India vs South Africa
India is 2.69 times larger than South Africa. South Africa would fit into India about 2.7 times.
IndiaSouth AfricaIndia moved onto South Africa · Equal-area projection
2.69×
India is 2.69× the area of South Africa.
| India | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 3,287,263 km² | 1,221,037 km² |
| Population | 1,463,865,525 | 64,747,319 |
| Density | 445 / km² | 53 / km² |
| Capital | New Delhi | Pretoria |
| Region | Southern Asia | Southern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 7 | 6 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. India sits at about 23°N and is stretched to 1.18× 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 India bigger than South Africa?
- Yes. India is 2.69 times larger than South Africa. India covers 3,287,263 km² and South Africa covers 1,221,037 km².
- How many times does South Africa fit into India?
- About 2.7 times: India has 2.69× the area of South Africa.
- Why do India and South Africa look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. India is drawn about 1.18× 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, India or South Africa?
- India: 1,463,865,525 people against 64,747,319. Density: India 445 per km², South Africa 53 per km².