---
title: "Germany vs South Africa — area, population, currency"
description: "Germany is 357,022 km² with 83,491,249 people; South Africa is 1,219,090 km² with 64,747,319. Area, density, currency, languages and time zones side by side."
url: https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/germany-vs-south-africa/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Germany vs South Africa

**Germany vs South Africa: South Africa is larger; Germany has more people**

357,022 km² vs 1,219,090 km² · 83,491,249 vs 64,747,319

South Africa is 3.4 times larger than Germany — 1,219,090 against 357,022 km². Germany is 1.3 times more populous than South Africa — 83,491,249 against 64,747,319 people.

## Side by side

|  | Germany | South Africa |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capital | Berlin | Pretoria (administrative); Cape Town (legislative); Bloemfontein (judicial) |
| Area | 357,022 km² | 1,219,090 km² |
| Population | 83,491,249 (2025) | 64,747,319 (2025) |
| Density | 233.9 /km² | 53.1 /km² |
| Currency | Euro (EUR) | South African rand (ZAR) |
| Official languages | German | Afrikaans, English, Southern Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, Swazi, Tswana, Tsonga, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu |
| Time zones | UTC+01:00 | UTC+02:00 |
| Calling code | +49 | +27 |
| Drives on the | right | left |
| Continent | Europe | Africa |
| ISO codes | DE / DEU | ZA / ZAF |

## Population density

Germany is 4.4 times more densely populated than South Africa — 234 against 53 people per km². Density is where area and population interact, and it often reverses the impression the headline figures give — a large country with a small population can feel emptier than a small crowded one by an enormous margin.

## Practical differences

- They drive on opposite sides — Germany on the right, South Africa on the left.
- Different currencies: the Euro and the South African rand.
- Different continents — Europe and Africa.

## Germany

Germany borders nine countries, more than any other in Europe. The Rhine carries more freight than any other river in Europe. The country has around 25,000 castles and palaces, and the Black Forest and Bavarian Alps mean about a third of it is wooded.

## South Africa

One of only a handful of countries with more than one capital, and the only one with three. The Vredefort Dome south-west of Johannesburg is the largest verified impact crater on Earth, about 300 km across and 2 billion years old. The Cape Floral Region packs roughly 9,000 plant species into a small corner of the country, most of them found nowhere else.

> Neutral facts only. Nothing here addresses politics, government, economics or which country is preferable in any respect — population is the one figure that dates, and it carries its year.

## Common questions

### Is Germany bigger than South Africa?

South Africa is larger — 1,219,090 km² against 357,022 km².

### Which has more people, Germany or South Africa?

Germany, with 83,491,249 against 64,747,319.

### What is the time difference between Germany and South Africa?

Germany is UTC+01:00 and South Africa is UTC+02:00. Daylight saving shifts the gap during the year in places that observe it.

## Related pages

- [Germany](https://atoneplace.net/country/germany/)
- [South Africa](https://atoneplace.net/country/south-africa/)
- [India vs South Africa](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/india-vs-south-africa/)
- [China vs Germany](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-germany/)
- [China vs South Africa](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-south-africa/)
- [Japan vs South Africa](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/japan-vs-south-africa/)
- [Canada vs Germany](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/canada-vs-germany/)
- [Canada vs South Africa](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/canada-vs-south-africa/)
- [Australia vs Germany](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/australia-vs-germany/)
- [Australia vs South Africa](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/australia-vs-south-africa/)
- [New Zealand vs South Africa](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/new-zealand-vs-south-africa/)
- [France vs Germany](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/france-vs-germany/)
- [France vs South Africa](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/france-vs-south-africa/)
- [Germany vs United States](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/germany-vs-united-states/)

## Sources

- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/) [Public domain (US Government)]
- World Bank Open Data — The World Bank (https://data.worldbank.org/) [CC BY 4.0]