Pakistan vs South Africa
South Africa is 38% larger than Pakistan.
PakistanSouth AfricaPakistan moved onto South Africa · Equal-area projection
0.72×
Pakistan is 0.72× the area of South Africa. Put the other way, South Africa is 1.38× the size of Pakistan.
| Pakistan | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 881,913 km² | 1,221,037 km² |
| Population | 255,219,554 | 64,747,319 |
| Density | 289 / km² | 53 / km² |
| Capital | Islamabad | Pretoria |
| Region | Southern Asia | Southern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 5 | 6 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Pakistan sits at about 30°N and is stretched to 1.33× 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 Pakistan bigger than South Africa?
- No. Pakistan is 28% smaller than South Africa. Pakistan covers 881,913 km² and South Africa covers 1,221,037 km².
- How many times does Pakistan fit into South Africa?
- About 1.4 times: South Africa has 1.38× the area of Pakistan.
- Why do Pakistan and South Africa look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Pakistan is drawn about 1.33× 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, Pakistan or South Africa?
- Pakistan: 255,219,554 people against 64,747,319. Density: Pakistan 289 per km², South Africa 53 per km².