Mongolia vs South Africa
Mongolia is 28% larger than South Africa.
MongoliaSouth AfricaMongolia moved onto South Africa · Equal-area projection
1.28×
Mongolia is 1.28× the area of South Africa.
| Mongolia | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 1,564,116 km² | 1,221,037 km² |
| Population | 3,568,978 | 64,747,319 |
| Density | 2.3 / km² | 53 / km² |
| Capital | Ulaanbaatar | Pretoria |
| Region | Eastern Asia | Southern Africa |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 2 | 6 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Mongolia sits at about 47°N and is stretched to 2.15× its true area; South Africa at 29° S is stretched to 1.31×. That difference is why Mongolia 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 Mongolia bigger than South Africa?
- Yes. Mongolia is 28% larger than South Africa. Mongolia covers 1,564,116 km² and South Africa covers 1,221,037 km².
- How many times does South Africa fit into Mongolia?
- About 1.3 times: Mongolia has 1.28× the area of South Africa.
- Why do Mongolia and South Africa look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Mongolia is drawn about 2.15× its true area there and South Africa about 1.31×. That is why Mongolia 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, Mongolia or South Africa?
- South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 3,568,978. Density: Mongolia 2.3 per km², South Africa 53 per km².