Lesotho vs South Africa
South Africa is 40.2 times larger than Lesotho. Lesotho would fit into South Africa about 40 times.
LesothoSouth AfricaLesotho moved onto South Africa · Equal-area projection
0.02×
Lesotho is 0.02× the area of South Africa. Put the other way, South Africa is 40.2× the size of Lesotho.
 Lesotho |  South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaSouth Africa: 40.2× the area | 30,355 km²#138 of 194 | 1,221,037 km²#24 of 194 |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 1 | 6 |
| People | ||
| PopulationSouth Africa: 27.4× the population | 2,363,325#142 of 194 · 2025 | 64,747,319#24 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityLesotho: 1.47× the density | 78 / km²#107 of 194 | 53 / km²#132 of 194 |
| Urban populationSouth Africa: 1.43× the urban share | 45%#139 of 192 · 2025 | 64%#93 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateLesotho: 1.2× the births per woman | 2.66 per woman#64 of 192 · 2024 | 2.21 per woman#86 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthSouth Africa: 0.05 points higher | +1.10%#92 of 192 · 2025 | +1.15%#89 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateLesotho: 1.29× the birth rate | 23.8 per 1,000#55 of 192 · 2024 | 18.5 per 1,000#81 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateLesotho: 1.14× the death rate | 10.5 per 1,000#28 of 192 · 2024 | 9.2 per 1,000#50 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Lesotho: 8.4 points higher | 34.1%#53 of 192 · 2025 | 25.7%#87 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65South Africa: 3.0 points higher | 3.9%#144 of 192 · 2025 | 6.9%#102 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSouth Africa: 4.5 per 1,000 higher | −2.2 per 1,000#147 of 192 · 2025 | +2.3 per 1,000#36 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadSouth Africa: 2.0× the refugees for its size | 0.01 per 1,000#155 of 190 · 2025 | 0.02 per 1,000#145 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancySouth Africa: 8.5 years longer | 57.8 years#188 of 192 · 2024 | 66.3 years#158 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityLesotho: 2.33× the infant mortality | 56.3 per 1,000 births#10 of 191 · 2024 | 24.2 per 1,000 births#58 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsSouth Africa: 3.29× the doctors per person | 0.24 per 1,000#143 of 178 · 2022 | 0.79 per 1,000#111 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolment | — | 23.5%#109 of 145 · 2023 |
| Human Development IndexSouth Africa: 0.191 higher | 0.550#164 of 190 · 2023 | 0.741#105 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaSouth Africa: 4.9× the income per person | $1,280#162 of 185 · 2025 | $6,270#101 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPSouth Africa: 166× the economy | $2.57B2025 | $427.18B2025 |
| Income group | Lower-middle income | Upper-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)South Africa: 5.0× the output per person | $3,184#169 of 184 · 2025 | $15,906#107 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthLesotho: 0.9 points higher | +2.0%#132 of 187 · 2025 | +1.1%#152 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationLesotho: 1.1 points higher | +4.3%#50 of 176 · 2025 | +3.2%#86 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentSouth Africa: 1.99× the unemployment | 16.3%#13 of 178 · 2025 | 32.4%#2 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyLesotho: 2.41× the share in extreme poverty | 41.9%#16 of 149 · 2017 | 17.4%#39 of 149 · 2022 |
| Income inequality (Gini)South Africa: 9.2 higher | 44.9#16 of 149 · 2017 | 54.1#5 of 149 · 2022 |
| Jobs in agricultureLesotho: 25.5 points higher | 30.9% of jobs#57 of 178 · 2025 | 5.4% of jobs#128 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryLesotho: 12.2 points higher | 33.0% of jobs#9 of 178 · 2025 | 20.8% of jobs#71 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesSouth Africa: 37.7 points higher | 36.1% of jobs#155 of 178 · 2025 | 73.8% of jobs#35 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentLesotho: 1.8 points higher | 1.3% of GDP#117 of 184 · 2025 | -0.5% of GDP#171 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsLesotho: 18.1 points higher | 49.5% of GDP#47 of 168 · 2025 | 31.4% of GDP#98 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingLesotho: 2.2× the military spending | 1.6% of GDP#80 of 155 · 2025 | 0.7% of GDP#132 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersSouth Africa: 1.51× the share online | 52%#143 of 184 · 2024 | 78%#101 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsSouth Africa: 2.56× the mobile subscriptions | 70 per 100#161 of 191 · 2024 | 179 per 100#7 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaSouth Africa: 17.1× the forest share | 1% of land#178 of 192 · 2024 | 19% of land#123 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personSouth Africa: 16× the CO₂ per person | 0.43 t a year#153 of 185 · 2024 | 6.88 t a year#33 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyLesotho: 25.2 points higher | 34.9%#69 of 190 · 2022 | 9.7%#143 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricitySouth Africa: 29.6 points higher | 60.6%#164 of 192 · 2024 | 90.2%#138 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)South Africa: 1.05× the air pollution | 26.4 µg/m³#58 of 191 · 2023 | 27.7 µg/m³#55 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landLesotho: 13.8 points higher | 23.4% of land#56 of 191 · 2025 | 9.6% of land#143 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landLesotho: 9.1 points higher | 19.0% of land#57 of 190 · 2024 | 9.9% of land#102 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSouth Africa: 26.0× the water stress | 2.6%#141 of 176 · 2022 | 67.6%#26 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationLesotho: 1.59× the rain and snow | 788 mm#106 of 180 · 2022 | 495 mm#143 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityLesotho: 0.37 higher | −0.01#105 of 193 · 2025 | −0.38#129 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionSouth Africa: 0.14 higher | −0.27#97 of 193 · 2025 | −0.13#87 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | — | 43.7 per 100,000#5 of 146 · 2022 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Constitutional monarchyparliamentary constitutional monarchy | Parliamentary republic |
| Member of | — | G20, BRICS |
| Capital | Maseru | Pretoria |
| Currency | South African rand (ZAR), Loti (LSL) | South African rand (ZAR) |
| Official languages | English, Sesotho | English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, Sesotho, Tswana, Swazi, Tsonga, Venda, Northern Sotho, Southern Ndebele, South African Sign Language |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the left |
| Time zone | UTC+2 | UTC+2 |
| Calling code | +266 | +27 |
| Region | Southern Africa, Africa | Southern Africa, Africa |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Lesotho sits at about 30° S and is stretched to 1.32× 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 Lesotho bigger than South Africa?
- No. Lesotho is 40.2 times smaller than South Africa. Lesotho covers 30,355 km² and South Africa covers 1,221,037 km².
- How many times does Lesotho fit into South Africa?
- About 40 times: South Africa has 40.2× the area of Lesotho.
- Why do Lesotho and South Africa look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Lesotho is drawn about 1.32× 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, Lesotho or South Africa?
- South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 2,363,325. Density: Lesotho 78 per km², South Africa 53 per km².
- Which is richer, Lesotho or South Africa?
- By gross national income per person, South Africa: $6,270 against $1,280 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 4.9× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Lesotho or South Africa?
- In South Africa: life expectancy at birth is 66.3 years, against 57.8 — 8.5 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Lesotho and South Africa have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Lesotho: constitutional monarchy; South Africa: parliamentary republic.