South Africa vs Syria

South Africa is 6.59 times larger than Syria. Syria would fit into South Africa about 6.6 times.

South AfricaSyriaSouth Africa moved onto Syria · Equal-area projection
6.59×
South Africa is 6.59× the area of Syria.
South AfricaSyria
Area1,221,037 km²185,180 km²
Population64,747,31925,620,427
Density53 / km²138 / km²
CapitalPretoriaDamascus
RegionSouthern AfricaWestern Asia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours65

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; Syria at 35° N is stretched to 1.49×. 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 Syria?
Yes. South Africa is 6.59 times larger than Syria. South Africa covers 1,221,037 km² and Syria covers 185,180 km².
How many times does Syria fit into South Africa?
About 6.6 times: South Africa has 6.59× the area of Syria.
Why do South Africa and Syria 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 Syria about 1.49×. 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 Syria?
South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 25,620,427. Density: South Africa 53 per km², Syria 138 per km².