Norway vs South Africa
South Africa is 3.17 times larger than Norway. Norway would fit into South Africa about 3.2 times.
NorwaySouth AfricaNorway moved onto South Africa · Equal-area projection
0.32×
Norway is 0.32× the area of South Africa. Put the other way, South Africa is 3.17× the size of Norway.
| Norway | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 385,207 km² | 1,221,037 km² |
| Population | 5,610,870 | 64,747,319 |
| Density | 15 / km² | 53 / km² |
| Capital | Oslo | Pretoria |
| Region | Northern Europe | Southern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 3 | 6 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Norway sits at about 66°N and is stretched to 6.22× its true area; South Africa at 29° S is stretched to 1.31×. That difference is why Norway 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 Norway bigger than South Africa?
- No. Norway is 3.17 times smaller than South Africa. Norway covers 385,207 km² and South Africa covers 1,221,037 km².
- How many times does Norway fit into South Africa?
- About 3.2 times: South Africa has 3.17× the area of Norway.
- Why do Norway and South Africa look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Norway is drawn about 6.22× its true area there and South Africa about 1.31×. That is why Norway 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, Norway or South Africa?
- South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 5,610,870. Density: Norway 15 per km², South Africa 53 per km².