South Africa’s coastline is 48 times as long as Iraq’s

Iraq: 58 km (2026 edition) · South Africa: 2,798 km (2026 edition)

Iraq’s highest peak towers 161 m above South Africa’s

Iraq: 3,611 m (2026 edition) · South Africa: 3,450 m (2026 edition)

Farmland covers 79% of South Africa, versus 22% of Iraq

Iraq: 21.6% (2024) · South Africa: 79.4% (2024)

South Africa has 38% more people than Iraq

Iraq: 47 million (2025) · South Africa: 64.7 million (2025)

Iraq is 2 times as densely populated as South Africa

Iraq: 108 per km² (2025) · South Africa: 53 per km² (2025)

The typical person in South Africa is 7.9 years older than in Iraq

Iraq: 20.3 years (2023) · South Africa: 28.2 years (2023)

Women in Iraq have 1.0 more children on average than in South Africa

Iraq: 3.22 children per woman (2024) · South Africa: 2.21 children per woman (2024)

6.9% of people in South Africa are 65 or older, versus 3.4% in Iraq

Iraq: 3.4% (2025) · South Africa: 6.9% (2025)

Iraq hosts 8 times as many refugees per resident as South Africa

Iraq: 6.9 per 1,000 (2025) · South Africa: 0.9 per 1,000 (2025)

South Africa has produced 1.5 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Iraq 0.2

Iraq: 0.2 (2026) · South Africa: 1.5 (2026)

South Africa has 11 official languages, Iraq 3

Iraq: 3 (2026) · South Africa: 11 (2026)

South Africa’s economy is 68% larger than Iraq’s

Iraq: $254 billion (2025) · South Africa: $427 billion (2025)

South Africa produces 11% more per person than Iraq

Iraq: Int$14,267 (2025) · South Africa: Int$15,906 (2025)

Income is more unequally shared in South Africa than in Iraq (Gini 24.3 points higher)

Iraq: 29.8 (2023) · South Africa: 54.1 (2022)

17% of people in South Africa live on less than $3 a day, versus 0.5% in Iraq

Iraq: 0.5% (2023) · South Africa: 17.4% (2022)

Unemployment is 32% in South Africa, versus 15% in Iraq

Iraq: 15.5% (2025) · South Africa: 32.4% (2025)

Iraq spends 2.4% of its GDP on the military, South Africa 0.7%

Iraq: 2.4% (2025) · South Africa: 0.7% (2025)

South Africa’s central government collects 26% of GDP in tax, Iraq’s 1.3%

Iraq: 1.3% (2019) · South Africa: 25.9% (2024)

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

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

South Africa spends 61% more on health per person than Iraq

Iraq: $333 (2023) · South Africa: $537 (2023)

A baby in South Africa is 20% more likely to die before turning one than in Iraq

Iraq: 20.1 per 1,000 (2024) · South Africa: 24.2 per 1,000 (2024)

Iraq has 29% more doctors per person than South Africa

Iraq: 1 per 1,000 (2022) · South Africa: 0.8 per 1,000 (2022)

Iraq: 1.1 per 1,000 (2018) · South Africa: no data

The suicide rate in South Africa is 3.2 times that in Iraq

Iraq: 5.1 per 100k (2023) · South Africa: 16.2 per 100k (2023)

37% of adults in Iraq are obese, versus 31% in South Africa

Iraq: 36.8% (2024) · South Africa: 31.3% (2024)

24% of adults in South Africa smoke, versus 20% in Iraq

Iraq: 20.1% (2024) · South Africa: 23.7% (2024)

People in Iraq rate their lives 0.20 points higher than in South Africa

Iraq: 5.21 (2025) · South Africa: 5.01 (2025)

Adults in South Africa drink 14 times as much alcohol as in Iraq

Iraq: 0.6 litres (2023) · South Africa: 8.6 litres (2023)

South Africa has 2.8 times as much meat per person as Iraq

Iraq: 21.1 kg (2023) · South Africa: 58.3 kg (2023)

South Africa has 323 kcal more food per person per day than Iraq

Iraq: 2,371 kcal (2023) · South Africa: 2,694 kcal (2023)

Workers in South Africa put in 598 more hours a year than in Iraq

Iraq: 1,583 hours (2023) · South Africa: 2,181 hours (2023)

Adults in South Africa went to school 4.8 years longer than in Iraq

Iraq: 6.8 years (2023) · South Africa: 11.6 years (2023)

Iraq: no data · South Africa: 0.14 (2024)

South Africa has 6 more World Heritage sites than Iraq (12 against 6)

Iraq: 6 (2026) · South Africa: 12 (2026)

South Africa has won 95 Olympic medals, Iraq 1

Iraq: 1 (2026 edition) · South Africa: 95 (2026 edition)

81% of people in Iraq are online, versus 78% in South Africa

Iraq: 81% (2024) · South Africa: 78% (2024)

Home internet in South Africa is 27% faster than in Iraq

Iraq: 62 Mbps (2026) · South Africa: 78 Mbps (2026)

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

Iraq: 100% (2024) · South Africa: 90.2% (2024)

70% of people in Iraq live in cities, versus 64% in South Africa

Iraq: 70% (2025) · South Africa: 64% (2025)

South Africa has 179 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Iraq 100

Iraq: 100 (2024) · South Africa: 179 (2024)

South Africa’s railway network is 8.8 times as long as Iraq’s

Iraq: 2,370 km (2014) · South Africa: 20,953 km (2021)

Airlines from South Africa fly 3 times as many passengers per resident as those from Iraq

Iraq: 0.08 (2023) · South Africa: 0.24 (2023)

Forest covers 19% of South Africa, but only 1.6% of Iraq

Iraq: 1.6% (2024) · South Africa: 18.8% (2024)

The average person in South Africa emits 35% more CO₂ than someone in Iraq

Iraq: 5.1 t (2024) · South Africa: 6.9 t (2024)

14% of South Africa’s electricity is renewable, versus 1.6% in Iraq

Iraq: 1.6% (2024) · South Africa: 13.6% (2025)

The air in Iraq carries 2 times as much fine dust as in South Africa

Iraq: 48.8 µg/m³ (2024) · South Africa: 24.4 µg/m³ (2024)

Iraq: no data · South Africa: 43.7 per 100k (2022)

Roads in South Africa are 5% deadlier than in Iraq

Iraq: 31.5 per 100k (2023) · South Africa: 33.1 per 100k (2023)

Iraq is on average 5.5 °C warmer than South Africa

Iraq: 23.9°C (2016–2025 avg) · South Africa: 18.4°C (2016–2025 avg)

South Africa gets 2.4 times as much rain as Iraq

Iraq: 214 mm (2016–2025 avg) · South Africa: 511 mm (2016–2025 avg)