Country comparison
Botswana vs South Africa
South Africa is 2.1× the size of Botswana. South Africa has 25× the population of Botswana. Botswana has 1.2× the GDP per capita of South Africa.
Side by side
| Botswana | Category | South Africa |
|---|---|---|
| 581,730 km² | Area (2024) South Africa: 2.1× more World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | 1,219,602 km² more |
| 2.6 million | Population (2025) South Africa: 25× more World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | 64.7 million more |
| 4 people/km² | Population density (2024) South Africa: 12× more World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | 53 people/km² |
| US$ 7,778 more | GDP per capita (2025) Botswana: 1.2× more World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | US$ 6,598 |
| 69.3 years more | Life expectancy (2024) World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | 66.3 years |
| 57% | Internet users (2024) South Africa: 1.4× more World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | 78% more |
| 22.9 years | Median age (2023) South Africa: 1.2× more Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0) | 28.2 years |
| 2.7 births per woman | Fertility rate (2024) Botswana: 1.2× more World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | 2.21 births per woman |
| 2.7 t less | CO₂ emissions per capita (2024) South Africa: 2.5× more World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | 6.9 t |
| – | Castles, fortresses and palaces Wikidata (CC0 1.0) | 1 |
| – | Ghost stories | 5 |
| – | UFO cases | 2 |
| 1 | VPN providers with servers in the country South Africa: 34× more VPN Map (Ominuvo) (CC BY 4.0) | 34 |
| English, Tswana | Official languages Shared language: English, Tswana Unicode CLDR (Unicode License v3) | English, Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, Northern Sotho, Tswana, Southern Sotho, Tsonga, Swati, Venda, South Ndebele |
| Botswana pula (BWP) | Currency ISO 4217 | South African rand (ZAR) |
| Type D, G · 230 V | Plugs and voltage Shared plug types: D | Type C, D, M, N · 230 V |
| UTC+2 | Time zone of the capital Same time IANA tz database (public domain) | UTC+2 |
Values link to the country pages in the Ominuvo series maps. Area: World Bank data (indicator AG.SRF.TOTL.K2: land and inland water, source FAO, CC BY 4.0); “approx.” – no such data for the country: area of the map outline (Natural Earth 1:50m), accurate to about 3%.
Source: World Bank – Surface area (AG.SRF.TOTL.K2), FAO (CC BY 4.0), World Bank – WDI: UN World Population Prospects (CC BY 4.0), World Bank – FAO population estimates, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (CC BY 4.0), World Bank – Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks (CC BY 4.0), World Bank – World Population Prospects, United Nations (CC BY 4.0), World Bank – World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, International Telecommunication Union… (CC BY 4.0), Our World in Data – UN, World Population Prospects (CC BY 4.0), World Bank – EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) Community GHG Database, Joint… (CC BY 4.0), Wikidata (CC0 1.0), VPN Map (Ominuvo) (CC BY 4.0), Unicode CLDR (Unicode License v3), ISO 4217, IANA tz database (public domain), Natural Earth (public domain). Data from the Ominuvo series maps (index of 2026-11-01); details and licences on the map pages.