Mali vs South Africa
Mali and South Africa are almost exactly the same size.
MaliSouth AfricaMali moved onto South Africa · Equal-area projection
1.02×
Mali is 1.02× the area of South Africa.
 Mali |  South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaAbout the same area | 1,240,192 km²#23 of 194 | 1,221,037 km²#24 of 194 |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 7 | 6 |
| People | ||
| PopulationSouth Africa: 2.57× the population | 25,198,821#58 of 194 · 2025 | 64,747,319#24 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensitySouth Africa: 2.61× the density | 20 / km²#165 of 194 | 53 / km²#132 of 194 |
| Urban populationSouth Africa: 1.98× the urban share | 32%#165 of 192 · 2025 | 64%#93 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateMali: 2.49× the births per woman | 5.51 per woman#6 of 192 · 2024 | 2.21 per woman#86 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthMali: 1.75 points higher | +2.90%#14 of 192 · 2025 | +1.15%#89 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateMali: 2.14× the birth rate | 39.5 per 1,000#6 of 192 · 2024 | 18.5 per 1,000#81 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateSouth Africa: 1.08× the death rate | 8.5 per 1,000#63 of 192 · 2024 | 9.2 per 1,000#50 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Mali: 20.1 points higher | 45.8%#6 of 192 · 2025 | 25.7%#87 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65South Africa: 4.5 points higher | 2.4%#185 of 192 · 2025 | 6.9%#102 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSouth Africa: 4.2 per 1,000 higher | −1.9 per 1,000#142 of 192 · 2025 | +2.3 per 1,000#36 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadMali: 1,032× the refugees for its size | 20.63 per 1,000#11 of 190 · 2025 | 0.02 per 1,000#145 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancySouth Africa: 5.6 years longer | 60.7 years#186 of 192 · 2024 | 66.3 years#158 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityMali: 1.96× the infant mortality | 47.5 per 1,000 births#16 of 191 · 2024 | 24.2 per 1,000 births#58 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsSouth Africa: 4.16× the doctors per person | 0.19 per 1,000#151 of 178 · 2023 | 0.79 per 1,000#111 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolment | — | 23.5%#109 of 145 · 2023 |
| Human Development IndexSouth Africa: 0.322 higher | 0.419#185 of 190 · 2023 | 0.741#105 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaSouth Africa: 5.6× the income per person | $1,120#166 of 185 · 2025 | $6,270#101 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPSouth Africa: 14.2× the economy | $30.07B2025 | $427.18B2025 |
| Income group | Low income | Upper-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)South Africa: 4.54× the output per person | $3,503#166 of 184 · 2025 | $15,906#107 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthMali: 4.5 points higher | +5.6%#38 of 187 · 2025 | +1.1%#152 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationMali: 0.1 points higher | +3.3%#81 of 176 · 2025 | +3.2%#86 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentSouth Africa: 11.6× the unemployment | 2.8%#146 of 178 · 2025 | 32.4%#2 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyMali: 2.07× the share in extreme poverty | 36.1%#25 of 149 · 2021 | 17.4%#39 of 149 · 2022 |
| Income inequality (Gini)South Africa: 18.4 higher | 35.7#66 of 149 · 2021 | 54.1#5 of 149 · 2022 |
| Jobs in agricultureMali: 57.6 points higher | 63.0% of jobs#12 of 178 · 2025 | 5.4% of jobs#128 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industrySouth Africa: 12.2 points higher | 8.6% of jobs#161 of 178 · 2025 | 20.8% of jobs#71 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesSouth Africa: 45.4 points higher | 28.4% of jobs#167 of 178 · 2025 | 73.8% of jobs#35 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentMali: 3.3 points higher | 2.8% of GDP#68 of 184 · 2025 | -0.5% of GDP#171 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsSouth Africa: 9.3 points higher | 22.1% of GDP#124 of 168 · 2025 | 31.4% of GDP#98 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingMali: 5.23× the military spending | 3.9% of GDP#14 of 155 · 2025 | 0.7% of GDP#132 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersSouth Africa: 2.13× the share online | 37%#157 of 184 · 2024 | 78%#101 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsSouth Africa: 1.6× the mobile subscriptions | 112 per 100#107 of 191 · 2022 | 179 per 100#7 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaSouth Africa: 2.16× the forest share | 9% of land#158 of 192 · 2024 | 19% of land#123 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personSouth Africa: 22.9× the CO₂ per person | 0.30 t a year#161 of 185 · 2024 | 6.88 t a year#33 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyMali: 61.4 points higher | 71.1%#28 of 190 · 2022 | 9.7%#143 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricitySouth Africa: 40.7 points higher | 49.5%#178 of 192 · 2024 | 90.2%#138 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Mali: 1.28× the air pollution | 35.5 µg/m³#33 of 191 · 2023 | 27.7 µg/m³#55 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landSouth Africa: 2.1 points higher | 7.5% of land#159 of 191 · 2025 | 9.6% of land#143 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landSouth Africa: 4.4 points higher | 5.5% of land#126 of 190 · 2024 | 9.9% of land#102 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSouth Africa: 8.45× the water stress | 8.0%#99 of 176 · 2022 | 67.6%#26 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationSouth Africa: 1.76× the rain and snow | 282 mm#155 of 180 · 2022 | 495 mm#143 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilitySouth Africa: 2.12 higher | −2.50#192 of 193 · 2025 | −0.38#129 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionSouth Africa: 0.81 higher | −0.94#149 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 | Semi-presidential republic | Parliamentary republic |
| Member of | — | G20, BRICS |
| Capital | Bamako | Pretoria |
| Currency | West African CFA franc (XOF) | South African rand (ZAR) |
| Official languages | Fula, Bambara, Soninke, Hassaniya Arabic, Songhay, Maninka, Dogon, Tamasheq, Senufo, Minyanka, Bozo, Kassonke, Bobo | English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, Sesotho, Tswana, Swazi, Tsonga, Venda, Northern Sotho, Southern Ndebele, South African Sign Language |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the left |
| Time zone | UTC | UTC+2 |
| Calling code | +223 | +27 |
| Region | Western 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. Mali sits at about 17° N and is stretched to 1.1× 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 Mali bigger than South Africa?
- Yes. Mali and South Africa are almost exactly the same size. Mali covers 1,240,192 km² and South Africa covers 1,221,037 km².
- How many times does South Africa fit into Mali?
- About 1.0 times: Mali has 1.02× the area of South Africa.
- Why do Mali and South Africa look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Mali is drawn about 1.1× 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, Mali or South Africa?
- South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 25,198,821. Density: Mali 20 per km², South Africa 53 per km².
- Which is richer, Mali or South Africa?
- By gross national income per person, South Africa: $6,270 against $1,120 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 5.6× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Mali or South Africa?
- In South Africa: life expectancy at birth is 66.3 years, against 60.7 — 5.6 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Mali and South Africa have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Mali: semi-presidential republic; South Africa: parliamentary republic.