South Africa vs Tonga
South Africa is 1,630 times larger than Tonga. Tonga would fit into South Africa about 1630 times.
South AfricaTongaSouth Africa moved onto Tonga · Equal-area projection
1,630×
South Africa is 1,630× the area of Tonga.
| South Africa | Tonga | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 1,221,037 km² | 749 km² |
| Population | 64,747,319 | 103,742 |
| Density | 53 / km² | 139 / km² |
| Capital | Pretoria | Nuku'alofa |
| Region | Southern Africa | Polynesia |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 6 | 0 |
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; Tonga at 20° S is stretched to 1.14×. 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 Tonga?
- Yes. South Africa is 1,630 times larger than Tonga. South Africa covers 1,221,037 km² and Tonga covers 749 km².
- How many times does Tonga fit into South Africa?
- About 1630 times: South Africa has 1,630× the area of Tonga.
- Why do South Africa and Tonga 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 Tonga about 1.14×. 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 Tonga?
- South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 103,742. Density: South Africa 53 per km², Tonga 139 per km².