Netherlands vs South Africa
South Africa is 28.9 times larger than Netherlands. Netherlands would fit into South Africa about 29 times.
NetherlandsSouth AfricaNetherlands moved onto South Africa · Equal-area projection
0.03×
Netherlands is 0.03× the area of South Africa. Put the other way, South Africa is 28.9× the size of Netherlands.
| Netherlands | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 42,201 km² | 1,221,037 km² |
| Population | 18,087,633 | 64,747,319 |
| Density | 429 / km² | 53 / km² |
| Capital | Amsterdam | Pretoria |
| Region | Western Europe | Southern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | 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. Netherlands sits at about 52°N and is stretched to 2.67× its true area; South Africa at 29° S is stretched to 1.31×. That difference is why Netherlands 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 Netherlands bigger than South Africa?
- No. Netherlands is 28.9 times smaller than South Africa. Netherlands covers 42,201 km² and South Africa covers 1,221,037 km².
- How many times does Netherlands fit into South Africa?
- About 29 times: South Africa has 28.9× the area of Netherlands.
- Why do Netherlands and South Africa look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Netherlands is drawn about 2.67× its true area there and South Africa about 1.31×. That is why Netherlands 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, Netherlands or South Africa?
- South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 18,087,633. Density: Netherlands 429 per km², South Africa 53 per km².