Eswatini vs South Africa
South Africa is 70.3 times larger than Eswatini. Eswatini would fit into South Africa about 70 times.
EswatiniSouth AfricaEswatini moved onto South Africa · Equal-area projection
0.01×
Eswatini is 0.01× the area of South Africa. Put the other way, South Africa is 70.3× the size of Eswatini.
 Eswatini |  South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaSouth Africa: 70.3× the area | 17,364 km²#154 of 194 | 1,221,037 km²#24 of 194 |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 2 | 6 |
| People | ||
| PopulationSouth Africa: 51.5× the population | 1,256,174#155 of 194 · 2025 | 64,747,319#24 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityEswatini: 1.36× the density | 72 / km²#113 of 194 | 53 / km²#132 of 194 |
| Urban populationSouth Africa: 2.39× the urban share | 27%#176 of 192 · 2025 | 64%#93 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateEswatini: 1.23× the births per woman | 2.72 per woman#60 of 192 · 2024 | 2.21 per woman#86 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthSouth Africa: 0.08 points higher | +1.07%#93 of 192 · 2025 | +1.15%#89 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateEswatini: 1.28× the birth rate | 23.6 per 1,000#56 of 192 · 2024 | 18.5 per 1,000#81 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateSouth Africa: 1.19× the death rate | 7.7 per 1,000#79 of 192 · 2024 | 9.2 per 1,000#50 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Eswatini: 7.3 points higher | 33.0%#57 of 192 · 2025 | 25.7%#87 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65South Africa: 2.6 points higher | 4.3%#137 of 192 · 2025 | 6.9%#102 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSouth Africa: 6.9 per 1,000 higher | −4.6 per 1,000#172 of 192 · 2025 | +2.3 per 1,000#36 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadEswatini: 9.0× the refugees for its size | 0.18 per 1,000#106 of 190 · 2025 | 0.02 per 1,000#145 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancySouth Africa: 2.0 years longer | 64.3 years#167 of 192 · 2024 | 66.3 years#158 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityEswatini: 1.74× the infant mortality | 42.2 per 1,000 births#24 of 191 · 2024 | 24.2 per 1,000 births#58 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsSouth Africa: 1.41× the doctors per person | 0.56 per 1,000#122 of 178 · 2023 | 0.79 per 1,000#111 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolment | — | 23.5%#109 of 145 · 2023 |
| Human Development IndexSouth Africa: 0.046 higher | 0.695#125 of 190 · 2023 | 0.741#105 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaSouth Africa: 1.68× the income per person | $3,730#129 of 185 · 2025 | $6,270#101 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPSouth Africa: 82.8× the economy | $5.16B2025 | $427.18B2025 |
| Income group | Lower-middle income | Upper-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)South Africa: 1.27× the output per person | $12,529#119 of 184 · 2025 | $15,906#107 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthEswatini: 3.1 points higher | +4.2%#65 of 187 · 2025 | +1.1%#152 of 187 · 2025 |
| Inflation | — | +3.2%#86 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentEswatini: 1.06× the unemployment | 34.2%#1 of 178 · 2025 | 32.4%#2 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyEswatini: 2.56× the share in extreme poverty | 44.5%#14 of 149 · 2016 | 17.4%#39 of 149 · 2022 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Eswatini: 0.5 higher | 54.6#3 of 149 · 2016 | 54.1#5 of 149 · 2022 |
| Jobs in agricultureEswatini: 9.1 points higher | 14.5% of jobs#93 of 178 · 2025 | 5.4% of jobs#128 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryEswatini: 5.9 points higher | 26.7% of jobs#29 of 178 · 2025 | 20.8% of jobs#71 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesSouth Africa: 15.1 points higher | 58.7% of jobs#87 of 178 · 2025 | 73.8% of jobs#35 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentEswatini: 1.5 points higher | 1.0% of GDP#126 of 184 · 2025 | -0.5% of GDP#171 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsEswatini: 22.4 points higher | 53.8% of GDP#43 of 168 · 2024 | 31.4% of GDP#98 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingEswatini: 2.16× the military spending | 1.6% of GDP#83 of 155 · 2025 | 0.7% of GDP#132 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersSouth Africa: 1.24× the share online | 63%#131 of 184 · 2024 | 78%#101 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsSouth Africa: 1.28× the mobile subscriptions | 140 per 100#36 of 191 · 2024 | 179 per 100#7 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaEswatini: 1.35× the forest share | 25% of land#108 of 192 · 2024 | 19% of land#123 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personSouth Africa: 7.82× the CO₂ per person | 0.88 t a year#132 of 185 · 2024 | 6.88 t a year#33 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyEswatini: 55.0 points higher | 64.7%#32 of 190 · 2022 | 9.7%#143 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricitySouth Africa: 0.9 points higher | 89.3%#139 of 192 · 2024 | 90.2%#138 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)South Africa: 1.66× the air pollution | 16.7 µg/m³#102 of 191 · 2023 | 27.7 µg/m³#55 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landSouth Africa: 5.4 points higher | 4.2% of land#169 of 191 · 2025 | 9.6% of land#143 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landEswatini: 0.4 points higher | 10.3% of land#99 of 190 · 2024 | 9.9% of land#102 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressEswatini: 1.15× the water stress | 77.6%#23 of 176 · 2022 | 67.6%#26 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationEswatini: 1.59× the rain and snow | 788 mm#106 of 180 · 2022 | 495 mm#143 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilitySouth Africa: 0.19 higher | −0.57#147 of 193 · 2025 | −0.38#129 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionSouth Africa: 0.67 higher | −0.80#144 of 193 · 2025 | −0.13#87 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateSouth Africa: 3.5× the homicide rate | 12.5 per 100,000#23 of 146 · 2021 | 43.7 per 100,000#5 of 146 · 2022 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Absolute monarchy | Parliamentary republic |
| Member of | — | G20, BRICS |
| Capital | Mbabane | Pretoria |
| Currency | Lilangeni (SZL) | South African rand (ZAR) |
| Official languages | English, Swazi | English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, Sesotho, Tswana, Swazi, Tsonga, Venda, Northern Sotho, Southern Ndebele, South African Sign Language |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the left |
| Time zone | UTC+2 | UTC+2 |
| Calling code | +268 | +27 |
| Region | Southern Africa, Africa | 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. Eswatini sits at about 27° S and is stretched to 1.25× 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 Eswatini bigger than South Africa?
- No. Eswatini is 70.3 times smaller than South Africa. Eswatini covers 17,364 km² and South Africa covers 1,221,037 km².
- How many times does Eswatini fit into South Africa?
- About 70 times: South Africa has 70.3× the area of Eswatini.
- Why do Eswatini and South Africa look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Eswatini is drawn about 1.25× 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, Eswatini or South Africa?
- South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 1,256,174. Density: Eswatini 72 per km², South Africa 53 per km².
- Which is richer, Eswatini or South Africa?
- By gross national income per person, South Africa: $6,270 against $3,730 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.68× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Eswatini or South Africa?
- In South Africa: life expectancy at birth is 66.3 years, against 64.3 — 2.0 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Eswatini and South Africa have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Eswatini: absolute monarchy; South Africa: parliamentary republic.