Country comparison
Namibia vs South Africa
South Africa is 1.5× the size of Namibia. South Africa has 21× the population of Namibia. South Africa has 1.4× the GDP per capita of Namibia.
Side by side
| Namibia | Category | South Africa |
|---|---|---|
| 824,292 km² | Area (2024) South Africa: 1.5× more World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | 1,219,602 km² more |
| 3.1 million | Population (2025) South Africa: 21× more World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | 64.7 million more |
| 4 people/km² | Population density (2024) South Africa: 14× more World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | 53 people/km² |
| US$ 4,876 | GDP per capita (2025) South Africa: 1.4× more World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | US$ 6,598 more |
| 67.5 years more | Life expectancy (2024) World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | 66.3 years |
| 65% | Internet users (2024) South Africa: 1.2× more World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | 78% more |
| 21 years | Median age (2023) South Africa: 1.3× more Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0) | 28.2 years |
| 3.21 births per woman | Fertility rate (2024) Namibia: 1.5× more World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | 2.21 births per woman |
| 1.2 t less | CO₂ emissions per capita (2024) South Africa: 5.7× more World Bank (CC BY 4.0) | 6.9 t |
| 3 more | Castles, fortresses and palaces Namibia: 3× more Wikidata (CC0 1.0) | 1 |
| 1 | Ghost stories South Africa: 5× more | 5 |
| – | UFO cases | 2 |
| – | VPN providers with servers in the country VPN Map (Ominuvo) (CC BY 4.0) | 34 |
| English | Official languages Shared language: English Unicode CLDR (Unicode License v3) | English, Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, Northern Sotho, Tswana, Southern Sotho, Tsonga, Swati, Venda, South Ndebele |
| Namibian dollar (NAD), South African rand (ZAR) | Currency Same currency ISO 4217 | South African rand (ZAR) |
| Type D, M · 220 V | Plugs and voltage Shared plug types: D, M · different voltage | 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.