South Africa vs Switzerland
South Africa is 29.6 times larger than Switzerland. Switzerland would fit into South Africa about 30 times.
South AfricaSwitzerlandSouth Africa moved onto Switzerland · Equal-area projection
29.6×
South Africa is 29.6× the area of Switzerland.
| South Africa | Switzerland | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 1,221,037 km² | 41,291 km² |
| Population | 64,747,319 | 9,092,436 |
| Density | 53 / km² | 220 / km² |
| Capital | Pretoria | Bern |
| Region | Southern Africa | Western Europe |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Landlocked |
| Neighbours | 6 | 5 |
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; Switzerland at 47° N is stretched to 2.13×. That difference is why Switzerland 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 Switzerland?
- Yes. South Africa is 29.6 times larger than Switzerland. South Africa covers 1,221,037 km² and Switzerland covers 41,291 km².
- How many times does Switzerland fit into South Africa?
- About 30 times: South Africa has 29.6× the area of Switzerland.
- Why do South Africa and Switzerland 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 Switzerland about 2.13×. That is why Switzerland 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 Switzerland?
- South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 9,092,436. Density: South Africa 53 per km², Switzerland 220 per km².