Iceland vs South Africa
South Africa is 11.9 times larger than Iceland. Iceland would fit into South Africa about 12 times.
IcelandSouth AfricaIceland moved onto South Africa · Equal-area projection
0.08×
Iceland is 0.08× the area of South Africa. Put the other way, South Africa is 11.9× the size of Iceland.
| Iceland | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 103,004 km² | 1,221,037 km² |
| Population | 392,404 | 64,747,319 |
| Density | 3.8 / km² | 53 / km² |
| Capital | Reykjavik | Pretoria |
| Region | Northern Europe | 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. Iceland sits at about 65°N and is stretched to 5.6× its true area; South Africa at 29° S is stretched to 1.31×. That difference is why Iceland looks so much bigger than it is next to South Africa. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Iceland bigger than South Africa?
- No. Iceland is 11.9 times smaller than South Africa. Iceland covers 103,004 km² and South Africa covers 1,221,037 km².
- How many times does Iceland fit into South Africa?
- About 12 times: South Africa has 11.9× the area of Iceland.
- Why do Iceland and South Africa look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Iceland is drawn about 5.6× its true area there and South Africa about 1.31×. That is why Iceland looks so much bigger than it really is next to South Africa. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Iceland or South Africa?
- South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 392,404. Density: Iceland 3.8 per km², South Africa 53 per km².