Solomon Islands vs South Africa

South Africa is 43.0 times larger than Solomon Islands. Solomon Islands would fit into South Africa about 43 times.

Solomon IslandsSouth AfricaSolomon Islands moved onto South Africa · Equal-area projection
0.02×
Solomon Islands is 0.02× the area of South Africa. Put the other way, South Africa is 43.0× the size of Solomon Islands.
Solomon IslandsSouth Africa
Area28,400 km²1,221,037 km²
Population838,64564,747,319
Density30 / km²53 / km²
CapitalHoniaraPretoria
RegionMelanesiaSouthern Africa
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours06

Why the map you grew up with disagrees

On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Solomon Islands sits at about 9°S and is stretched to 1.02× 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 Solomon Islands bigger than South Africa?
No. Solomon Islands is 43.0 times smaller than South Africa. Solomon Islands covers 28,400 km² and South Africa covers 1,221,037 km².
How many times does Solomon Islands fit into South Africa?
About 43 times: South Africa has 43.0× the area of Solomon Islands.
Why do Solomon Islands and South Africa look different on Google Maps?
Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Solomon Islands is drawn about 1.02× 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, Solomon Islands or South Africa?
South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 838,645. Density: Solomon Islands 30 per km², South Africa 53 per km².