Romania vs South Africa
South Africa is 5.12 times larger than Romania. Romania would fit into South Africa about 5.1 times.
RomaniaSouth AfricaRomania moved onto South Africa · Equal-area projection
0.2×
Romania is 0.2× the area of South Africa. Put the other way, South Africa is 5.12× the size of Romania.
| Romania | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 238,397 km² | 1,221,037 km² |
| Population | 19,020,271 | 64,747,319 |
| Density | 80 / km² | 53 / km² |
| Capital | Bucharest | Pretoria |
| Region | Eastern Europe | 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. Romania sits at about 46°N and is stretched to 2.06× its true area; South Africa at 29° S is stretched to 1.31×. That difference is why Romania 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 Romania bigger than South Africa?
- No. Romania is 5.12 times smaller than South Africa. Romania covers 238,397 km² and South Africa covers 1,221,037 km².
- How many times does Romania fit into South Africa?
- About 5.1 times: South Africa has 5.12× the area of Romania.
- Why do Romania and South Africa look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Romania is drawn about 2.06× its true area there and South Africa about 1.31×. That is why Romania 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, Romania or South Africa?
- South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 19,020,271. Density: Romania 80 per km², South Africa 53 per km².