Mexico is 1.61× the size of South Africa
Mexico covers about 1,958,000 km² (756,000 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.
- 1,958,000km²Mexico
- 1,220,000km²South Africa
500 km
- Mexico
- South Africa
What fits
- South Africa is 62% of the size of Mexico.
- Mexico is larger by 738,000 km² (285,000 mi²), which is 61% of the area of South Africa.
- Measured in Belgiums: Mexico is about 63.8, South Africa about 39.8.
How they differ
- Mexico also has the larger population: 132.3 million against 62.0 million, 2.13× as many people.
- Per square kilometre that is 68 in Mexico against 51 in South Africa: Mexico is 1.33× as densely populated.
- Their centres are about 14,800 km apart.
- Together Mexico and South Africa cover 3,177,000 km², close to the size of India (3,151,000 km², 0.8% smaller).
- The gap between them, 738,000 km², is about the size of Chile (736,000 km²).
- At South Africa's density, Mexico would have 99.6 million people (it has 132.3 million). At Mexico's density, South Africa would have 82.4 million (it has 62.0 million).
- Mexico's centre is 52.9° of latitude, about 5,880 km, farther north than South Africa's.
Who wins on what
| Measure | Winner | By |
|---|---|---|
| Larger area | Mexico | 1.61× |
| More people | Mexico | 2.13× |
| More crowded | Mexico | 1.33× |
| Farther north | Mexico | 52.9° of latitude |
| Stretched more on a web map | South Africa | 1.3× against 1.2× |
Both against the same yardsticks
| Yardstick | Mexico | South Africa |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium 30,700 km² | 63.8× | 39.8× |
| United Kingdom 244,000 km² | 8.03× | 5.00× |
| Germany 358,000 km² | 5.47× | 3.41× |
| Japan 374,000 km² | 5.24× | 3.27× |
| France 548,000 km² | 3.57× | 2.23× |
| India 3,151,000 km² | 0.62× | 0.39× |
| Brazil 8,473,000 km² | 0.23× | 0.14× |
| United States 9,447,000 km² | 0.21× | 0.13× |
| Russia 16,980,000 km² | 0.12× | 0.07× |
Each figure is the place's area divided by the yardstick's.
Side by side
| Mexico | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|
| Area, main territory | 1,958,000 km²756,000 mi² | 1,220,000 km²471,000 mi² |
| Population | 132.3 millionWikidata, 2024 | 62.0 millionWikidata, 2022 |
| Density | 68 per km² | 51 per km² |
| Official area | 1,961,000 km²Wikidata | 1,221,000 km²Wikidata |
| Capital | Mexico City | Pretoria; Cape Town; Bloemfontein |
| Latitude range | 15°N to 33°N | 35°S to 22°S |
| Continent | North America | Africa |
Population: Wikidata 2024 and Wikidata 2022, covering each whole country. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).
- Wikidata's official figure of 1,961,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 1,958,000 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 Mexico
Similar in size to South Africa
More comparisons
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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