South Africa vs Tanzania

South Africa is 29% larger than Tanzania.

South AfricaTanzaniaSouth Africa moved onto Tanzania · Equal-area projection
1.29×
South Africa is 1.29× the area of Tanzania.
South AfricaTanzania
Area1,221,037 km²947,303 km²
Population64,747,31970,545,865
Density53 / km²74 / km²
CapitalPretoriaDodoma
RegionSouthern AfricaEastern Africa
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours68

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; Tanzania at 6° S is stretched to 1.01×. 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 Tanzania?
Yes. South Africa is 29% larger than Tanzania. South Africa covers 1,221,037 km² and Tanzania covers 947,303 km².
How many times does Tanzania fit into South Africa?
About 1.3 times: South Africa has 1.29× the area of Tanzania.
Why do South Africa and Tanzania 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 Tanzania about 1.01×. 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 Tanzania?
Tanzania: 70,545,865 people against 64,747,319. Density: South Africa 53 per km², Tanzania 74 per km².