Ireland vs South Africa
South Africa is 17.5 times larger than Ireland. Ireland would fit into South Africa about 17 times.
IrelandSouth AfricaIreland moved onto South Africa · Equal-area projection
0.06×
Ireland is 0.06× the area of South Africa. Put the other way, South Africa is 17.5× the size of Ireland.
| Ireland | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 69,797 km² | 1,221,037 km² |
| Population | 5,484,367 | 64,747,319 |
| Density | 79 / km² | 53 / km² |
| Capital | Dublin | Pretoria |
| Region | Northern Europe | Southern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 1 | 6 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Ireland sits at about 53°N and is stretched to 2.78× its true area; South Africa at 29° S is stretched to 1.31×. That difference is why Ireland 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 Ireland bigger than South Africa?
- No. Ireland is 17.5 times smaller than South Africa. Ireland covers 69,797 km² and South Africa covers 1,221,037 km².
- How many times does Ireland fit into South Africa?
- About 17 times: South Africa has 17.5× the area of Ireland.
- Why do Ireland and South Africa look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Ireland is drawn about 2.78× its true area there and South Africa about 1.31×. That is why Ireland 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, Ireland or South Africa?
- South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 5,484,367. Density: Ireland 79 per km², South Africa 53 per km².