Botswana is 1.06× the size of France

Botswana covers about 579,000 km² (224,000 mi²) and France about 548,000 km² (212,000 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

579,000km²Botswana
548,000km²France

200 km

Botswana
France

Outlines show main territory. France also has about 88,900 km² of overseas territory. These are not drawn, and not counted in the comparison.

What fits

France is 95% of the size of Botswana.
Botswana is larger by 31,200 km² (12,000 mi²), which is 5.7% of the area of France.
Measured in Belgiums: Botswana is about 18.9, France about 17.9.

How they differ

Botswana is larger, but France has the larger population: 68.6 million against 2.5 million, 27.7× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 108 in France against 4.3 in Botswana: France is 25.2× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 7,930 km apart.
On a standard web map France looks larger than Botswana: Botswana at 22°S is drawn about 1.2× too large and France at 47°N about 2.1×, so the map shows France as 1.71× the size of Botswana, when Botswana is 1.06× the size of France.
Together Botswana and France cover 1,127,000 km², close to the size of Ethiopia (1,127,000 km², 0.0% bigger).
The gap between them, 31,200 km², is about the size of Belgium (30,700 km²).
At France's density, Botswana would have 62.4 million people (it has 2.5 million). At Botswana's density, France would have 2.7 million (it has 68.6 million).
France's centre is 68.7° of latitude, about 7,640 km, farther north than Botswana's.

Who wins on what

Measure	Winner	By
Larger area	Botswana	1.06×
More people	France	27.7×
More crowded	France	25.2×
Farther north	France	68.7° of latitude
Stretched more on a web map	France	2.1× against 1.2×

Both against the same yardsticks

Yardstick	Botswana	France
Belgium 30,700 km²	18.9×	17.9×
United Kingdom 244,000 km²	2.38×	2.25×
Germany 358,000 km²	1.62×	1.53×
Japan 374,000 km²	1.55×	1.47×
India 3,151,000 km²	0.18×	0.17×
Brazil 8,473,000 km²	0.07×	0.06×
United States 9,447,000 km²	0.06×	0.06×
Russia 16,980,000 km²	0.03×	0.03×

Each figure is the place's area divided by the yardstick's.

Side by side

	Botswana	France
Area, main territory	579,000 km²224,000 mi²	548,000 km²212,000 mi²
Area with overseas territory	579,000 km²	637,000 km²
Population	2.5 millionWikidata, 2023	68.6 millionWikidata, 2025
Density	4.3 per km²	108 per km²
Official area	582,000 km²Wikidata	644,000 km²Wikidata
Capital	Gaborone	Paris
Latitude range	27°S to 18°S	41°N to 51°N
Continent	Africa	Europe

Population: Wikidata 2023 and Wikidata 2025, covering each whole country. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).

Wikidata's official figure of 582,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 579,000 km², to within 2%.
Wikidata's official figure of 644,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 637,000 km², to within 2%.

Similar in size to Botswana

Similar in size to France

More comparisons

Sources and method

Outlines: Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 0 - Countries, public domain
Boundary: De facto, as drawn by Natural Earth. Main territory: the largest landmass and every part within 1,000 km of it.
Area: Measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid from the full-detail outlines, shown rounded. Comparisons use main-territory area.
Drawing: Each outline is projected with an equal-area projection centred on its own centroid, so areas stay true and the two can be laid over each other.
Data built: 2026-11-11

Full method