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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 9,984,670 km² | 1,221,037 km² |
| Population | 41,651,653 | 64,747,319 |
| Density | 4.2 / km² | 53 / km² |
| Capital | Ottawa | Pretoria |
| Region | Northern America | Southern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 1 | 6 |
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.