South Africa’s coastline is 93% longer than Ireland’s

Ireland: 1,448 km (2026 edition) · South Africa: 2,798 km (2026 edition)

South Africa’s highest peak towers 2,409 m above Ireland’s

Ireland: 1,041 m (2026 edition) · South Africa: 3,450 m (2026 edition)

Farmland covers 79% of South Africa, versus 65% of Ireland

Ireland: 65.1% (2024) · South Africa: 79.4% (2024)

South Africa has 12 times as many people as Ireland

Ireland: 5.48 million (2025) · South Africa: 64.7 million (2025)

Ireland is 49% more densely populated than South Africa

Ireland: 80 per km² (2025) · South Africa: 53 per km² (2025)

The typical person in Ireland is 10 years older than in South Africa

Ireland: 38.4 years (2023) · South Africa: 28.2 years (2023)

Women in South Africa have 0.7 more children on average than in Ireland

Ireland: 1.47 children per woman (2024) · South Africa: 2.21 children per woman (2024)

16% of people in Ireland are 65 or older, versus 6.9% in South Africa

Ireland: 16.2% (2025) · South Africa: 6.9% (2025)

Ireland hosts 29 times as many refugees per resident as South Africa

Ireland: 25.1 per 1,000 (2025) · South Africa: 0.9 per 1,000 (2025)

Ireland has produced 9.1 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, South Africa 1.5

Ireland: 9.1 (2026) · South Africa: 1.5 (2026)

South Africa has 11 official languages, Ireland 2

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

Ireland’s economy is 69% larger than South Africa’s

Ireland: $722 billion (2025) · South Africa: $427 billion (2025)

Ireland produces 9.8 times as much per person as South Africa

Ireland: Int$155,089 (2025) · South Africa: Int$15,906 (2025)

Income is more unequally shared in South Africa than in Ireland (Gini 25.1 points higher)

Ireland: 29 (2023) · South Africa: 54.1 (2022)

17% of people in South Africa live on less than $3 a day, versus 0.1% in Ireland

Ireland: 0.1% (2023) · South Africa: 17.4% (2022)

Unemployment is 32% in South Africa, versus 4.6% in Ireland

Ireland: 4.6% (2025) · South Africa: 32.4% (2025)

South Africa spends 0.7% of its GDP on the military, Ireland 0.2%

Ireland: 0.2% (2025) · South Africa: 0.7% (2025)

South Africa’s central government collects 26% of GDP in tax, Ireland’s 18%

Ireland: 17.9% (2024) · South Africa: 25.9% (2024)

Ireland’s price level (US = 100) is 2× South Africa’s

Ireland: 85% (2025) · South Africa: 41% (2025)

Ireland spends 14 times as much on health per person as South Africa

Ireland: $7,395 (2024) · South Africa: $537 (2023)

A baby in South Africa is 7.1 times as likely to die before turning one as in Ireland

Ireland: 3.4 per 1,000 (2024) · South Africa: 24.2 per 1,000 (2024)

Ireland has 4.9 times as many doctors per person as South Africa

Ireland: 3.9 per 1,000 (2023) · South Africa: 0.8 per 1,000 (2022)

Ireland: 3 per 1,000 (2023) · South Africa: no data

The suicide rate in South Africa is 2.3 times that in Ireland

Ireland: 7.2 per 100k (2023) · South Africa: 16.2 per 100k (2023)

31% of adults in South Africa are obese, versus 31% in Ireland

Ireland: 30.6% (2024) · South Africa: 31.3% (2024)

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

Ireland: 18.2% (2024) · South Africa: 23.7% (2024)

People in Ireland rate their lives 1.92 points higher than in South Africa

Ireland: 6.93 (2025) · South Africa: 5.01 (2025)

Adults in Ireland drink 19% more alcohol than in South Africa

Ireland: 10.3 litres (2023) · South Africa: 8.6 litres (2023)

Ireland has 69% more meat per person than South Africa

Ireland: 98.4 kg (2023) · South Africa: 58.3 kg (2023)

Ireland has 1,227 kcal more food per person per day than South Africa

Ireland: 3,921 kcal (2023) · South Africa: 2,694 kcal (2023)

Workers in South Africa put in 527 more hours a year than in Ireland

Ireland: 1,654 hours (2023) · South Africa: 2,181 hours (2023)

Adults in Ireland went to school 0.12 years longer than in South Africa

Ireland: 11.7 years (2023) · South Africa: 11.6 years (2023)

Ireland welcomed 16 times as many tourists per resident as South Africa (2019)

Ireland: 2.2 (2019) · South Africa: 0.14 (2024)

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

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

South Africa has won 95 Olympic medals, Ireland 42

Ireland: 42 (2026 edition) · South Africa: 95 (2026 edition)

97% of people in Ireland are online, versus 78% in South Africa

Ireland: 97% (2024) · South Africa: 78% (2024)

Home internet in Ireland is 3.8 times as fast as in South Africa

Ireland: 300 Mbps (2026) · South Africa: 78 Mbps (2026)

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

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

65% of people in Ireland live in cities, versus 64% in South Africa

Ireland: 65% (2025) · South Africa: 64% (2025)

South Africa has 179 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Ireland 113

Ireland: 113 (2024) · South Africa: 179 (2024)

South Africa’s railway network is 13 times as long as Ireland’s

Ireland: 1,650 km (2021) · South Africa: 20,953 km (2021)

Airlines from Ireland fly 147 times as many passengers per resident as those from South Africa

Ireland: 35.11 (2023) · South Africa: 0.24 (2023)

Forest covers 19% of South Africa, but only 12% of Ireland

Ireland: 12% (2024) · South Africa: 18.8% (2024)

The average person in South Africa emits 8% more CO₂ than someone in Ireland

Ireland: 6.3 t (2024) · South Africa: 6.9 t (2024)

48% of Ireland’s electricity is renewable, versus 14% in South Africa

Ireland: 48.1% (2025) · South Africa: 13.6% (2025)

The air in South Africa carries 3.3 times as much fine dust as in Ireland

Ireland: 7.4 µg/m³ (2024) · South Africa: 24.4 µg/m³ (2024)

You are 67 times as likely to be murdered in South Africa as in Ireland

Ireland: 0.7 per 100k (2023) · South Africa: 43.7 per 100k (2022)

Roads in South Africa are 6.4 times as deadly as in Ireland

Ireland: 5.2 per 100k (2023) · South Africa: 33.1 per 100k (2023)

South Africa is on average 8.1 °C warmer than Ireland

Ireland: 10.3°C (2016–2025 avg) · South Africa: 18.4°C (2016–2025 avg)

Ireland gets 2.2 times as much rain as South Africa

Ireland: 1,139 mm (2016–2025 avg) · South Africa: 511 mm (2016–2025 avg)