Ethiopia vs South Sudan
Ethiopia is 71% larger than South Sudan. South Sudan would fit into Ethiopia about 1.7 times.
EthiopiaSouth SudanEthiopia moved onto South Sudan · Equal-area projection
1.71×
Ethiopia is 1.71× the area of South Sudan.
 Ethiopia |  South Sudan | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaEthiopia: 1.71× the area | 1,104,300 km²#26 of 194 | 644,329 km²#41 of 194 |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Landlocked |
| Land neighbours | 6 | 6 |
| People | ||
| PopulationEthiopia: 11.1× the population | 135,472,051#10 of 194 · 2025 | 12,188,788#81 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityEthiopia: 6.48× the density | 123 / km²#73 of 194 | 19 / km²#170 of 194 |
| Urban populationEthiopia: 1.11× the urban share | 24%#182 of 192 · 2025 | 22%#185 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateEthiopia: 1.03× the births per woman | 3.91 per woman#26 of 192 · 2024 | 3.79 per woman#32 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthEthiopia: 0.52 points higher | +2.55%#24 of 192 · 2025 | +2.03%#47 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateEthiopia: 1.08× the birth rate | 31.5 per 1,000#24 of 192 · 2024 | 29.2 per 1,000#34 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateSouth Sudan: 1.66× the death rate | 5.9 per 1,000#144 of 192 · 2024 | 9.8 per 1,000#40 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Ethiopia: 0.8 points higher | 38.8%#30 of 192 · 2025 | 38.0%#33 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Ethiopia: 0.2 points higher | 3.3%#158 of 192 · 2025 | 3.1%#166 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSouth Sudan: 0.3 per 1,000 higher | +0.2 per 1,000#68 of 192 · 2025 | +0.5 per 1,000#58 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadSouth Sudan: 162× the refugees for its size | 1.21 per 1,000#54 of 190 · 2025 | 195.79 per 1,000#1 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyEthiopia: 9.9 years longer | 67.6 years#146 of 192 · 2024 | 57.7 years#189 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalitySouth Sudan: 2.08× the infant mortality | 34.5 per 1,000 births#36 of 191 · 2024 | 71.9 per 1,000 births#1 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsEthiopia: 3.5× the doctors per person | 0.14 per 1,000#161 of 178 · 2023 | 0.04 per 1,000#177 of 178 · 2022 |
| Human Development IndexEthiopia: 0.109 higher | 0.497#177 of 190 · 2023 | 0.388#190 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capita | $1,110#168 of 185 · 2025 | — |
| GDP | $126.36B2025 | — |
| Income group | Low income | Low income |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $3,622#165 of 184 · 2025 | — |
| GDP growth | +9.8%#5 of 187 · 2025 | — |
| InflationSouth Sudan: 78.2 points higher | +13.2%#17 of 176 · 2025 | +91.4%#4 of 176 · 2024 |
| UnemploymentSouth Sudan: 3.76× the unemployment | 3.3%#127 of 178 · 2025 | 12.4%#22 of 178 · 2023 |
| Extreme povertySouth Sudan: 1.98× the share in extreme poverty | 38.6%#23 of 149 · 2021 | 76.5%#3 of 149 · 2016 |
| Income inequality (Gini)South Sudan: 12.9 higher | 31.1#110 of 149 · 2021 | 44.0#19 of 149 · 2016 |
| Jobs in agricultureSouth Sudan: 3.7 points higher | 60.1% of jobs#14 of 178 · 2025 | 63.8% of jobs#11 of 178 · 2023 |
| Jobs in industryEthiopia: 4.7 points higher | 6.4% of jobs#174 of 178 · 2025 | 1.7% of jobs#178 of 178 · 2023 |
| Jobs in servicesSouth Sudan: 1.2 points higher | 33.4% of jobs#161 of 178 · 2025 | 34.6% of jobs#158 of 178 · 2023 |
| Foreign investment | 3.0% of GDP#65 of 184 · 2025 | — |
| Exports | 13.3% of GDP#153 of 168 · 2025 | — |
| Military spendingSouth Sudan: 6.98× the military spending | 0.5% of GDP#144 of 155 · 2025 | 3.4% of GDP#19 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet users | 22%#171 of 184 · 2024 | — |
| Mobile subscriptionsEthiopia: 1.38× the mobile subscriptions | 65 per 100#167 of 191 · 2024 | 47 per 100#185 of 191 · 2023 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaEthiopia: 2.11× the forest share | 24% of land#113 of 192 · 2024 | 11% of land#151 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per person | 0.15 t a year#174 of 185 · 2024 | — |
| Renewable energyEthiopia: 58.2 points higher | 90.6%#7 of 190 · 2021 | 32.4%#76 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityEthiopia: 51.2 points higher | 56.6%#167 of 192 · 2024 | 5.4%#192 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)About the same air pollution | 23.8 µg/m³#63 of 191 · 2023 | 23.7 µg/m³#64 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landEthiopia: 1.6 points higher | 17.0% of land#100 of 191 · 2025 | 15.4% of land#114 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landEthiopia: 10.8 points higher | 14.6% of land#75 of 190 · 2024 | 3.8% of land#141 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressEthiopia: 7.69× the water stress | 32.3%#52 of 176 · 2022 | 4.2%#127 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationSouth Sudan: 1.06× the rain and snow | 848 mm#101 of 180 · 2022 | 900 mm#97 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilitySouth Sudan: 0.33 higher | −1.85#183 of 193 · 2025 | −1.52#173 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionEthiopia: 1.73 higher | −0.37#108 of 193 · 2025 | −2.10#193 of 193 · 2025 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Parliamentary republicfederal parliamentary republic | Presidential republic |
| Member of | BRICS | — |
| Capital | Addis Ababa | Juba |
| Currency | Ethiopian birr (ETB) | South Sudanese pound (SSP) |
| Official languages | Amharic | English |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+3 | UTC+2 |
| Calling code | +251 | +211 |
| Region | Eastern Africa, Africa | Eastern 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. Ethiopia sits at about 9° N and is stretched to 1.02× its true area; South Sudan at 7° N is stretched to 1.02×. 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 Ethiopia bigger than South Sudan?
- Yes. Ethiopia is 71% larger than South Sudan. Ethiopia covers 1,104,300 km² and South Sudan covers 644,329 km².
- How many times does South Sudan fit into Ethiopia?
- About 1.7 times: Ethiopia has 1.71× the area of South Sudan.
- Why do Ethiopia and South Sudan look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Ethiopia is drawn about 1.02× its true area there and South Sudan about 1.02×. 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, Ethiopia or South Sudan?
- Ethiopia: 135,472,051 people against 12,188,788. Density: Ethiopia 123 per km², South Sudan 19 per km².
- Where do people live longer, Ethiopia or South Sudan?
- In Ethiopia: life expectancy at birth is 67.6 years, against 57.7 — 9.9 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Ethiopia and South Sudan have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Ethiopia: parliamentary republic; South Sudan: presidential republic.