Norway’s coastline is 9 times as long as South Africa’s

Norway: 25,148 km (2026 edition) · South Africa: 2,798 km (2026 edition)

South Africa’s highest peak towers 981 m above Norway’s

Norway: 2,469 m (2026 edition) · South Africa: 3,450 m (2026 edition)

Farmland covers 79% of South Africa, versus 2.7% of Norway

Norway: 2.7% (2024) · South Africa: 79.4% (2024)

South Africa has 12 times as many people as Norway

Norway: 5.61 million (2025) · South Africa: 64.7 million (2025)

South Africa is 3.5 times as densely populated as Norway

Norway: 15 per km² (2025) · South Africa: 53 per km² (2025)

The typical person in Norway is 11 years older than in South Africa

Norway: 39.5 years (2023) · South Africa: 28.2 years (2023)

Women in South Africa have 0.8 more children on average than in Norway

Norway: 1.45 children per woman (2024) · South Africa: 2.21 children per woman (2024)

19% of people in Norway are 65 or older, versus 6.9% in South Africa

Norway: 19.1% (2025) · South Africa: 6.9% (2025)

Norway hosts 26 times as many refugees per resident as South Africa

Norway: 22.1 per 1,000 (2025) · South Africa: 0.9 per 1,000 (2025)

Norway has produced 23.2 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, South Africa 1.5

Norway: 23.2 (2026) · South Africa: 1.5 (2026)

South Africa has 11 official languages, Norway 3

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

Norway’s economy is 24% larger than South Africa’s

Norway: $531 billion (2025) · South Africa: $427 billion (2025)

Norway produces 6.5 times as much per person as South Africa

Norway: Int$104,044 (2025) · South Africa: Int$15,906 (2025)

Income is more unequally shared in South Africa than in Norway (Gini 27.6 points higher)

Norway: 26.5 (2023) · South Africa: 54.1 (2022)

17% of people in South Africa live on less than $3 a day, versus 0.2% in Norway

Norway: 0.2% (2023) · South Africa: 17.4% (2022)

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

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

Norway spends 3.3% of its GDP on the military, South Africa 0.7%

Norway: 3.3% (2025) · South Africa: 0.7% (2025)

South Africa’s central government collects 26% of GDP in tax, Norway’s 25%

Norway: 24.5% (2024) · South Africa: 25.9% (2024)

Norway’s price level (US = 100) is 2.2× South Africa’s

Norway: 91% (2025) · South Africa: 41% (2025)

Norway spends 15 times as much on health per person as South Africa

Norway: $8,296 (2023) · South Africa: $537 (2023)

A baby in South Africa is 12 times as likely to die before turning one as in Norway

Norway: 2 per 1,000 (2024) · South Africa: 24.2 per 1,000 (2024)

Norway has 6.3 times as many doctors per person as South Africa

Norway: 5 per 1,000 (2023) · South Africa: 0.8 per 1,000 (2022)

Norway: 3.3 per 1,000 (2023) · South Africa: no data

The suicide rate in South Africa is 40% higher than in Norway

Norway: 11.6 per 100k (2023) · South Africa: 16.2 per 100k (2023)

31% of adults in South Africa are obese, versus 21% in Norway

Norway: 20.7% (2024) · South Africa: 31.3% (2024)

24% of adults in South Africa smoke, versus 13% in Norway

Norway: 12.9% (2024) · South Africa: 23.7% (2024)

People in Norway rate their lives 2.23 points higher than in South Africa

Norway: 7.24 (2025) · South Africa: 5.01 (2025)

Adults in South Africa drink 24% more alcohol than in Norway

Norway: 7 litres (2023) · South Africa: 8.6 litres (2023)

Norway has 21% more meat per person than South Africa

Norway: 70.4 kg (2023) · South Africa: 58.3 kg (2023)

Norway has 782 kcal more food per person per day than South Africa

Norway: 3,476 kcal (2023) · South Africa: 2,694 kcal (2023)

Workers in South Africa put in 769 more hours a year than in Norway

Norway: 1,412 hours (2023) · South Africa: 2,181 hours (2023)

Adults in Norway went to school 1.5 years longer than in South Africa

Norway: 13.1 years (2023) · South Africa: 11.6 years (2023)

Norway welcomed 6.5 times as many tourists per resident as South Africa (2019)

Norway: 0.91 (2022) · South Africa: 0.14 (2024)

South Africa has 4 more World Heritage sites than Norway (12 against 8)

Norway: 8 (2026) · South Africa: 12 (2026)

Norway has won 616 Olympic medals, South Africa 95

Norway: 616 (2026 edition) · South Africa: 95 (2026 edition)

99% of people in Norway are online, versus 78% in South Africa

Norway: 99% (2024) · South Africa: 78% (2024)

Home internet in Norway is 2.9 times as fast as in South Africa

Norway: 228 Mbps (2026) · South Africa: 78 Mbps (2026)

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

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

84% of people in Norway live in cities, versus 64% in South Africa

Norway: 84% (2025) · South Africa: 64% (2025)

South Africa has 179 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Norway 109

Norway: 109 (2024) · South Africa: 179 (2024)

South Africa’s railway network is 5.4 times as long as Norway’s

Norway: 3,885 km (2021) · South Africa: 20,953 km (2021)

Norway: no data · South Africa: 0.24 (2023)

Forest covers 33% of Norway, but only 19% of South Africa

Norway: 33.2% (2024) · South Africa: 18.8% (2024)

The average person in South Africa emits 3% more CO₂ than someone in Norway

Norway: 6.7 t (2024) · South Africa: 6.9 t (2024)

99% of Norway’s electricity is renewable, versus 14% in South Africa

Norway: 99% (2025) · South Africa: 13.6% (2025)

The air in South Africa carries 3.6 times as much fine dust as in Norway

Norway: 6.7 µg/m³ (2024) · South Africa: 24.4 µg/m³ (2024)

You are 60 times as likely to be murdered in South Africa as in Norway

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

Roads in South Africa are 11 times as deadly as in Norway

Norway: 2.9 per 100k (2023) · South Africa: 33.1 per 100k (2023)

South Africa is on average 16.8 °C warmer than Norway

Norway: 1.6°C (2016–2025 avg) · South Africa: 18.4°C (2016–2025 avg)

Norway gets 2.5 times as much rain as South Africa

Norway: 1,259 mm (2016–2025 avg) · South Africa: 511 mm (2016–2025 avg)