Russia vs South Africa
Russia is 14.0 times larger than South Africa. South Africa would fit into Russia about 14 times.
RussiaSouth AfricaRussia moved onto South Africa · Equal-area projection
14.0×
Russia is 14.0× the area of South Africa.
| Russia | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 17,075,400 km² | 1,221,037 km² |
| Population | 143,513,328 | 64,747,319 |
| Density | 8.4 / km² | 53 / km² |
| Capital | Moscow | Pretoria |
| Region | Eastern Europe | Southern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 14 | 6 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Russia sits at about 66°N and is stretched to 6.06× its true area; South Africa at 29° S is stretched to 1.31×. That difference is why Russia 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 Russia bigger than South Africa?
- Yes. Russia is 14.0 times larger than South Africa. Russia covers 17,075,400 km² and South Africa covers 1,221,037 km².
- How many times does South Africa fit into Russia?
- About 14 times: Russia has 14.0× the area of South Africa.
- Why do Russia and South Africa look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Russia is drawn about 6.06× its true area there and South Africa about 1.31×. That is why Russia 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, Russia or South Africa?
- Russia: 143,513,328 people against 64,747,319. Density: Russia 8.4 per km², South Africa 53 per km².