What is the difference in surface area between Niger and South Africa?

47,910 sq. km, with Niger ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Niger and South Africa?

63 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2023.

Niger vs South Africa: Surface area

Niger

1.27 million sq. km

in 2023

South Africa

1.22 million sq. km

in 2023

Niger rank

21st

South Africa rank

24th

Surface area over time

Niger
South Africa

How they compare

Niger currently reports 1.27 million sq. km against 1.22 million sq. km in South Africa, a difference of 47,910 sq. km.

Across all 63 years both countries report, Niger has been ahead every year.

Niger ranks 21st and South Africa ranks 24th of 215 countries.

Niger has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Niger	South Africa	Difference	Ahead
1960s	1.27 million sq. km	1.22 million sq. km	47,910 sq. km	Niger
1970s	1.27 million sq. km	1.22 million sq. km	47,910 sq. km	Niger
1980s	1.27 million sq. km	1.22 million sq. km	47,910 sq. km	Niger
1990s	1.27 million sq. km	1.22 million sq. km	47,910 sq. km	Niger
2000s	1.27 million sq. km	1.22 million sq. km	47,910 sq. km	Niger
2010s	1.27 million sq. km	1.22 million sq. km	47,910 sq. km	Niger
2020s	1.27 million sq. km	1.22 million sq. km	47,910 sq. km	Niger

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher surface area, Niger or South Africa?: Niger, at 1.27 million sq. km against 1.22 million sq. km in South Africa as of 2023.
What is the difference in surface area between Niger and South Africa?: 47,910 sq. km, with Niger ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Niger and South Africa?: 63 years are reported by both, from 1961 to 2023.
How do Niger and South Africa rank globally for surface area?: Niger ranks 21st and South Africa ranks 24th of 215 countries.
Where does this data come from?: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as Surface area (sq. km). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Niger vs South Africa: Surface area. Statizoid, drawing on FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Retrieved 21 August 2026, from https://agriculture.statizoid.com/compare/surface-area-sq-km/niger/south-africa/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://agriculture.statizoid.com/compare/surface-area-sq-km/niger/south-africa/">Niger vs South Africa: Surface area</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Surface area (sq. km)
Unit: sq. km
Source: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 263 places, 16,395 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed: 20 August 2026

Surface area is a country's total area, including areas under inland bodies of water and some coastal waterways.