Mozambique vs South Africa
South Africa is 52% larger than Mozambique. Mozambique would fit into South Africa about 1.5 times.
MozambiqueSouth AfricaMozambique moved onto South Africa · Equal-area projection
0.66×
Mozambique is 0.66× the area of South Africa. Put the other way, South Africa is 1.52× the size of Mozambique.
 Mozambique |  South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaSouth Africa: 1.52× the area | 801,590 km²#35 of 194 | 1,221,037 km²#24 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 6 | 6 |
| People | ||
| PopulationSouth Africa: 1.82× the population | 35,631,653#46 of 194 · 2025 | 64,747,319#24 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensitySouth Africa: 1.19× the density | 44 / km²#139 of 194 | 53 / km²#132 of 194 |
| Urban populationSouth Africa: 1.72× the urban share | 37%#154 of 192 · 2025 | 64%#93 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateMozambique: 2.12× the births per woman | 4.69 per woman#10 of 192 · 2024 | 2.21 per woman#86 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthMozambique: 1.70 points higher | +2.85%#17 of 192 · 2025 | +1.15%#89 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateMozambique: 2.0× the birth rate | 37.0 per 1,000#8 of 192 · 2024 | 18.5 per 1,000#81 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateSouth Africa: 1.33× the death rate | 6.9 per 1,000#110 of 192 · 2024 | 9.2 per 1,000#50 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Mozambique: 18.5 points higher | 44.2%#7 of 192 · 2025 | 25.7%#87 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65South Africa: 4.2 points higher | 2.7%#176 of 192 · 2025 | 6.9%#102 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSouth Africa: 4.1 per 1,000 higher | −1.8 per 1,000#137 of 192 · 2025 | +2.3 per 1,000#36 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroad | 0.00 per 1,000#174 of 190 · 2025 | 0.02 per 1,000#145 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancySouth Africa: 2.5 years longer | 63.8 years#171 of 192 · 2024 | 66.3 years#158 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityMozambique: 1.81× the infant mortality | 43.7 per 1,000 births#19 of 191 · 2024 | 24.2 per 1,000 births#58 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsSouth Africa: 4.39× the doctors per person | 0.18 per 1,000#153 of 178 · 2022 | 0.79 per 1,000#111 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolment | — | 23.5%#109 of 145 · 2023 |
| Human Development IndexSouth Africa: 0.248 higher | 0.493#179 of 190 · 2023 | 0.741#105 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaSouth Africa: 11× the income per person | $570#181 of 185 · 2025 | $6,270#101 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPSouth Africa: 19.1× the economy | $22.34B2025 | $427.18B2025 |
| Income group | Low income | Upper-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)South Africa: 9.37× the output per person | $1,698#181 of 184 · 2025 | $15,906#107 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthSouth Africa: 1.6 points higher | −0.5%#176 of 187 · 2025 | +1.1%#152 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationMozambique: 1.2 points higher | +4.4%#47 of 176 · 2025 | +3.2%#86 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentSouth Africa: 4.91× the unemployment | 6.6%#63 of 178 · 2025 | 32.4%#2 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyMozambique: 4.68× the share in extreme poverty | 81.4%#2 of 149 · 2022 | 17.4%#39 of 149 · 2022 |
| Income inequality (Gini)South Africa: 4.5 higher | 49.6#11 of 149 · 2022 | 54.1#5 of 149 · 2022 |
| Jobs in agricultureMozambique: 67.6 points higher | 73.0% of jobs#2 of 178 · 2025 | 5.4% of jobs#128 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industrySouth Africa: 14.4 points higher | 6.4% of jobs#174 of 178 · 2025 | 20.8% of jobs#71 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesSouth Africa: 53.2 points higher | 20.6% of jobs#174 of 178 · 2025 | 73.8% of jobs#35 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentMozambique: 26.3 points higher | 25.8% of GDP#7 of 184 · 2025 | -0.5% of GDP#171 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsMozambique: 10.0 points higher | 41.4% of GDP#66 of 168 · 2025 | 31.4% of GDP#98 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingMozambique: 2.53× the military spending | 1.9% of GDP#72 of 155 · 2025 | 0.7% of GDP#132 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersSouth Africa: 3.82× the share online | 21%#172 of 184 · 2024 | 78%#101 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsSouth Africa: 3.58× the mobile subscriptions | 50 per 100#182 of 191 · 2024 | 179 per 100#7 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaMozambique: 2.2× the forest share | 41% of land#64 of 192 · 2024 | 19% of land#123 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personSouth Africa: 23.7× the CO₂ per person | 0.29 t a year#163 of 185 · 2024 | 6.88 t a year#33 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyMozambique: 67.2 points higher | 76.9%#21 of 190 · 2021 | 9.7%#143 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricitySouth Africa: 53.3 points higher | 36.9%#183 of 192 · 2024 | 90.2%#138 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)South Africa: 2.02× the air pollution | 13.7 µg/m³#128 of 191 · 2023 | 27.7 µg/m³#55 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landMozambique: 19.9 points higher | 29.5% of land#36 of 191 · 2025 | 9.6% of land#143 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landMozambique: 0.6 points higher | 10.5% of land#96 of 190 · 2024 | 9.9% of land#102 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSouth Africa: 37.6× the water stress | 1.8%#151 of 176 · 2022 | 67.6%#26 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationMozambique: 2.08× the rain and snow | 1,032 mm#90 of 180 · 2022 | 495 mm#143 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilitySouth Africa: 1.28 higher | −1.66#175 of 193 · 2025 | −0.38#129 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionSouth Africa: 0.97 higher | −1.10#161 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 | Presidential republic | Parliamentary republic |
| Member of | — | G20, BRICS |
| Capital | Maputo | Pretoria |
| Currency | Mozambican metical (MZN) | South African rand (ZAR) |
| Official languages | Portuguese | 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 | +258 | +27 |
| Region | Eastern 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. Mozambique sits at about 17° S 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 Mozambique bigger than South Africa?
- No. Mozambique is 34% smaller than South Africa. Mozambique covers 801,590 km² and South Africa covers 1,221,037 km².
- How many times does Mozambique fit into South Africa?
- About 1.5 times: South Africa has 1.52× the area of Mozambique.
- Why do Mozambique and South Africa look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Mozambique 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, Mozambique or South Africa?
- South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 35,631,653. Density: Mozambique 44 per km², South Africa 53 per km².
- Which is richer, Mozambique or South Africa?
- By gross national income per person, South Africa: $6,270 against $570 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 11× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Mozambique or South Africa?
- In South Africa: life expectancy at birth is 66.3 years, against 63.8 — 2.5 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Mozambique and South Africa have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Mozambique: presidential republic; South Africa: parliamentary republic.