Somalia vs South Sudan
South Sudan and Somalia are almost exactly the same size.
SomaliaSouth SudanSomalia moved onto South Sudan · Equal-area projection
0.99×
Somalia is 0.99× the area of South Sudan. Put the other way, South Sudan is 1.01× the size of Somalia.
 Somalia |  South Sudan | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaAbout the same area | 637,657 km²#43 of 194 | 644,329 km²#41 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Landlocked |
| Land neighbours | 2 | 6 |
| People | ||
| PopulationSomalia: 1.61× the population | 19,654,739#67 of 194 · 2025 | 12,188,788#81 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensitySomalia: 1.63× the density | 31 / km²#149 of 194 | 19 / km²#170 of 194 |
| Urban populationSomalia: 2.54× the urban share | 55%#123 of 192 · 2025 | 22%#185 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateSomalia: 1.59× the births per woman | 6.01 per woman#2 of 192 · 2024 | 3.79 per woman#32 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthSomalia: 1.31 points higher | +3.34%#8 of 192 · 2025 | +2.03%#47 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateSomalia: 1.45× the birth rate | 42.3 per 1,000#3 of 192 · 2024 | 29.2 per 1,000#34 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateAbout the same death rate | 9.7 per 1,000#41 of 192 · 2024 | 9.8 per 1,000#40 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Somalia: 8.6 points higher | 46.6%#2 of 192 · 2025 | 38.0%#33 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65South Sudan: 0.5 points higher | 2.6%#180 of 192 · 2025 | 3.1%#166 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSomalia: 0.1 per 1,000 higher | +0.6 per 1,000#55 of 192 · 2025 | +0.5 per 1,000#58 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadSouth Sudan: 4.31× the refugees for its size | 45.39 per 1,000#8 of 190 · 2025 | 195.79 per 1,000#1 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancySomalia: 1.3 years longer | 59.0 years#187 of 192 · 2024 | 57.7 years#189 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalitySouth Sudan: 1.1× the infant mortality | 65.4 per 1,000 births#4 of 191 · 2024 | 71.9 per 1,000 births#1 of 191 · 2024 |
| Doctors | — | 0.04 per 1,000#177 of 178 · 2022 |
| Human Development IndexSomalia: 0.016 higher | 0.404#189 of 190 · 2023 | 0.388#190 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capita | $640#179 of 185 · 2025 | — |
| GDP | $13B2025 | — |
| Income group | Low income | Low income |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $1,643#182 of 184 · 2025 | — |
| GDP growth | +3.0%#102 of 187 · 2025 | — |
| Inflation | — | +91.4%#4 of 176 · 2024 |
| UnemploymentSomalia: 1.52× the unemployment | 18.9%#8 of 178 · 2025 | 12.4%#22 of 178 · 2023 |
| Extreme poverty | — | 76.5%#3 of 149 · 2016 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | — | 44.0#19 of 149 · 2016 |
| Jobs in agricultureSouth Sudan: 33.8 points higher | 30.0% of jobs#60 of 178 · 2025 | 63.8% of jobs#11 of 178 · 2023 |
| Jobs in industrySomalia: 16.1 points higher | 17.8% of jobs#108 of 178 · 2025 | 1.7% of jobs#178 of 178 · 2023 |
| Jobs in servicesSomalia: 17.6 points higher | 52.2% of jobs#109 of 178 · 2025 | 34.6% of jobs#158 of 178 · 2023 |
| Foreign investment | 6.4% of GDP#29 of 184 · 2025 | — |
| Exports | 29.2% of GDP#106 of 168 · 2025 | — |
| Military spendingSouth Sudan: 2.22× the military spending | 1.5% of GDP#85 of 155 · 2025 | 3.4% of GDP#19 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet users | 28%#169 of 184 · 2024 | — |
| Mobile subscriptionsSomalia: 1.15× the mobile subscriptions | 54 per 100#179 of 191 · 2023 | 47 per 100#185 of 191 · 2023 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaSouth Sudan: 1.45× the forest share | 8% of land#159 of 192 · 2024 | 11% of land#151 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per person | 0.05 t a year#182 of 185 · 2024 | — |
| Renewable energySomalia: 63.0 points higher | 95.4%#2 of 190 · 2022 | 32.4%#76 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricitySomalia: 49.0 points higher | 54.4%#171 of 192 · 2024 | 5.4%#192 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)South Sudan: 1.28× the air pollution | 18.5 µg/m³#95 of 191 · 2023 | 23.7 µg/m³#64 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landSouth Sudan: 15.4 points higher | 0.0% of land#188 of 191 · 2025 | 15.4% of land#114 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landSouth Sudan: 2.0 points higher | 1.8% of land#165 of 190 · 2024 | 3.8% of land#141 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSomalia: 5.83× the water stress | 24.5%#61 of 176 · 2022 | 4.2%#127 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationSouth Sudan: 3.19× the rain and snow | 282 mm#155 of 180 · 2022 | 900 mm#97 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilitySouth Sudan: 0.65 higher | −2.17#190 of 193 · 2025 | −1.52#173 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionSomalia: 0.41 higher | −1.69#192 of 193 · 2025 | −2.10#193 of 193 · 2025 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Parliamentary republicfederal parliamentary republic | Presidential republic |
| Capital | Mogadishu | Juba |
| Currency | Somali shilling (SOS) | South Sudanese pound (SSP) |
| Official languages | Arabic, Somali | English |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+3 | UTC+2 |
| Calling code | +252 | +211 |
| Region | Eastern Africa, Africa | Eastern 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. Somalia sits at about 5° N and is stretched to 1.01× its true area; South Sudan at 7° N is stretched to 1.02×. 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 Somalia bigger than South Sudan?
- No. Somalia and South Sudan are almost exactly the same size. Somalia covers 637,657 km² and South Sudan covers 644,329 km².
- How many times does Somalia fit into South Sudan?
- About 1.0 times: South Sudan has 1.01× the area of Somalia.
- Why do Somalia and South Sudan look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Somalia is drawn about 1.01× its true area there and South Sudan about 1.02×. 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, Somalia or South Sudan?
- Somalia: 19,654,739 people against 12,188,788. Density: Somalia 31 per km², South Sudan 19 per km².
- Where do people live longer, Somalia or South Sudan?
- In Somalia: life expectancy at birth is 59.0 years, against 57.7 — 1.3 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Somalia and South Sudan have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Somalia: parliamentary republic; South Sudan: presidential republic.