China vs South Africa
China is 7.86 times larger than South Africa. South Africa would fit into China about 7.9 times.
ChinaSouth AfricaChina moved onto South Africa · Equal-area projection
7.86×
China is 7.86× the area of South Africa.
| China | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 9,596,961 km² | 1,221,037 km² |
| Population | 1,406,585,000 | 64,747,319 |
| Density | 147 / km² | 53 / km² |
| Capital | Beijing | Pretoria |
| Region | Eastern Asia | Southern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 17 | 6 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. China sits at about 37°N and is stretched to 1.56× 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 China bigger than South Africa?
- Yes. China is 7.86 times larger than South Africa. China covers 9,596,961 km² and South Africa covers 1,221,037 km².
- How many times does South Africa fit into China?
- About 7.9 times: China has 7.86× the area of South Africa.
- Why do China and South Africa look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. China is drawn about 1.56× 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, China or South Africa?
- China: 1,406,585,000 people against 64,747,319. Density: China 147 per km², South Africa 53 per km².