South Africa vs Sweden
South Africa is 2.73 times larger than Sweden. Sweden would fit into South Africa about 2.7 times.
South AfricaSwedenSouth Africa moved onto Sweden · Equal-area projection
2.73×
South Africa is 2.73× the area of Sweden.
| South Africa | Sweden | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 1,221,037 km² | 447,425 km² |
| Population | 64,747,319 | 10,596,620 |
| Density | 53 / km² | 24 / km² |
| Capital | Pretoria | Stockholm |
| Region | Southern Africa | Northern Europe |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 6 | 2 |
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; Sweden at 62° N is stretched to 4.65×. That difference is why Sweden 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 South Africa bigger than Sweden?
- Yes. South Africa is 2.73 times larger than Sweden. South Africa covers 1,221,037 km² and Sweden covers 447,425 km².
- How many times does Sweden fit into South Africa?
- About 2.7 times: South Africa has 2.73× the area of Sweden.
- Why do South Africa and Sweden 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 Sweden about 4.65×. That is why Sweden 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, South Africa or Sweden?
- South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 10,596,620. Density: South Africa 53 per km², Sweden 24 per km².