Saudi Arabia vs South Africa
Saudi Arabia is 84% larger than South Africa. South Africa would fit into Saudi Arabia about 1.8 times.
Saudi ArabiaSouth AfricaSaudi Arabia moved onto South Africa · Equal-area projection
1.84×
Saudi Arabia is 1.84× the area of South Africa.
| Saudi Arabia | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 2,250,000 km² | 1,221,037 km² |
| Population | 36,973,555 | 64,747,319 |
| Density | 16 / km² | 53 / km² |
| Capital | Riyadh | Pretoria |
| Region | Western Asia | Southern Africa |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 7 | 6 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Saudi Arabia sits at about 24°N and is stretched to 1.2× 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 Saudi Arabia bigger than South Africa?
- Yes. Saudi Arabia is 84% larger than South Africa. Saudi Arabia covers 2,250,000 km² and South Africa covers 1,221,037 km².
- How many times does South Africa fit into Saudi Arabia?
- About 1.8 times: Saudi Arabia has 1.84× the area of South Africa.
- Why do Saudi Arabia and South Africa look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Saudi Arabia is drawn about 1.2× 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, Saudi Arabia or South Africa?
- South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 36,973,555. Density: Saudi Arabia 16 per km², South Africa 53 per km².