Which is larger?
South Africa has a mapped area of 1,221,612 km², compared with 911,498 km² for Nigeria. That makes South Africa about 1.34× larger. Because both values come from the same map geometry and spherical calculation, the ratio is internally consistent.
Which has more people?
Nigeria has about 3.7× the population of South Africa, using the latest World Bank values imported for each country. Population years are shown beside the figures because updates do not always arrive simultaneously.
Population density
Nigeria: 260.6 people/km². South Africa: 53 people/km². Density is calculated from the population and mapped area displayed on this page.
This comparison is a geographic visualization, not a statement about territorial claims. Read the methodology and data sources before reusing the figures.