Namibia vs South Africa
South Africa is 48% larger than Namibia.
NamibiaSouth AfricaNamibia moved onto South Africa · Equal-area projection
0.68×
Namibia is 0.68× the area of South Africa. Put the other way, South Africa is 1.48× the size of Namibia.
 Namibia |  South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaSouth Africa: 1.48× the area | 825,615 km²#34 of 194 | 1,221,037 km²#24 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 4 | 6 |
| People | ||
| PopulationSouth Africa: 20.9× the population | 3,092,816#134 of 194 · 2025 | 64,747,319#24 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensitySouth Africa: 14.2× the density | 3.7 / km²#192 of 194 | 53 / km²#132 of 194 |
| Urban populationSouth Africa: 1.25× the urban share | 51%#131 of 192 · 2025 | 64%#93 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateNamibia: 1.45× the births per woman | 3.21 per woman#49 of 192 · 2024 | 2.21 per woman#86 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthNamibia: 0.90 points higher | +2.05%#45 of 192 · 2025 | +1.15%#89 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateNamibia: 1.4× the birth rate | 25.9 per 1,000#45 of 192 · 2024 | 18.5 per 1,000#81 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateSouth Africa: 1.48× the death rate | 6.2 per 1,000#129 of 192 · 2024 | 9.2 per 1,000#50 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Namibia: 11.0 points higher | 36.7%#43 of 192 · 2025 | 25.7%#87 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65South Africa: 3.1 points higher | 3.8%#146 of 192 · 2025 | 6.9%#102 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSouth Africa: 1.7 per 1,000 higher | +0.6 per 1,000#55 of 192 · 2025 | +2.3 per 1,000#36 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadNamibia: 11× the refugees for its size | 0.22 per 1,000#99 of 190 · 2025 | 0.02 per 1,000#145 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyNamibia: 1.2 years longer | 67.5 years#148 of 192 · 2024 | 66.3 years#158 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityNamibia: 1.5× the infant mortality | 36.4 per 1,000 births#30 of 191 · 2024 | 24.2 per 1,000 births#58 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsSouth Africa: 1.44× the doctors per person | 0.55 per 1,000#124 of 178 · 2022 | 0.79 per 1,000#111 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentNamibia: 1.11× the university enrolment | 26.1%#105 of 145 · 2022 | 23.5%#109 of 145 · 2023 |
| Human Development IndexSouth Africa: 0.076 higher | 0.665#133 of 190 · 2023 | 0.741#105 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaSouth Africa: 1.44× the income per person | $4,340#122 of 185 · 2025 | $6,270#101 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPSouth Africa: 28.3× the economy | $15.08B2025 | $427.18B2025 |
| Income group | Lower-middle income | Upper-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)South Africa: 1.33× the output per person | $11,986#121 of 184 · 2025 | $15,906#107 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthNamibia: 0.6 points higher | +1.7%#141 of 187 · 2025 | +1.1%#152 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationNamibia: 0.3 points higher | +3.5%#75 of 176 · 2025 | +3.2%#86 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentSouth Africa: 1.68× the unemployment | 19.3%#7 of 178 · 2025 | 32.4%#2 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyNamibia: 1.32× the share in extreme poverty | 22.9%#32 of 149 · 2015 | 17.4%#39 of 149 · 2022 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Namibia: 5.0 higher | 59.1#1 of 149 · 2015 | 54.1#5 of 149 · 2022 |
| Jobs in agricultureNamibia: 16.9 points higher | 22.3% of jobs#79 of 178 · 2025 | 5.4% of jobs#128 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industrySouth Africa: 4.3 points higher | 16.5% of jobs#124 of 178 · 2025 | 20.8% of jobs#71 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesSouth Africa: 12.7 points higher | 61.1% of jobs#80 of 178 · 2025 | 73.8% of jobs#35 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentNamibia: 10.1 points higher | 9.6% of GDP#19 of 184 · 2025 | -0.5% of GDP#171 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsNamibia: 13.3 points higher | 44.7% of GDP#56 of 168 · 2025 | 31.4% of GDP#98 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingNamibia: 3.74× the military spending | 2.8% of GDP#35 of 155 · 2025 | 0.7% of GDP#132 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersSouth Africa: 1.21× the share online | 65%#130 of 184 · 2024 | 78%#101 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsSouth Africa: 2.11× the mobile subscriptions | 85 per 100#146 of 191 · 2024 | 179 per 100#7 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaSouth Africa: 1.92× the forest share | 10% of land#155 of 192 · 2024 | 19% of land#123 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personSouth Africa: 5.73× the CO₂ per person | 1.20 t a year#123 of 185 · 2024 | 6.88 t a year#33 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyNamibia: 20.3 points higher | 30.0%#80 of 190 · 2021 | 9.7%#143 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricitySouth Africa: 30.9 points higher | 59.3%#165 of 192 · 2024 | 90.2%#138 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)South Africa: 1.95× the air pollution | 14.2 µg/m³#123 of 191 · 2023 | 27.7 µg/m³#55 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landNamibia: 30.3 points higher | 39.9% of land#9 of 191 · 2025 | 9.6% of land#143 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landSouth Africa: 8.9 points higher | 1.0% of land#171 of 190 · 2024 | 9.9% of land#102 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSouth Africa: 225× the water stress | 0.3%#168 of 176 · 2022 | 67.6%#26 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationSouth Africa: 1.74× the rain and snow | 285 mm#154 of 180 · 2022 | 495 mm#143 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityNamibia: 1.12 higher | +0.74#55 of 193 · 2025 | −0.38#129 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionNamibia: 0.28 higher | +0.15#73 of 193 · 2025 | −0.13#87 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateSouth Africa: 3.9× the homicide rate | 11.2 per 100,000#27 of 146 · 2021 | 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 | Windhoek | Pretoria |
| Currency | South African rand (ZAR), Namibian dollar (NAD) | South African rand (ZAR) |
| Official languages | English | 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 | +264 | +27 |
| Region | Southern 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. Namibia sits at about 22° S and is stretched to 1.16× 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 Namibia bigger than South Africa?
- No. Namibia is 32% smaller than South Africa. Namibia covers 825,615 km² and South Africa covers 1,221,037 km².
- How many times does Namibia fit into South Africa?
- About 1.5 times: South Africa has 1.48× the area of Namibia.
- Why do Namibia and South Africa look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Namibia is drawn about 1.16× 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, Namibia or South Africa?
- South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 3,092,816. Density: Namibia 3.7 per km², South Africa 53 per km².
- Which is richer, Namibia or South Africa?
- By gross national income per person, South Africa: $6,270 against $4,340 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.44× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Namibia or South Africa?
- In Namibia: life expectancy at birth is 67.5 years, against 66.3 — 1.2 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Namibia and South Africa have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Namibia: presidential republic; South Africa: parliamentary republic.