South Africa’s coastline is 10 times as long as Israel’s

Israel: 273 km (2026 edition) · South Africa: 2,798 km (2026 edition)

South Africa’s highest peak towers 1,214 m above Israel’s

Israel: 2,236 m (2026 edition) · South Africa: 3,450 m (2026 edition)

Farmland covers 79% of South Africa, versus 24% of Israel

Israel: 23.8% (2024) · South Africa: 79.4% (2024)

South Africa has 6.4 times as many people as Israel

Israel: 10.1 million (2025) · South Africa: 64.7 million (2025)

Israel is 8.8 times as densely populated as South Africa

Israel: 468 per km² (2025) · South Africa: 53 per km² (2025)

The typical person in Israel is 0.94 years older than in South Africa

Israel: 29.2 years (2023) · South Africa: 28.2 years (2023)

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

Israel: 2.87 children per woman (2024) · South Africa: 2.21 children per woman (2024)

13% of people in Israel are 65 or older, versus 6.9% in South Africa

Israel: 12.7% (2025) · South Africa: 6.9% (2025)

South Africa hosts 6.8 times as many refugees per resident as Israel

Israel: 0.1 per 1,000 (2025) · South Africa: 0.9 per 1,000 (2025)

Israel has produced 5.9 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, South Africa 1.5

Israel: 5.9 (2026) · South Africa: 1.5 (2026)

South Africa has 11 official languages, Israel 2

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

Israel’s economy is 43% larger than South Africa’s

Israel: $611 billion (2025) · South Africa: $427 billion (2025)

Israel produces 3.8 times as much per person as South Africa

Israel: Int$59,717 (2025) · South Africa: Int$15,906 (2025)

Income is more unequally shared in South Africa than in Israel (Gini 15.8 points higher)

Israel: 38.3 (2022) · South Africa: 54.1 (2022)

17% of people in South Africa live on less than $3 a day, versus 0.4% in Israel

Israel: 0.4% (2022) · South Africa: 17.4% (2022)

Unemployment is 32% in South Africa, versus 3.5% in Israel

Israel: 3.5% (2025) · South Africa: 32.4% (2025)

Israel spends 7.8% of its GDP on the military, South Africa 0.7%

Israel: 7.8% (2025) · South Africa: 0.7% (2025)

South Africa’s central government collects 26% of GDP in tax, Israel’s 23%

Israel: 23.2% (2024) · South Africa: 25.9% (2024)

Israel’s price level (US = 100) is 2.4× South Africa’s

Israel: 101% (2025) · South Africa: 41% (2025)

Israel spends 7.3 times as much on health per person as South Africa

Israel: $3,928 (2023) · South Africa: $537 (2023)

A baby in South Africa is 9 times as likely to die before turning one as in Israel

Israel: 2.7 per 1,000 (2024) · South Africa: 24.2 per 1,000 (2024)

Israel has 4.8 times as many doctors per person as South Africa

Israel: 3.8 per 1,000 (2023) · South Africa: 0.8 per 1,000 (2022)

Israel: 3.1 per 1,000 (2023) · South Africa: no data

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

Israel: 6.9 per 100k (2023) · South Africa: 16.2 per 100k (2023)

31% of adults in South Africa are obese, versus 23% in Israel

Israel: 23.3% (2024) · South Africa: 31.3% (2024)

24% of adults in South Africa smoke, versus 21% in Israel

Israel: 21.2% (2024) · South Africa: 23.7% (2024)

People in Israel rate their lives 2.18 points higher than in South Africa

Israel: 7.19 (2025) · South Africa: 5.01 (2025)

Adults in South Africa drink 2.1 times as much alcohol as in Israel

Israel: 4.2 litres (2023) · South Africa: 8.6 litres (2023)

Israel has 87% more meat per person than South Africa

Israel: 108.7 kg (2023) · South Africa: 58.3 kg (2023)

Israel has 1,060 kcal more food per person per day than South Africa

Israel: 3,754 kcal (2023) · South Africa: 2,694 kcal (2023)

Workers in South Africa put in 291 more hours a year than in Israel

Israel: 1,890 hours (2023) · South Africa: 2,181 hours (2023)

Adults in Israel went to school 1.9 years longer than in South Africa

Israel: 13.5 years (2023) · South Africa: 11.6 years (2023)

South Africa welcomed 45% more tourists per resident than Israel (2019)

Israel: 0.1 (2024) · South Africa: 0.14 (2024)

South Africa has 3 more World Heritage sites than Israel (12 against 9)

Israel: 9 (2026) · South Africa: 12 (2026)

South Africa has won 95 Olympic medals, Israel 20

Israel: 20 (2026 edition) · South Africa: 95 (2026 edition)

88% of people in Israel are online, versus 78% in South Africa

Israel: 88% (2024) · South Africa: 78% (2024)

Home internet in Israel is 5 times as fast as in South Africa

Israel: 392 Mbps (2026) · South Africa: 78 Mbps (2026)

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

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

92% of people in Israel live in cities, versus 64% in South Africa

Israel: 92% (2025) · South Africa: 64% (2025)

South Africa has 179 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Israel 177

Israel: 177 (2024) · South Africa: 179 (2024)

South Africa’s railway network is 12 times as long as Israel’s

Israel: 1,720 km (2021) · South Africa: 20,953 km (2021)

Airlines from Israel fly 3.1 times as many passengers per resident as those from South Africa

Israel: 0.73 (2023) · South Africa: 0.24 (2023)

Forest covers 19% of South Africa, but only 6.8% of Israel

Israel: 6.8% (2024) · South Africa: 18.8% (2024)

The average person in South Africa emits 23% more CO₂ than someone in Israel

Israel: 5.6 t (2024) · South Africa: 6.9 t (2024)

17% of Israel’s electricity is renewable, versus 14% in South Africa

Israel: 16.9% (2025) · South Africa: 13.6% (2025)

The air in South Africa carries 20% more fine dust than in Israel

Israel: 20.4 µg/m³ (2024) · South Africa: 24.4 µg/m³ (2024)

You are 27 times as likely to be murdered in South Africa as in Israel

Israel: 1.6 per 100k (2022) · South Africa: 43.7 per 100k (2022)

Roads in South Africa are 4.9 times as deadly as in Israel

Israel: 6.8 per 100k (2023) · South Africa: 33.1 per 100k (2023)

Israel is on average 2.7 °C warmer than South Africa

Israel: 21.1°C (2016–2025 avg) · South Africa: 18.4°C (2016–2025 avg)

South Africa gets 2.5 times as much rain as Israel

Israel: 205 mm (2016–2025 avg) · South Africa: 511 mm (2016–2025 avg)