South Africa vs Afghanistan

South Africa has a live population of about 65,655,199 (#24 in the world) and Afghanistan about 45,400,942 (#36), so South Africa has 1.4 times as many people as Afghanistan. South Africa is growing at 1.1% a year and Afghanistan at 2.7%.

By area South Africa is larger: 1,219,090 km² against 652,870 km², which gives population densities of 53.9 people per km² in South Africa and 69.5 in Afghanistan.

South Africa's economy is worth $427.18B (2025) and Afghanistan's $17.78B (2024); per person that is $6,598 in South Africa versus $417 in Afghanistan, so the average South Africa resident produces 15.8 times as much.

Life expectancy is 66.3 years in South Africa and 66.3 in Afghanistan; women have 2.2 children on average in South Africa compared with 4.8 in Afghanistan; the median age is 28.9 versus 17.4 years.

63.8% of South Africa's people live in cities against 25.9% in Afghanistan; 78.4% use the internet in South Africa and 16.1% in Afghanistan; CO₂ emissions per person are 6.9 t in South Africa and 0.3 t in Afghanistan.