South Africa vs Vatican City

South Africa is — times larger than Vatican City. Vatican City would fit into South Africa about Infinity times.

South AfricaVatican CitySouth Africa moved onto Vatican City · Equal-area projection
South Africa is — the area of Vatican City.
South AfricaVatican City
Area1,221,037 km²0 km²
Population64,747,319882
Density53 / km²0.00 / km²
CapitalPretoriaVatican City
RegionSouthern AfricaSouthern Europe
CoastlineHas a coastLandlocked
Neighbours61

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; Vatican City at 42° N is stretched to 1.81×. 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 Vatican City?
Yes. South Africa is — times larger than Vatican City. South Africa covers 1,221,037 km² and Vatican City covers 0 km².
How many times does Vatican City fit into South Africa?
About Infinity times: South Africa has — the area of Vatican City.
Why do South Africa and Vatican City 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 Vatican City about 1.81×. 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 Vatican City?
South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 882. Density: South Africa 53 per km², Vatican City 0.00 per km².