Mexico’s coastline is 3.3 times as long as South Africa’s

Mexico: 9,330 km (2026 edition) · South Africa: 2,798 km (2026 edition)

Mexico’s highest peak towers 2,186 m above South Africa’s

Mexico: 5,636 m (2026 edition) · South Africa: 3,450 m (2026 edition)

Farmland covers 79% of South Africa, versus 51% of Mexico

Mexico: 50.6% (2024) · South Africa: 79.4% (2024)

Mexico has 2 times as many people as South Africa

Mexico: 132 million (2025) · South Africa: 64.7 million (2025)

Mexico is 27% more densely populated than South Africa

Mexico: 68 per km² (2025) · South Africa: 53 per km² (2025)

The typical person in Mexico is 0.67 years older than in South Africa

Mexico: 28.9 years (2023) · South Africa: 28.2 years (2023)

Women in South Africa have 0.3 more children on average than in Mexico

Mexico: 1.89 children per woman (2024) · South Africa: 2.21 children per woman (2024)

8.5% of people in Mexico are 65 or older, versus 6.9% in South Africa

Mexico: 8.5% (2025) · South Africa: 6.9% (2025)

Mexico hosts 35% more refugees per resident than South Africa

Mexico: 1.2 per 1,000 (2025) · South Africa: 0.9 per 1,000 (2025)

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

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

South Africa has 11 official languages, Mexico 1

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

Mexico’s economy is 4.3 times the size of South Africa’s

Mexico: $1.83 trillion (2025) · South Africa: $427 billion (2025)

Mexico produces 63% more per person than South Africa

Mexico: Int$25,869 (2025) · South Africa: Int$15,906 (2025)

Income is more unequally shared in South Africa than in Mexico (Gini 11.5 points higher)

Mexico: 42.6 (2024) · South Africa: 54.1 (2022)

17% of people in South Africa live on less than $3 a day, versus 1.6% in Mexico

Mexico: 1.6% (2024) · South Africa: 17.4% (2022)

Unemployment is 32% in South Africa, versus 2.7% in Mexico

Mexico: 2.7% (2025) · South Africa: 32.4% (2025)

South Africa and Mexico are practically level

Mexico: 0.7% (2025) · South Africa: 0.7% (2025)

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

Mexico: 14.8% (2024) · South Africa: 25.9% (2024)

Mexico’s price level (US = 100) is 1.3× South Africa’s

Mexico: 54% (2025) · South Africa: 41% (2025)

Mexico spends 42% more on health per person than South Africa

Mexico: $761 (2023) · South Africa: $537 (2023)

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

Mexico: 12.1 per 1,000 (2024) · South Africa: 24.2 per 1,000 (2024)

Mexico has 3.3 times as many doctors per person as South Africa

Mexico: 2.6 per 1,000 (2022) · South Africa: 0.8 per 1,000 (2022)

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

The suicide rate in South Africa is 86% higher than in Mexico

Mexico: 8.7 per 100k (2023) · South Africa: 16.2 per 100k (2023)

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

Mexico: 37.4% (2024) · South Africa: 31.3% (2024)

24% of adults in South Africa smoke, versus 16% in Mexico

Mexico: 15.7% (2024) · South Africa: 23.7% (2024)

People in Mexico rate their lives 1.96 points higher than in South Africa

Mexico: 6.97 (2025) · South Africa: 5.01 (2025)

Adults in South Africa drink 29% more alcohol than in Mexico

Mexico: 6.7 litres (2023) · South Africa: 8.6 litres (2023)

Mexico has 34% more meat per person than South Africa

Mexico: 78.2 kg (2023) · South Africa: 58.3 kg (2023)

Mexico has 611 kcal more food per person per day than South Africa

Mexico: 3,305 kcal (2023) · South Africa: 2,694 kcal (2023)

Workers in South Africa put in 553 more hours a year than in Mexico

Mexico: 1,629 hours (2023) · South Africa: 2,181 hours (2023)

Adults in South Africa went to school 2.3 years longer than in Mexico

Mexico: 9.3 years (2023) · South Africa: 11.6 years (2023)

Mexico welcomed 2.5 times as many tourists per resident as South Africa (2019)

Mexico: 0.34 (2024) · South Africa: 0.14 (2024)

Mexico has 24 more World Heritage sites than South Africa (36 against 12)

Mexico: 36 (2026) · South Africa: 12 (2026)

South Africa has won 95 Olympic medals, Mexico 77

Mexico: 77 (2026 edition) · South Africa: 95 (2026 edition)

83% of people in Mexico are online, versus 78% in South Africa

Mexico: 83% (2024) · South Africa: 78% (2024)

Home internet in Mexico is 94% faster than in South Africa

Mexico: 152 Mbps (2026) · South Africa: 78 Mbps (2026)

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

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

80% of people in Mexico live in cities, versus 64% in South Africa

Mexico: 80% (2025) · South Africa: 64% (2025)

South Africa has 179 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Mexico 116

Mexico: 116 (2024) · South Africa: 179 (2024)

Mexico’s railway network is 12% longer than South Africa’s

Mexico: 23,389 km (2017) · South Africa: 20,953 km (2021)

Airlines from Mexico fly 2.5 times as many passengers per resident as those from South Africa

Mexico: 0.6 (2023) · South Africa: 0.24 (2023)

Forest covers 34% of Mexico, but only 19% of South Africa

Mexico: 34.2% (2024) · South Africa: 18.8% (2024)

The average person in South Africa emits 2 times as much CO₂ as someone in Mexico

Mexico: 3.5 t (2024) · South Africa: 6.9 t (2024)

23% of Mexico’s electricity is renewable, versus 14% in South Africa

Mexico: 23.1% (2025) · South Africa: 13.6% (2025)

The air in South Africa carries 33% more fine dust than in Mexico

Mexico: 18.3 µg/m³ (2024) · South Africa: 24.4 µg/m³ (2024)

You are 76% more likely to be murdered in South Africa than in Mexico

Mexico: 24.9 per 100k (2023) · South Africa: 43.7 per 100k (2022)

Roads in South Africa are 73% deadlier than in Mexico

Mexico: 19.1 per 100k (2023) · South Africa: 33.1 per 100k (2023)

Mexico is on average 3.0 °C warmer than South Africa

Mexico: 21.4°C (2016–2025 avg) · South Africa: 18.4°C (2016–2025 avg)

Mexico gets 54% more rain than South Africa

Mexico: 788 mm (2016–2025 avg) · South Africa: 511 mm (2016–2025 avg)