How big is South Africa really?

South Africa covers 1,221,037 km² (471,000 sq mi). On the usual world map (the Mercator projection) it is drawn about 1.31 times bigger than it really is.

See South Africa at its true size on the map →

True size vs the map

Both drawn at the same scale. The map keeps shapes but swells everything away from the equator.

South Africa in numbers

South Africa is the 25th largest of the 196 countries and territories in Globegami.
Countries of about the same true size: Mali (1,240,192 km²), Angola (1,246,700 km²), Niger (1,267,000 km²).
The United States is 8 times the size of South Africa.

Why the map gets South Africa wrong

South Africa lies around 29°S. A Mercator map stretches distances there by about 1.14 times in every direction, so areas come out roughly 1.31 times too big near its middle. Most web maps use this projection because it keeps angles and shapes right for navigation, not because it shows sizes fairly.

In Globegami you can drag a copy of South Africa anywhere on Earth: it keeps its true size and grows or shrinks on the map as it moves, and you can fold the map back into a globe.

Areas: official totals including inland water (UN Statistics Division via Wikidata). Outlines: Natural Earth. How Globegami works