Italy vs South Africa
South Africa is 4.04 times larger than Italy. Italy would fit into South Africa about 4.0 times.
ItalySouth AfricaItaly moved onto South Africa · Equal-area projection
0.25×
Italy is 0.25× the area of South Africa. Put the other way, South Africa is 4.04× the size of Italy.
| Italy | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 302,068 km² | 1,221,037 km² |
| Population | 58,915,656 | 64,747,319 |
| Density | 195 / km² | 53 / km² |
| Capital | Rome | Pretoria |
| Region | Southern Europe | Southern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 6 | 6 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Italy sits at about 43°N and is stretched to 1.85× its true area; South Africa at 29° S is stretched to 1.31×. That difference is why Italy 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 Italy bigger than South Africa?
- No. Italy is 4.04 times smaller than South Africa. Italy covers 302,068 km² and South Africa covers 1,221,037 km².
- How many times does Italy fit into South Africa?
- About 4.0 times: South Africa has 4.04× the area of Italy.
- Why do Italy and South Africa look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Italy is drawn about 1.85× its true area there and South Africa about 1.31×. That is why Italy 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, Italy or South Africa?
- South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 58,915,656. Density: Italy 195 per km², South Africa 53 per km².