Libya vs South Africa
Libya is 44% larger than South Africa.
LibyaSouth AfricaLibya moved onto South Africa · Equal-area projection
1.44×
Libya is 1.44× the area of South Africa.
| Libya | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 1,759,541 km² | 1,221,037 km² |
| Population | 7,458,555 | 64,747,319 |
| Density | 4.2 / km² | 53 / km² |
| Capital | Tripoli | Pretoria |
| Region | Northern Africa | 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. Libya sits at about 27°N and is stretched to 1.26× 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 Libya bigger than South Africa?
- Yes. Libya is 44% larger than South Africa. Libya covers 1,759,541 km² and South Africa covers 1,221,037 km².
- How many times does South Africa fit into Libya?
- About 1.4 times: Libya has 1.44× the area of South Africa.
- Why do Libya and South Africa look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Libya is drawn about 1.26× 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, Libya or South Africa?
- South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 7,458,555. Density: Libya 4.2 per km², South Africa 53 per km².