Indonesia is 1.54× the size of South Africa
Indonesia covers about 1,880,000 km² (726,000 mi²) and South Africa about 1,220,000 km² (471,000 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.
- 1,880,000km²Indonesia
- 1,220,000km²South Africa
1,000 km
- Indonesia
- South Africa
What fits
- South Africa is 65% of the size of Indonesia.
- Indonesia is larger by 660,000 km² (255,000 mi²), which is 54% of the area of South Africa.
- Measured in Belgiums: Indonesia is about 61.3, South Africa about 39.8.
How they differ
- Indonesia also has the larger population: 275.4 million against 62.0 million, 4.44× as many people.
- Per square kilometre that is 147 in Indonesia against 51 in South Africa: Indonesia is 2.88× as densely populated.
- Their centres are about 10,100 km apart.
- A standard web map misstates the comparison: Indonesia at 2°S is drawn about 1.0× too large and South Africa at 29°S about 1.3×, so the map shows Indonesia as 1.18× the size of South Africa instead of 1.54×.
- Together Indonesia and South Africa cover 3,099,000 km², close to the size of India (3,151,000 km², 1.7% bigger).
- The gap between them, 660,000 km², is about the size of Myanmar (663,000 km²).
- At South Africa's density, Indonesia would have 95.6 million people (it has 275.4 million). At Indonesia's density, South Africa would have 178.7 million (it has 62.0 million).
- Indonesia's centre is 26.7° of latitude, about 2,970 km, farther north than South Africa's.
Who wins on what
| Measure | Winner | By |
|---|---|---|
| Larger area | Indonesia | 1.54× |
| More people | Indonesia | 4.44× |
| More crowded | Indonesia | 2.88× |
| Farther north | Indonesia | 26.7° of latitude |
| Stretched more on a web map | South Africa | 1.3× against 1.0× |
Both against the same yardsticks
| Yardstick | Indonesia | South Africa |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium 30,700 km² | 61.3× | 39.8× |
| United Kingdom 244,000 km² | 7.71× | 5.00× |
| Germany 358,000 km² | 5.26× | 3.41× |
| Japan 374,000 km² | 5.03× | 3.27× |
| France 548,000 km² | 3.43× | 2.23× |
| India 3,151,000 km² | 0.60× | 0.39× |
| Brazil 8,473,000 km² | 0.22× | 0.14× |
| United States 9,447,000 km² | 0.20× | 0.13× |
| Russia 16,980,000 km² | 0.11× | 0.07× |
Each figure is the place's area divided by the yardstick's.
Side by side
| Indonesia | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Area, main territory | 1,880,000 km²726,000 mi² | 1,220,000 km²471,000 mi² |
| Population | 275.4 millionWikidata, 2021 | 62.0 millionWikidata, 2022 |
| Density | 147 per km² | 51 per km² |
| Official area | 1,917,000 km²Wikidata | 1,221,000 km²Wikidata |
| Capital | Jakarta | Pretoria; Cape Town; Bloemfontein |
| Latitude range | 11°S to 6°N | 35°S to 22°S |
| Continent | Asia | Africa |
Population: Wikidata 2021 and Wikidata 2022, covering each whole country. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).
- Wikidata's official figure of 1,917,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 1,880,000 km², to within 2%.
- Wikidata's official figure of 1,221,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 1,220,000 km², to within 2%.
Similar in size to Indonesia
Similar in size to South Africa
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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