Botswana: 0 km (2026 edition) · South Africa: 2,798 km (2026 edition)

South Africa’s highest peak towers 1,955 m above Botswana’s

Botswana: 1,495 m (2026 edition) · South Africa: 3,450 m (2026 edition)

Farmland covers 79% of South Africa, versus 46% of Botswana

Botswana: 45.6% (2024) · South Africa: 79.4% (2024)

South Africa has 25 times as many people as Botswana

Botswana: 2.56 million (2025) · South Africa: 64.7 million (2025)

South Africa is 12 times as densely populated as Botswana

Botswana: 5 per km² (2025) · South Africa: 53 per km² (2025)

The typical person in South Africa is 5.3 years older than in Botswana

Botswana: 22.9 years (2023) · South Africa: 28.2 years (2023)

Women in Botswana have 0.5 more children on average than in South Africa

Botswana: 2.7 children per woman (2024) · South Africa: 2.21 children per woman (2024)

6.9% of people in South Africa are 65 or older, versus 4.1% in Botswana

Botswana: 4.1% (2025) · South Africa: 6.9% (2025)

South Africa hosts 2.6 times as many refugees per resident as Botswana

Botswana: 0.3 per 1,000 (2025) · South Africa: 0.9 per 1,000 (2025)

South Africa has produced 1.5 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Botswana none

Botswana: 0 (2026) · South Africa: 1.5 (2026)

South Africa has 11 official languages, Botswana 2

Botswana: 2 (2026) · South Africa: 11 (2026)

South Africa’s economy is 21 times the size of Botswana’s

Botswana: $19.9 billion (2025) · South Africa: $427 billion (2025)

Botswana produces 30% more per person than South Africa

Botswana: Int$20,698 (2025) · South Africa: Int$15,906 (2025)

Income is more unequally shared in Botswana than in South Africa (Gini 0.8 points higher)

Botswana: 54.9 (2015) · South Africa: 54.1 (2022)

Botswana: no data · South Africa: 17.4% (2022)

Unemployment is 32% in South Africa, versus 24% in Botswana

Botswana: 24.5% (2025) · South Africa: 32.4% (2025)

Botswana spends 3.1% of its GDP on the military, South Africa 0.7%

Botswana: 3.1% (2025) · South Africa: 0.7% (2025)

South Africa’s central government collects 26% of GDP in tax, Botswana’s 22%

Botswana: 22.4% (2023) · South Africa: 25.9% (2024)

South Africa’s price level (US = 100) is 1.1× Botswana’s

Botswana: 38% (2025) · South Africa: 41% (2025)

South Africa spends 10% more on health per person than Botswana

Botswana: $490 (2023) · South Africa: $537 (2023)

A baby in Botswana is 33% more likely to die before turning one than in South Africa

Botswana: 32.1 per 1,000 (2024) · South Africa: 24.2 per 1,000 (2024)

South Africa has 2.1 times as many doctors per person as Botswana

Botswana: 0.4 per 1,000 (2023) · South Africa: 0.8 per 1,000 (2022)

Botswana: 2.4 per 1,000 (2022) · South Africa: no data

The suicide rate in South Africa is 3% higher than in Botswana

Botswana: 15.7 per 100k (2023) · South Africa: 16.2 per 100k (2023)

31% of adults in South Africa are obese, versus 18% in Botswana

Botswana: 18.1% (2024) · South Africa: 31.3% (2024)

24% of adults in South Africa smoke, versus 18% in Botswana

Botswana: 18% (2024) · South Africa: 23.7% (2024)

People in South Africa rate their lives 1.55 points higher than in Botswana

Botswana: 3.46 (2025) · South Africa: 5.01 (2025)

Adults in South Africa drink 77% more alcohol than in Botswana

Botswana: 4.9 litres (2023) · South Africa: 8.6 litres (2023)

South Africa has 35% more meat per person than Botswana

Botswana: 43.3 kg (2023) · South Africa: 58.3 kg (2023)

Botswana has 20 kcal more food per person per day than South Africa

Botswana: 2,714 kcal (2023) · South Africa: 2,694 kcal (2023)

Workers in Botswana put in 77 more hours a year than in South Africa

Botswana: 2,258 hours (2023) · South Africa: 2,181 hours (2023)

Adults in South Africa went to school 1.1 years longer than in Botswana

Botswana: 10.5 years (2023) · South Africa: 11.6 years (2023)

Botswana welcomed 4.5 times as many tourists per resident as South Africa (2019)

Botswana: 0.62 (2019) · South Africa: 0.14 (2024)

South Africa has 10 more World Heritage sites than Botswana (12 against 2)

Botswana: 2 (2026) · South Africa: 12 (2026)

South Africa has won 95 Olympic medals, Botswana 4

Botswana: 4 (2026 edition) · South Africa: 95 (2026 edition)

78% of people in South Africa are online, versus 57% in Botswana

Botswana: 57% (2024) · South Africa: 78% (2024)

Home internet in Botswana is 19% faster than in South Africa

Botswana: 94 Mbps (2026) · South Africa: 78 Mbps (2026)

90% of people in South Africa have electricity, versus 80% in Botswana

Botswana: 80.2% (2024) · South Africa: 90.2% (2024)

68% of people in Botswana live in cities, versus 64% in South Africa

Botswana: 68% (2025) · South Africa: 64% (2025)

South Africa has 179 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Botswana 164

Botswana: 164 (2024) · South Africa: 179 (2024)

South Africa’s railway network is 24 times as long as Botswana’s

Botswana: 886 km (2021) · South Africa: 20,953 km (2021)

Airlines from South Africa fly 3.5 times as many passengers per resident as those from Botswana

Botswana: 0.07 (2023) · South Africa: 0.24 (2023)

Forest covers 28% of Botswana, but only 19% of South Africa

Botswana: 27.8% (2024) · South Africa: 18.8% (2024)

The average person in South Africa emits 2.3 times as much CO₂ as someone in Botswana

Botswana: 3 t (2024) · South Africa: 6.9 t (2024)

14% of South Africa’s electricity is renewable, versus 0.3% in Botswana

Botswana: 0.3% (2024) · South Africa: 13.6% (2025)

The air in South Africa carries 46% more fine dust than in Botswana

Botswana: 16.7 µg/m³ (2024) · South Africa: 24.4 µg/m³ (2024)

You are 3.8 times as likely to be murdered in South Africa as in Botswana

Botswana: 11.4 per 100k (2021) · South Africa: 43.7 per 100k (2022)

Roads in South Africa are 51% deadlier than in Botswana

Botswana: 21.9 per 100k (2023) · South Africa: 33.1 per 100k (2023)

Botswana is on average 4.0 °C warmer than South Africa

Botswana: 22.4°C (2016–2025 avg) · South Africa: 18.4°C (2016–2025 avg)

South Africa gets 11% more rain than Botswana

Botswana: 462 mm (2016–2025 avg) · South Africa: 511 mm (2016–2025 avg)