South Africa vs Spain
South Africa is 2.41 times larger than Spain. Spain would fit into South Africa about 2.4 times.
South AfricaSpainSouth Africa moved onto Spain · Equal-area projection
2.41×
South Africa is 2.41× the area of Spain.
| South Africa | Spain | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 1,221,037 km² | 505,990 km² |
| Population | 64,747,319 | 49,355,143 |
| Density | 53 / km² | 98 / km² |
| Capital | Pretoria | Madrid |
| Region | Southern Africa | Southern Europe |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 6 | 3 |
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. South Africa sits at about 29°S and is stretched to 1.31× its true area; Spain at 40° N is stretched to 1.71×. 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 South Africa bigger than Spain?
- Yes. South Africa is 2.41 times larger than Spain. South Africa covers 1,221,037 km² and Spain covers 505,990 km².
- How many times does Spain fit into South Africa?
- About 2.4 times: South Africa has 2.41× the area of Spain.
- Why do South Africa and Spain look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. South Africa is drawn about 1.31× its true area there and Spain about 1.71×. 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, South Africa or Spain?
- South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 49,355,143. Density: South Africa 53 per km², Spain 98 per km².