Bulgaria vs South Africa
South Africa is 11 times larger than Bulgaria. Bulgaria would fit into South Africa about 11 times.
BulgariaSouth AfricaBulgaria moved onto South Africa · Equal-area projection
0.09×
Bulgaria is 0.09× the area of South Africa. Put the other way, South Africa is 11× the size of Bulgaria.
| Bulgaria | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 110,994 km² | 1,221,037 km² |
| Population | 6,433,302 | 64,747,319 |
| Density | 58 / km² | 53 / km² |
| Capital | Sofia | Pretoria |
| Region | Eastern Europe | Southern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 5 | 6 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Bulgaria sits at about 43°N and is stretched to 1.86× its true area; South Africa at 29° S is stretched to 1.31×. That difference is why Bulgaria 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 Bulgaria bigger than South Africa?
- No. Bulgaria is 11 times smaller than South Africa. Bulgaria covers 110,994 km² and South Africa covers 1,221,037 km².
- How many times does Bulgaria fit into South Africa?
- About 11 times: South Africa has 11× the area of Bulgaria.
- Why do Bulgaria and South Africa look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Bulgaria is drawn about 1.86× its true area there and South Africa about 1.31×. That is why Bulgaria 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, Bulgaria or South Africa?
- South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 6,433,302. Density: Bulgaria 58 per km², South Africa 53 per km².