Peru vs South Africa
Peru is 5% larger than South Africa.
PeruSouth AfricaPeru moved onto South Africa · Equal-area projection
1.05×
Peru is 1.05× the area of South Africa.
 Peru |  South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaPeru: 1.05× the area | 1,285,216 km²#19 of 194 | 1,221,037 km²#24 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 5 | 6 |
| People | ||
| PopulationSouth Africa: 1.87× the population | 34,576,665#48 of 194 · 2025 | 64,747,319#24 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensitySouth Africa: 1.97× the density | 27 / km²#158 of 194 | 53 / km²#132 of 194 |
| Urban populationPeru: 1.34× the urban share | 86%#31 of 192 · 2025 | 64%#93 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateSouth Africa: 1.12× the births per woman | 1.97 per woman#96 of 192 · 2024 | 2.21 per woman#86 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthSouth Africa: 0.11 points higher | +1.04%#94 of 192 · 2025 | +1.15%#89 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateSouth Africa: 1.17× the birth rate | 15.8 per 1,000#96 of 192 · 2024 | 18.5 per 1,000#81 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateSouth Africa: 1.64× the death rate | 5.6 per 1,000#154 of 192 · 2024 | 9.2 per 1,000#50 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15South Africa: 2.1 points higher | 23.6%#101 of 192 · 2025 | 25.7%#87 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Peru: 2.6 points higher | 9.5%#82 of 192 · 2025 | 6.9%#102 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSouth Africa: 2.0 per 1,000 higher | +0.3 per 1,000#64 of 192 · 2025 | +2.3 per 1,000#36 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadPeru: 11.5× the refugees for its size | 0.23 per 1,000#96 of 190 · 2025 | 0.02 per 1,000#145 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyPeru: 11.6 years longer | 77.9 years#56 of 192 · 2024 | 66.3 years#158 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalitySouth Africa: 2.2× the infant mortality | 11.0 per 1,000 births#105 of 191 · 2024 | 24.2 per 1,000 births#58 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsPeru: 2.14× the doctors per person | 1.69 per 1,000#89 of 178 · 2023 | 0.79 per 1,000#111 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolment | — | 23.5%#109 of 145 · 2023 |
| Human Development IndexPeru: 0.053 higher | 0.794#78 of 190 · 2023 | 0.741#105 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaPeru: 1.34× the income per person | $8,430#86 of 185 · 2025 | $6,270#101 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPSouth Africa: 1.28× the economy | $334.86B2025 | $427.18B2025 |
| Income group | Upper-middle income | Upper-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Peru: 1.18× the output per person | $18,816#98 of 184 · 2025 | $15,906#107 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthPeru: 2.3 points higher | +3.4%#89 of 187 · 2025 | +1.1%#152 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationSouth Africa: 1.7 points higher | +1.5%#128 of 176 · 2025 | +3.2%#86 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentSouth Africa: 6.35× the unemployment | 5.1%#88 of 178 · 2025 | 32.4%#2 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertySouth Africa: 3.41× the share in extreme poverty | 5.1%#54 of 149 · 2024 | 17.4%#39 of 149 · 2022 |
| Income inequality (Gini)South Africa: 14.0 higher | 40.1#36 of 149 · 2024 | 54.1#5 of 149 · 2022 |
| Jobs in agriculturePeru: 17.7 points higher | 23.1% of jobs#76 of 178 · 2025 | 5.4% of jobs#128 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industrySouth Africa: 4.0 points higher | 16.8% of jobs#118 of 178 · 2025 | 20.8% of jobs#71 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesSouth Africa: 13.7 points higher | 60.1% of jobs#84 of 178 · 2025 | 73.8% of jobs#35 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentPeru: 3.6 points higher | 3.1% of GDP#64 of 184 · 2025 | -0.5% of GDP#171 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsSouth Africa: 1.4 points higher | 30.0% of GDP#102 of 168 · 2025 | 31.4% of GDP#98 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingPeru: 1.09× the military spending | 0.8% of GDP#127 of 155 · 2025 | 0.7% of GDP#132 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersPeru: 1.05× the share online | 82%#91 of 184 · 2024 | 78%#101 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsSouth Africa: 1.43× the mobile subscriptions | 125 per 100#69 of 191 · 2024 | 179 per 100#7 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaPeru: 2.8× the forest share | 53% of land#43 of 192 · 2024 | 19% of land#123 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personSouth Africa: 3.41× the CO₂ per person | 2.02 t a year#102 of 185 · 2024 | 6.88 t a year#33 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyPeru: 20.9 points higher | 30.6%#79 of 190 · 2021 | 9.7%#143 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityPeru: 6.3 points higher | 96.5%#124 of 192 · 2024 | 90.2%#138 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Peru: 1.12× the air pollution | 31.1 µg/m³#47 of 191 · 2023 | 27.7 µg/m³#55 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landPeru: 12.5 points higher | 22.1% of land#69 of 191 · 2025 | 9.6% of land#143 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landSouth Africa: 6.8 points higher | 3.1% of land#149 of 190 · 2024 | 9.9% of land#102 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSouth Africa: 14.1× the water stress | 4.8%#120 of 176 · 2022 | 67.6%#26 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationPeru: 3.51× the rain and snow | 1,738 mm#43 of 180 · 2022 | 495 mm#143 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilitySouth Africa: 0.12 higher | −0.50#140 of 193 · 2025 | −0.38#129 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionSouth Africa: 0.63 higher | −0.76#138 of 193 · 2025 | −0.13#87 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateSouth Africa: 5.08× the homicide rate | 8.6 per 100,000#33 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 | Lima | Pretoria |
| Currency | Nuevo sol (PEN) | South African rand (ZAR) |
| Official languages | Spanish, Quechua, Aymara | English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, Sesotho, Tswana, Swazi, Tsonga, Venda, Northern Sotho, Southern Ndebele, South African Sign Language |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the left |
| Time zone | UTC−5 | UTC+2 |
| Calling code | +51 | +27 |
| Region | South America | 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. Peru sits at about 9° S and is stretched to 1.03× 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 Peru bigger than South Africa?
- Yes. Peru is 5% larger than South Africa. Peru covers 1,285,216 km² and South Africa covers 1,221,037 km².
- How many times does South Africa fit into Peru?
- About 1.1 times: Peru has 1.05× the area of South Africa.
- Why do Peru and South Africa look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Peru is drawn about 1.03× 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, Peru or South Africa?
- South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 34,576,665. Density: Peru 27 per km², South Africa 53 per km².
- Which is richer, Peru or South Africa?
- By gross national income per person, Peru: $8,430 against $6,270 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.34× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Peru or South Africa?
- In Peru: life expectancy at birth is 77.9 years, against 66.3 — 11.6 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Peru and South Africa have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Peru: presidential republic; South Africa: parliamentary republic.