DR Congo vs South Africa
DR Congo is 92% larger than South Africa. South Africa would fit into DR Congo about 1.9 times.
DR CongoSouth AfricaDR Congo moved onto South Africa · Equal-area projection
1.92×
DR Congo is 1.92× the area of South Africa.
| DR Congo | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 2,344,858 km² | 1,221,037 km² |
| Population | 112,832,473 | 64,747,319 |
| Density | 48 / km² | 53 / km² |
| Capital | Kinshasa | Pretoria |
| Region | Middle Africa | Southern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 9 | 6 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. DR Congo sits at about 3°S and is stretched to 1.0× 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 DR Congo bigger than South Africa?
- Yes. DR Congo is 92% larger than South Africa. DR Congo covers 2,344,858 km² and South Africa covers 1,221,037 km².
- How many times does South Africa fit into DR Congo?
- About 1.9 times: DR Congo has 1.92× the area of South Africa.
- Why do DR Congo and South Africa look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. DR Congo is drawn about 1.0× 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, DR Congo or South Africa?
- DR Congo: 112,832,473 people against 64,747,319. Density: DR Congo 48 per km², South Africa 53 per km².