Brazil’s coastline is 2.7 times as long as South Africa’s

Brazil: 7,491 km (2026 edition) · South Africa: 2,798 km (2026 edition)

South Africa’s highest peak towers 456 m above Brazil’s

Brazil: 2,994 m (2026 edition) · South Africa: 3,450 m (2026 edition)

Farmland covers 79% of South Africa, versus 28% of Brazil

Brazil: 28.4% (2024) · South Africa: 79.4% (2024)

Brazil has 3.3 times as many people as South Africa

Brazil: 213 million (2025) · South Africa: 64.7 million (2025)

South Africa is 2.1 times as densely populated as Brazil

Brazil: 25 per km² (2025) · South Africa: 53 per km² (2025)

The typical person in Brazil is 5.7 years older than in South Africa

Brazil: 33.9 years (2023) · South Africa: 28.2 years (2023)

Women in South Africa have 0.6 more children on average than in Brazil

Brazil: 1.61 children per woman (2024) · South Africa: 2.21 children per woman (2024)

11% of people in Brazil are 65 or older, versus 6.9% in South Africa

Brazil: 11.5% (2025) · South Africa: 6.9% (2025)

Brazil hosts 54% more refugees per resident than South Africa

Brazil: 1.3 per 1,000 (2025) · South Africa: 0.9 per 1,000 (2025)

South Africa has produced 1.5 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Brazil 0.0

Brazil: 0.047 (2026) · South Africa: 1.5 (2026)

South Africa has 11 official languages, Brazil 1

Brazil: 1 (2026) · South Africa: 11 (2026)

Brazil’s economy is 5.3 times the size of South Africa’s

Brazil: $2.28 trillion (2025) · South Africa: $427 billion (2025)

Brazil produces 47% more per person than South Africa

Brazil: Int$23,433 (2025) · South Africa: Int$15,906 (2025)

Income is more unequally shared in South Africa than in Brazil (Gini 3.8 points higher)

Brazil: 50.3 (2024) · South Africa: 54.1 (2022)

17% of people in South Africa live on less than $3 a day, versus 3.0% in Brazil

Brazil: 3% (2024) · South Africa: 17.4% (2022)

Unemployment is 32% in South Africa, versus 6.0% in Brazil

Brazil: 6% (2025) · South Africa: 32.4% (2025)

Brazil and South Africa are practically level

Brazil: 1.1% (2025) · South Africa: 0.7% (2025)

South Africa’s central government collects 26% of GDP in tax, Brazil’s 15%

Brazil: 15.4% (2024) · South Africa: 25.9% (2024)

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

Brazil: 46% (2025) · South Africa: 41% (2025)

Brazil spends 88% more on health per person than South Africa

Brazil: $1,010 (2023) · South Africa: $537 (2023)

A baby in South Africa is 2 times as likely to die before turning one as in Brazil

Brazil: 12.3 per 1,000 (2024) · South Africa: 24.2 per 1,000 (2024)

Brazil has 3 times as many doctors per person as South Africa

Brazil: 2.4 per 1,000 (2023) · South Africa: 0.8 per 1,000 (2022)

Brazil: 2.5 per 1,000 (2021) · South Africa: no data

The suicide rate in South Africa is 84% higher than in Brazil

Brazil: 8.8 per 100k (2023) · South Africa: 16.2 per 100k (2023)

South Africa and Brazil are practically level

Brazil: 30.9% (2024) · South Africa: 31.3% (2024)

24% of adults in South Africa smoke, versus 12% in Brazil

Brazil: 11.9% (2024) · South Africa: 23.7% (2024)

People in Brazil rate their lives 1.63 points higher than in South Africa

Brazil: 6.63 (2025) · South Africa: 5.01 (2025)

Adults in Brazil drink 20% more alcohol than in South Africa

Brazil: 10.4 litres (2023) · South Africa: 8.6 litres (2023)

Brazil has 79% more meat per person than South Africa

Brazil: 104.6 kg (2023) · South Africa: 58.3 kg (2023)

Brazil has 730 kcal more food per person per day than South Africa

Brazil: 3,423 kcal (2023) · South Africa: 2,694 kcal (2023)

Workers in South Africa put in 188 more hours a year than in Brazil

Brazil: 1,994 hours (2023) · South Africa: 2,181 hours (2023)

Adults in South Africa went to school 3.2 years longer than in Brazil

Brazil: 8.4 years (2023) · South Africa: 11.6 years (2023)

South Africa welcomed 4.4 times as many tourists per resident as Brazil (2019)

Brazil: 0.03 (2024) · South Africa: 0.14 (2024)

Brazil has 14 more World Heritage sites than South Africa (26 against 12)

Brazil: 26 (2026) · South Africa: 12 (2026)

Brazil has won 171 Olympic medals, South Africa 95

Brazil: 171 (2026 edition) · South Africa: 95 (2026 edition)

84% of people in Brazil are online, versus 78% in South Africa

Brazil: 84% (2024) · South Africa: 78% (2024)

Home internet in Brazil is 3.7 times as fast as in South Africa

Brazil: 293 Mbps (2026) · South Africa: 78 Mbps (2026)

100% of people in Brazil have electricity, versus 90% in South Africa

Brazil: 99.8% (2024) · South Africa: 90.2% (2024)

88% of people in Brazil live in cities, versus 64% in South Africa

Brazil: 88% (2025) · South Africa: 64% (2025)

South Africa has 179 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Brazil 102

Brazil: 102 (2024) · South Africa: 179 (2024)

Brazil’s railway network is 42% longer than South Africa’s

Brazil: 29,850 km (2014) · South Africa: 20,953 km (2021)

Airlines from Brazil fly 88% more passengers per resident than those from South Africa

Brazil: 0.45 (2023) · South Africa: 0.24 (2023)

Forest covers 59% of Brazil, but only 19% of South Africa

Brazil: 58.5% (2024) · South Africa: 18.8% (2024)

The average person in South Africa emits 3 times as much CO₂ as someone in Brazil

Brazil: 2.3 t (2024) · South Africa: 6.9 t (2024)

87% of Brazil’s electricity is renewable, versus 14% in South Africa

Brazil: 86.6% (2025) · South Africa: 13.6% (2025)

The air in South Africa carries 59% more fine dust than in Brazil

Brazil: 15.3 µg/m³ (2024) · South Africa: 24.4 µg/m³ (2024)

You are 2.3 times as likely to be murdered in South Africa as in Brazil

Brazil: 19.3 per 100k (2023) · South Africa: 43.7 per 100k (2022)

Roads in South Africa are 28% deadlier than in Brazil

Brazil: 25.9 per 100k (2023) · South Africa: 33.1 per 100k (2023)

Brazil is on average 6.9 °C warmer than South Africa

Brazil: 25.3°C (2016–2025 avg) · South Africa: 18.4°C (2016–2025 avg)

Brazil gets 3.2 times as much rain as South Africa

Brazil: 1,661 mm (2016–2025 avg) · South Africa: 511 mm (2016–2025 avg)