Malta vs South Africa

South Africa is 3,864 times larger than Malta. Malta would fit into South Africa about 3864 times.

MaltaSouth AfricaMalta moved onto South Africa · Equal-area projection
0.0×
Malta is 0.0× the area of South Africa. Put the other way, South Africa is 3,864× the size of Malta.
MaltaSouth Africa
Area316 km²1,221,037 km²
Population579,70464,747,319
Density1,835 / km²53 / km²
CapitalVallettaPretoria
RegionSouthern EuropeSouthern Africa
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours06

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Malta sits at about 36°N and is stretched to 1.52× 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 Malta bigger than South Africa?
No. Malta is 3,864 times smaller than South Africa. Malta covers 316 km² and South Africa covers 1,221,037 km².
How many times does Malta fit into South Africa?
About 3864 times: South Africa has 3,864× the area of Malta.
Why do Malta and South Africa look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Malta is drawn about 1.52× 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, Malta or South Africa?
South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 579,704. Density: Malta 1,835 per km², South Africa 53 per km².