South Africa vs Vietnam

South Africa is 3.68 times larger than Vietnam. Vietnam would fit into South Africa about 3.7 times.

South AfricaVietnamSouth Africa moved onto Vietnam · Equal-area projection
3.68×
South Africa is 3.68× the area of Vietnam.
South AfricaVietnam
Area1,221,037 km²331,690 km²
Population64,747,319101,598,527
Density53 / km²306 / km²
CapitalPretoriaHanoi
RegionSouthern AfricaSouth-Eastern Asia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours63

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; Vietnam at 17° N is stretched to 1.09×. 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 Vietnam?
Yes. South Africa is 3.68 times larger than Vietnam. South Africa covers 1,221,037 km² and Vietnam covers 331,690 km².
How many times does Vietnam fit into South Africa?
About 3.7 times: South Africa has 3.68× the area of Vietnam.
Why do South Africa and Vietnam 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 Vietnam about 1.09×. 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 Vietnam?
Vietnam: 101,598,527 people against 64,747,319. Density: South Africa 53 per km², Vietnam 306 per km².