South Africa vs Zimbabwe
South Africa is 3.12 times larger than Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe would fit into South Africa about 3.1 times.
South AfricaZimbabweSouth Africa moved onto Zimbabwe · Equal-area projection
3.12×
South Africa is 3.12× the area of Zimbabwe.
 South Africa |  Zimbabwe | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaSouth Africa: 3.12× the area | 1,221,037 km²#24 of 194 | 390,757 km²#60 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Landlocked |
| Land neighbours | 6 | 4 |
| People | ||
| PopulationSouth Africa: 3.82× the population | 64,747,319#24 of 194 · 2025 | 16,950,795#74 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensitySouth Africa: 1.22× the density | 53 / km²#132 of 194 | 43 / km²#142 of 194 |
| Urban populationSouth Africa: 1.58× the urban share | 64%#93 of 192 · 2025 | 41%#148 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateZimbabwe: 1.66× the births per woman | 2.21 per woman#86 of 192 · 2024 | 3.67 per woman#37 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthZimbabwe: 0.73 points higher | +1.15%#89 of 192 · 2025 | +1.88%#52 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateZimbabwe: 1.62× the birth rate | 18.5 per 1,000#81 of 192 · 2024 | 29.9 per 1,000#31 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateSouth Africa: 1.23× the death rate | 9.2 per 1,000#50 of 192 · 2024 | 7.5 per 1,000#86 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Zimbabwe: 14.6 points higher | 25.7%#87 of 192 · 2025 | 40.3%#23 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65South Africa: 3.3 points higher | 6.9%#102 of 192 · 2025 | 3.6%#150 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSouth Africa: 5.5 per 1,000 higher | +2.3 per 1,000#36 of 192 · 2025 | −3.2 per 1,000#162 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadZimbabwe: 19.5× the refugees for its size | 0.02 per 1,000#145 of 190 · 2025 | 0.39 per 1,000#80 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancySouth Africa: 3.2 years longer | 66.3 years#158 of 192 · 2024 | 63.1 years#175 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityZimbabwe: 2.58× the infant mortality | 24.2 per 1,000 births#58 of 191 · 2024 | 62.4 per 1,000 births#6 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsSouth Africa: 5.64× the doctors per person | 0.79 per 1,000#111 of 178 · 2022 | 0.14 per 1,000#161 of 178 · 2023 |
| University enrolmentSouth Africa: 3.05× the university enrolment | 23.5%#109 of 145 · 2023 | 7.7%#136 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development IndexSouth Africa: 0.143 higher | 0.741#105 of 190 · 2023 | 0.598#150 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaSouth Africa: 2.36× the income per person | $6,270#101 of 185 · 2025 | $2,660#142 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPSouth Africa: 8.34× the economy | $427.18B2025 | $51.22B2025 |
| Income group | Upper-middle income | Lower-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)South Africa: 2.46× the output per person | $15,906#107 of 184 · 2025 | $6,470#143 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthZimbabwe: 7.0 points higher | +1.1%#152 of 187 · 2025 | +8.1%#9 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationZimbabwe: 101.5 points higher | +3.2%#86 of 176 · 2025 | +104.7%#3 of 176 · 2022 |
| UnemploymentSouth Africa: 3.48× the unemployment | 32.4%#2 of 178 · 2025 | 9.3%#38 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyZimbabwe: 2.83× the share in extreme poverty | 17.4%#39 of 149 · 2022 | 49.2%#12 of 149 · 2019 |
| Income inequality (Gini)South Africa: 3.8 higher | 54.1#5 of 149 · 2022 | 50.3#8 of 149 · 2019 |
| Jobs in agricultureZimbabwe: 48.9 points higher | 5.4% of jobs#128 of 178 · 2025 | 54.3% of jobs#19 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industrySouth Africa: 9.3 points higher | 20.8% of jobs#71 of 178 · 2025 | 11.5% of jobs#151 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesSouth Africa: 39.6 points higher | 73.8% of jobs#35 of 178 · 2025 | 34.2% of jobs#159 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentZimbabwe: 2.4 points higher | -0.5% of GDP#171 of 184 · 2025 | 1.9% of GDP#96 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsSouth Africa: 13.3 points higher | 31.4% of GDP#98 of 168 · 2025 | 18.1% of GDP#139 of 168 · 2024 |
| Military spendingSouth Africa: 1.32× the military spending | 0.7% of GDP#132 of 155 · 2025 | 0.6% of GDP#139 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersSouth Africa: 1.88× the share online | 78%#101 of 184 · 2024 | 42%#151 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsSouth Africa: 1.9× the mobile subscriptions | 179 per 100#7 of 191 · 2024 | 94 per 100#137 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaZimbabwe: 1.9× the forest share | 19% of land#123 of 192 · 2024 | 36% of land#81 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personSouth Africa: 8.94× the CO₂ per person | 6.88 t a year#33 of 185 · 2024 | 0.77 t a year#136 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyZimbabwe: 72.7 points higher | 9.7%#143 of 190 · 2021 | 82.4%#13 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricitySouth Africa: 28.2 points higher | 90.2%#138 of 192 · 2024 | 62.0%#161 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)South Africa: 1.85× the air pollution | 27.7 µg/m³#55 of 191 · 2023 | 15.0 µg/m³#118 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landZimbabwe: 18.7 points higher | 9.6% of land#143 of 191 · 2025 | 28.3% of land#42 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landZimbabwe: 0.5 points higher | 9.9% of land#102 of 190 · 2024 | 10.4% of land#97 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSouth Africa: 1.47× the water stress | 67.6%#26 of 176 · 2022 | 46.1%#40 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationZimbabwe: 1.33× the rain and snow | 495 mm#143 of 180 · 2022 | 657 mm#119 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilitySouth Africa: 0.49 higher | −0.38#129 of 193 · 2025 | −0.87#160 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionSouth Africa: 1.16 higher | −0.13#87 of 193 · 2025 | −1.29#172 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateSouth Africa: 6.43× the homicide rate | 43.7 per 100,000#5 of 146 · 2022 | 6.8 per 100,000#38 of 146 · 2022 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Parliamentary republic | Presidential republic |
| Member of | G20, BRICS | — |
| Capital | Pretoria | Harare |
| Currency | South African rand (ZAR) | Zimbabwe ZiG (ZWG), United States dollar (USD) |
| Official languages | English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, Sesotho, Tswana, Swazi, Tsonga, Venda, Northern Sotho, Southern Ndebele, South African Sign Language | English, Xhosa, Sesotho, Tswana, Chewa, Shona, Tsonga, Venda, Khoisan, Northern Ndebele, Tonga, Kalanga, Nambya, Ndau, Zimbabwe Sign Language, Barwe |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the left |
| Time zone | UTC+2 | UTC+2 |
| Calling code | +27 | +263 |
| Region | Southern Africa, Africa | Eastern Africa, Africa |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
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; Zimbabwe at 19° S is stretched to 1.12×. 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 Zimbabwe?
- Yes. South Africa is 3.12 times larger than Zimbabwe. South Africa covers 1,221,037 km² and Zimbabwe covers 390,757 km².
- How many times does Zimbabwe fit into South Africa?
- About 3.1 times: South Africa has 3.12× the area of Zimbabwe.
- Why do South Africa and Zimbabwe 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 Zimbabwe about 1.12×. 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 Zimbabwe?
- South Africa: 64,747,319 people against 16,950,795. Density: South Africa 53 per km², Zimbabwe 43 per km².
- Which is richer, South Africa or Zimbabwe?
- By gross national income per person, South Africa: $6,270 against $2,660 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 2.36× as much.
- Where do people live longer, South Africa or Zimbabwe?
- In South Africa: life expectancy at birth is 66.3 years, against 63.1 — 3.2 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do South Africa and Zimbabwe have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — South Africa: parliamentary republic; Zimbabwe: presidential republic.