French Polynesia vs South Africa
South Africa is 293 times larger than French Polynesia. French Polynesia would fit into South Africa about 293 times.
French PolynesiaSouth AfricaFrench Polynesia moved onto South Africa · Equal-area projection
0.0×
French Polynesia is 0.0× the area of South Africa. Put the other way, South Africa is 293× the size of French Polynesia.
| French Polynesia | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 4,167 km² | 1,221,037 km² |
| Population | 282,465 | 64,747,319 |
| Density | 68 / km² | 53 / km² |
| Capital | Papeete | Pretoria |
| Region | Polynesia | Southern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 0 | 6 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. French Polynesia sits at about 15°S and is stretched to 1.07× 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 French Polynesia bigger than South Africa?
- No. French Polynesia is 293 times smaller than South Africa. French Polynesia covers 4,167 km² and South Africa covers 1,221,037 km².
- How many times does French Polynesia fit into South Africa?
- About 293 times: South Africa has 293× the area of French Polynesia.
- Why do French Polynesia and South Africa look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. French Polynesia is drawn about 1.07× 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, French Polynesia or South Africa?
- South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 282,465. Density: French Polynesia 68 per km², South Africa 53 per km².