South Africa is 1.07× the size of Colombia
South Africa covers about 1,220,000 km² (471,000 mi²) and Colombia about 1,135,000 km² (438,000 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.
- 1,220,000km²South Africa
- 1,135,000km²Colombia
500 km
- South Africa
- Colombia
What fits
- Colombia is 93% of the size of South Africa.
- South Africa is larger by 84,400 km² (32,600 mi²), which is 7.4% of the area of Colombia.
- Measured in Belgiums: South Africa is about 39.8, Colombia about 37.0.
How they differ
- South Africa also has the larger population: 62.0 million against 52.3 million, 1.19× as many people.
- Per square kilometre that is 51 in South Africa against 46 in Colombia: South Africa is 1.10× as densely populated.
- Their centres are about 11,000 km apart.
- A standard web map misstates the comparison: South Africa at 29°S is drawn about 1.3× too large and Colombia at 4°N about 1.0×, so the map shows South Africa as 1.40× the size of Colombia instead of 1.07×.
- Together South Africa and Colombia cover 2,355,000 km², close to the size of Democratic Republic of the Congo (2,325,000 km², 1.2% smaller).
- The gap between them, 84,400 km², is about the size of Austria (84,000 km²).
- At Colombia's density, South Africa would have 56.2 million people (it has 62.0 million). At South Africa's density, Colombia would have 57.7 million (it has 52.3 million).
- Colombia's centre is 32.9° of latitude, about 3,660 km, farther north than South Africa's.
Who wins on what
| Measure | Winner | By |
|---|---|---|
| Larger area | South Africa | 1.07× |
| More people | South Africa | 1.19× |
| More crowded | South Africa | 1.10× |
| Farther north | Colombia | 32.9° of latitude |
| Stretched more on a web map | South Africa | 1.3× against 1.0× |
Both against the same yardsticks
| Yardstick | South Africa | Colombia |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium 30,700 km² | 39.8× | 37.0× |
| United Kingdom 244,000 km² | 5.00× | 4.66× |
| Germany 358,000 km² | 3.41× | 3.17× |
| Japan 374,000 km² | 3.27× | 3.04× |
| France 548,000 km² | 2.23× | 2.07× |
| India 3,151,000 km² | 0.39× | 0.36× |
| Brazil 8,473,000 km² | 0.14× | 0.13× |
| United States 9,447,000 km² | 0.13× | 0.12× |
| Russia 16,980,000 km² | 0.07× | 0.07× |
Each figure is the place's area divided by the yardstick's.
Side by side
| South Africa | Colombia | |
|---|---|---|
| Area, main territory | 1,220,000 km²471,000 mi² | 1,135,000 km²438,000 mi² |
| Population | 62.0 millionWikidata, 2022 | 52.3 millionWikidata, 2023 |
| Density | 51 per km² | 46 per km² |
| Official area | 1,221,000 km²Wikidata | 1,142,000 km²Wikidata |
| Capital | Pretoria; Cape Town; Bloemfontein | Bogotá |
| Latitude range | 35°S to 22°S | 4°S to 14°N |
| Continent | Africa | South America |
Population: Wikidata 2022 and Wikidata 2023, covering each whole country. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).
- Wikidata's official figure of 1,221,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 1,220,000 km², to within 2%.
- Wikidata's official figure of 1,142,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 1,135,000 km², to within 2%.
Similar in size to South Africa
Similar in size to Colombia
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