · 2024 | 59.0 years#187 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalitySomalia: 2.04× the infant mortality | 32.1 per 1,000 births#42 of 191 · 2024 | 65.4 per 1,000 births#4 of 191 · 2024 |
| Doctors | 0.38 per 1,000#133 of 178 · 2023 | — |
| University enrolment | 21.4%#112 of 145 · 2024 | — |
| Human Development IndexBotswana: 0.327 higher | 0.731#110 of 190 · 2023 | 0.404#189 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaBotswana: 11.5× the income per person | $7,390#93 of 185 · 2025 | $640#179 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPBotswana: 1.53× the economy | $19.93B2025 | $13B2025 |
| Income group | Upper-middle income | Low income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Botswana: 12.6× the output per person | $20,698#91 of 184 · 2025 | $1,643#182 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthSomalia: 3.7 points higher | −0.7%#178 of 187 · 2025 | +3.0%#102 of 187 · 2025 |
| Inflation | +2.7%#96 of 176 · 2025 | — |
| UnemploymentBotswana: 1.3× the unemployment | 24.5%#4 of 178 · 2025 | 18.9%#8 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | 21.4%#34 of 149 · 2015 | — |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 54.9#2 of 149 · 2015 | — |
| Jobs in agricultureSomalia: 12.0 points higher | 18.0% of jobs#83 of 178 · 2025 | 30.0% of jobs#60 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industrySomalia: 2.0 points higher | 15.8% of jobs#133 of 178 · 2025 | 17.8% of jobs#108 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesBotswana: 14.0 points higher | 66.2% of jobs#66 of 178 · 2025 | 52.2% of jobs#109 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentSomalia: 9.7 points higher | -3.3% of GDP#180 of 184 · 2025 | 6.4% of GDP#29 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsBotswana: 2.8 points higher | 32.0% of GDP#93 of 168 · 2025 | 29.2% of GDP#106 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingBotswana: 2.02× the military spending | 3.1% of GDP#28 of 155 · 2025 | 1.5% of GDP#85 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersBotswana: 2.06× the share online | 58%#138 of 184 · 2024 | 28%#169 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsBotswana: 3.04× the mobile subscriptions | 164 per 100#17 of 191 · 2024 | 54 per 100#179 of 191 · 2023 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaBotswana: 3.56× the forest share | 28% of land#105 of 192 · 2024 | 8% of land#159 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personBotswana: 54.8× the CO₂ per person | 2.74 t a year#87 of 185 · 2024 | 0.05 t a year#182 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energySomalia: 68.0 points higher | 27.4%#88 of 190 · 2021 | 95.4%#2 of 190 · 2022 |
| Access to electricityBotswana: 25.8 points higher | 80.2%#148 of 192 · 2024 | 54.4%#171 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Somalia: 1.4× the air pollution | 13.2 µg/m³#133 of 191 · 2023 | 18.5 µg/m³#95 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landBotswana: 27.6 points higher | 27.6% of land#45 of 191 · 2025 | 0.0% of land#188 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landSomalia: 1.3 points higher | 0.5% of land#182 of 190 · 2024 | 1.8% of land#165 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSomalia: 11.1× the water stress | 2.2%#143 of 176 · 2022 | 24.5%#61 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationBotswana: 1.48× the rain and snow | 416 mm#149 of 180 · 2022 | 282 mm#155 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityBotswana: 3.25 higher | +1.08#29 of 193 · 2025 | −2.17#190 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionBotswana: 2.28 higher | +0.59#52 of 193 · 2025 | −1.69#192 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | 11.4 per 100,000#25 of 146 · 2021 | — |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Parliamentary republic | Parliamentary republicfederal parliamentary republic |
| Capital | Gaborone | Mogadishu |
| Currency | Botswana pula (BWP) | Somali shilling (SOS) |
| Official languages | English | Arabic, Somali |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+2 | UTC+3 |
| Calling code | +267 | +252 |
| Region | Southern Africa, Africa | Eastern 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. Botswana sits at about 22° S and is stretched to 1.17× its true area; Somalia at 5° N is stretched to 1.01×. 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 Botswana bigger than Somalia?
- No. Botswana is 9% smaller than Somalia. Botswana covers 581,737 km² and Somalia covers 637,657 km².
- How many times does Botswana fit into Somalia?
- About 1.1 times: Somalia has 1.1× the area of Botswana.
- Why do Botswana and Somalia 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 Somalia about 1.01×. 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, Botswana or Somalia?
- Somalia: 19,654,739 people against 2,562,122. Density: Botswana 4.4 per km², Somalia 31 per km².
- Which is richer, Botswana or Somalia?
- By gross national income per person, Botswana: $7,390 against $640 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 11.5× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Botswana or Somalia?
- In Botswana: life expectancy at birth is 69.3 years, against 59.0 — 10.3 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Botswana and Somalia have?
- The same form of government, by constitution: parliamentary republic (CIA World Factbook).