Botswana vs South Africa
South Africa is 2.1 times larger than Botswana. Botswana would fit into South Africa about 2.1 times.
BotswanaSouth AfricaBotswana moved onto South Africa · Equal-area projection
0.48×
Botswana is 0.48× the area of South Africa. Put the other way, South Africa is 2.1× the size of Botswana.
 Botswana |  South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaSouth Africa: 2.1× the area | 581,737 km²#47 of 194 | 1,221,037 km²#24 of 194 |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 3 | 6 |
| People | ||
| PopulationSouth Africa: 25.3× the population | 2,562,122#141 of 194 · 2025 | 64,747,319#24 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensitySouth Africa: 12× the density | 4.4 / km²#186 of 194 | 53 / km²#132 of 194 |
| Urban populationBotswana: 1.07× the urban share | 68%#81 of 192 · 2025 | 64%#93 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateBotswana: 1.22× the births per woman | 2.70 per woman#62 of 192 · 2024 | 2.21 per woman#86 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthBotswana: 0.46 points higher | +1.61%#63 of 192 · 2025 | +1.15%#89 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateBotswana: 1.32× the birth rate | 24.4 per 1,000#53 of 192 · 2024 | 18.5 per 1,000#81 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateSouth Africa: 1.61× the death rate | 5.7 per 1,000#148 of 192 · 2024 | 9.2 per 1,000#50 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Botswana: 6.3 points higher | 32.0%#58 of 192 · 2025 | 25.7%#87 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65South Africa: 2.8 points higher | 4.1%#139 of 192 · 2025 | 6.9%#102 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSouth Africa: 4.5 per 1,000 higher | −2.2 per 1,000#147 of 192 · 2025 | +2.3 per 1,000#36 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadBotswana: 7.5× the refugees for its size | 0.15 per 1,000#110 of 190 · 2025 | 0.02 per 1,000#145 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyBotswana: 3.0 years longer | 69.3 years#135 of 192 · 2024 | 66.3 years#158 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityBotswana: 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: 2.08× the doctors per person | 0.38 per 1,000#133 of 178 · 2023 | 0.79 per 1,000#111 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentSouth Africa: 1.1× the university enrolment | 21.4%#112 of 145 · 2024 | 23.5%#109 of 145 · 2023 |
| Human Development IndexSouth Africa: 0.010 higher | 0.731#110 of 190 · 2023 | 0.741#105 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaBotswana: 1.18× the income per person | $7,390#93 of 185 · 2025 | $6,270#101 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPSouth Africa: 21.4× the economy | $19.93B2025 | $427.18B2025 |
| Income group | Upper-middle income | Upper-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Botswana: 1.3× the output per person | $20,698#91 of 184 · 2025 | $15,906#107 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthSouth Africa: 1.8 points higher | −0.7%#178 of 187 · 2025 | +1.1%#152 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationSouth Africa: 0.5 points higher | +2.7%#96 of 176 · 2025 | +3.2%#86 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentSouth Africa: 1.32× the unemployment | 24.5%#4 of 178 · 2025 | 32.4%#2 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyBotswana: 1.23× the share in extreme poverty | 21.4%#34 of 149 · 2015 | 17.4%#39 of 149 · 2022 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Botswana: 0.8 higher | 54.9#2 of 149 · 2015 | 54.1#5 of 149 · 2022 |
| Jobs in agricultureBotswana: 12.6 points higher | 18.0% of jobs#83 of 178 · 2025 | 5.4% of jobs#128 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industrySouth Africa: 5.0 points higher | 15.8% of jobs#133 of 178 · 2025 | 20.8% of jobs#71 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesSouth Africa: 7.6 points higher | 66.2% of jobs#66 of 178 · 2025 | 73.8% of jobs#35 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentSouth Africa: 2.8 points higher | -3.3% of GDP#180 of 184 · 2025 | -0.5% of GDP#171 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsBotswana: 0.6 points higher | 32.0% of GDP#93 of 168 · 2025 | 31.4% of GDP#98 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingBotswana: 4.2× the military spending | 3.1% of GDP#28 of 155 · 2025 | 0.7% of GDP#132 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersSouth Africa: 1.36× the share online | 58%#138 of 184 · 2024 | 78%#101 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsSouth Africa: 1.09× the mobile subscriptions | 164 per 100#17 of 191 · 2024 | 179 per 100#7 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaBotswana: 1.48× the forest share | 28% of land#105 of 192 · 2024 | 19% of land#123 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personSouth Africa: 2.51× the CO₂ per person | 2.74 t a year#87 of 185 · 2024 | 6.88 t a year#33 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyBotswana: 17.7 points higher | 27.4%#88 of 190 · 2021 | 9.7%#143 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricitySouth Africa: 10.0 points higher | 80.2%#148 of 192 · 2024 | 90.2%#138 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)South Africa: 2.1× the air pollution | 13.2 µg/m³#133 of 191 · 2023 | 27.7 µg/m³#55 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landBotswana: 18.0 points higher | 27.6% of land#45 of 191 · 2025 | 9.6% of land#143 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landSouth Africa: 9.4 points higher | 0.5% of land#182 of 190 · 2024 | 9.9% of land#102 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSouth Africa: 30.7× the water stress | 2.2%#143 of 176 · 2022 | 67.6%#26 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationSouth Africa: 1.19× the rain and snow | 416 mm#149 of 180 · 2022 | 495 mm#143 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityBotswana: 1.46 higher | +1.08#29 of 193 · 2025 | −0.38#129 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionBotswana: 0.72 higher | +0.59#52 of 193 · 2025 | −0.13#87 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateSouth Africa: 3.83× the homicide rate | 11.4 per 100,000#25 of 146 · 2021 | 43.7 per 100,000#5 of 146 · 2022 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Parliamentary republic | Parliamentary republic |
| Member of | — | G20, BRICS |
| Capital | Gaborone | Pretoria |
| Currency | Botswana pula (BWP) | South African rand (ZAR) |
| Official languages | English | English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, Sesotho, Tswana, Swazi, Tsonga, Venda, Northern Sotho, Southern Ndebele, South African Sign Language |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the left |
| Time zone | UTC+2 | UTC+2 |
| Calling code | +267 | +27 |
| Region | Southern 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. Botswana sits at about 22° S and is stretched to 1.17× 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 Botswana bigger than South Africa?
- No. Botswana is 2.1 times smaller than South Africa. Botswana covers 581,737 km² and South Africa covers 1,221,037 km².
- How many times does Botswana fit into South Africa?
- About 2.1 times: South Africa has 2.1× the area of Botswana.
- Why do Botswana and South Africa 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 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, Botswana or South Africa?
- South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 2,562,122. Density: Botswana 4.4 per km², South Africa 53 per km².
- Which is richer, Botswana or South Africa?
- By gross national income per person, Botswana: $7,390 against $6,270 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.18× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Botswana or South Africa?
- In Botswana: life expectancy at birth is 69.3 years, against 66.3 — 3.0 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Botswana and South Africa have?
- The same form of government, by constitution: parliamentary republic (CIA World Factbook).