Canada vs South Africa
Canada is 8.18 times larger than South Africa. South Africa would fit into Canada about 8.2 times.
CanadaSouth AfricaCanada moved onto South Africa · Equal-area projection
8.18×
Canada is 8.18× the area of South Africa.
 Canada |  South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaCanada: 8.18× the area | 9,984,670 km²#2 of 194 | 1,221,037 km²#24 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 1 | 6 |
| People | ||
| PopulationSouth Africa: 1.55× the population | 41,651,653#38 of 194 · 2025 | 64,747,319#24 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensitySouth Africa: 12.7× the density | 4.2 / km²#188 of 194 | 53 / km²#132 of 194 |
| Urban populationCanada: 1.3× the urban share | 83%#36 of 192 · 2025 | 64%#93 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateSouth Africa: 1.77× the births per woman | 1.25 per woman#171 of 192 · 2024 | 2.21 per woman#86 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthSouth Africa: 0.21 points higher | +0.94%#100 of 192 · 2025 | +1.15%#89 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateSouth Africa: 2.08× the birth rate | 8.9 per 1,000#157 of 192 · 2024 | 18.5 per 1,000#81 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateSouth Africa: 1.16× the death rate | 7.9 per 1,000#72 of 192 · 2024 | 9.2 per 1,000#50 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15South Africa: 10.7 points higher | 15.0%#162 of 192 · 2025 | 25.7%#87 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Canada: 13.4 points higher | 20.3%#30 of 192 · 2025 | 6.9%#102 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationCanada: 5.5 per 1,000 higher | +7.8 per 1,000#11 of 192 · 2025 | +2.3 per 1,000#36 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadSouth Africa: 2.0× the refugees for its size | 0.01 per 1,000#155 of 190 · 2025 | 0.02 per 1,000#145 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyCanada: 15.8 years longer | 82.1 years#28 of 192 · 2024 | 66.3 years#158 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalitySouth Africa: 5.15× the infant mortality | 4.7 per 1,000 births#144 of 191 · 2024 | 24.2 per 1,000 births#58 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsCanada: 3.57× the doctors per person | 2.82 per 1,000#65 of 178 · 2023 | 0.79 per 1,000#111 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentCanada: 3.25× the university enrolment | 76.3%#36 of 145 · 2023 | 23.5%#109 of 145 · 2023 |
| Human Development IndexCanada: 0.198 higher | 0.939#15 of 190 · 2023 | 0.741#105 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaCanada: 9.0× the income per person | $56,420#16 of 185 · 2025 | $6,270#101 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPCanada: 5.43× the economy | $2.32T2025 | $427.18B2025 |
| Income group | High income | Upper-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Canada: 4.2× the output per person | $66,746#24 of 184 · 2025 | $15,906#107 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthCanada: 0.6 points higher | +1.7%#141 of 187 · 2025 | +1.1%#152 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationSouth Africa: 1.1 points higher | +2.1%#116 of 176 · 2025 | +3.2%#86 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentSouth Africa: 4.7× the unemployment | 6.9%#58 of 178 · 2025 | 32.4%#2 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertySouth Africa: 58× the share in extreme poverty | 0.3%#116 of 149 · 2022 | 17.4%#39 of 149 · 2022 |
| Income inequality (Gini)South Africa: 22.6 higher | 31.5#107 of 149 · 2022 | 54.1#5 of 149 · 2022 |
| Jobs in agricultureSouth Africa: 4.3 points higher | 1.1% of jobs#169 of 178 · 2025 | 5.4% of jobs#128 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industrySouth Africa: 2.1 points higher | 18.7% of jobs#96 of 178 · 2025 | 20.8% of jobs#71 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesCanada: 6.3 points higher | 80.1% of jobs#13 of 178 · 2025 | 73.8% of jobs#35 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentCanada: 3.5 points higher | 3.0% of GDP#65 of 184 · 2025 | -0.5% of GDP#171 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsSouth Africa: 0.1 points higher | 31.3% of GDP#100 of 168 · 2025 | 31.4% of GDP#98 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingCanada: 2.2× the military spending | 1.6% of GDP#80 of 155 · 2025 | 0.7% of GDP#132 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersCanada: 1.2× the share online | 94%#28 of 184 · 2024 | 78%#101 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsSouth Africa: 1.9× the mobile subscriptions | 94 per 100#137 of 191 · 2024 | 179 per 100#7 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaCanada: 2.23× the forest share | 42% of land#62 of 192 · 2024 | 19% of land#123 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personCanada: 2.04× the CO₂ per person | 14.0 t a year#11 of 185 · 2024 | 6.88 t a year#33 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyCanada: 14.1 points higher | 23.8%#96 of 190 · 2021 | 9.7%#143 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityCanada: 9.8 points higher | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 90.2%#138 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)South Africa: 4.2× the air pollution | 6.6 µg/m³#176 of 191 · 2023 | 27.7 µg/m³#55 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landCanada: 3.3 points higher | 12.9% of land#131 of 191 · 2025 | 9.6% of land#143 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landSouth Africa: 5.6 points higher | 4.3% of land#134 of 190 · 2024 | 9.9% of land#102 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSouth Africa: 18.3× the water stress | 3.7%#132 of 176 · 2022 | 67.6%#26 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationCanada: 1.08× the rain and snow | 537 mm#138 of 180 · 2022 | 495 mm#143 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityCanada: 1.19 higher | +0.81#48 of 193 · 2025 | −0.38#129 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionCanada: 1.72 higher | +1.59#15 of 193 · 2025 | −0.13#87 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateSouth Africa: 21.9× the homicide rate | 2.0 per 100,000#80 of 146 · 2023 | 43.7 per 100,000#5 of 146 · 2022 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Constitutional monarchyfederal parliamentary democracy (Parliament of Canada) under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm; federal and state authorities and responsibilities regulated in constitution | Parliamentary republic |
| Member of | NATO, OECD, G7, G20 | G20, BRICS |
| Capital | Ottawa | Pretoria |
| Currency | Canadian dollar (CAD) | South African rand (ZAR) |
| Official languages | English, French | English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, Sesotho, Tswana, Swazi, Tsonga, Venda, Northern Sotho, Southern Ndebele, South African Sign Language |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the left |
| Time zone | UTC−5, summer time UTC−4 · UTC−8 to UTC−3:30, 6 time zones | UTC+2 |
| Calling code | +1 | +27 |
| Region | Northern America, North America | 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. Canada sits at about 60° N and is stretched to 4.1× its true area; South Africa at 29° S is stretched to 1.31×. That difference is why Canada 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 Canada bigger than South Africa?
- Yes. Canada is 8.18 times larger than South Africa. Canada covers 9,984,670 km² and South Africa covers 1,221,037 km².
- How many times does South Africa fit into Canada?
- About 8.2 times: Canada has 8.18× the area of South Africa.
- Why do Canada and South Africa look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Canada is drawn about 4.1× its true area there and South Africa about 1.31×. That is why Canada 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, Canada or South Africa?
- South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 41,651,653. Density: Canada 4.2 per km², South Africa 53 per km².
- Which is richer, Canada or South Africa?
- By gross national income per person, Canada: $56,420 against $6,270 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 9.0× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Canada or South Africa?
- In Canada: life expectancy at birth is 82.1 years, against 66.3 — 15.8 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Canada and South Africa have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Canada: constitutional monarchy; South Africa: parliamentary republic.