South Africa vs Brazil — Country Comparison

Side-by-side comparison of South Africa and Brazil across population, economy, quality of life, and more. Data updated 2026.

How do South Africa and Brazil compare? South Africa, located in Africa, has a population of 61.1M and covers an area of 1.2M km². Its GDP (PPP) stands at $870.4B with a GDP per capita of $13,600. Brazil, in South America, has a population of 221.4M across 8.5M km², with a GDP of $4.2T and GDP per capita of $19,600. In terms of quality of life, South Africa has a life expectancy of 71.9 years compared to Brazil's 76.3 years.

Demographics

IndicatorSouth AfricaBrazil
Population61,089,926221,359,387
Birth Rate17.213.0
Death Rate6.67.1
Life Expectancy71.976.3
Literacy Rate91.2%94.8%

Economy

IndicatorSouth AfricaBrazil
GDP (PPP)$870.42B$4.17T
GDP per Capita$13,600$19,600
Unemployment33.2%7.7%
Inflation4.4%4.4%
Public Debt (% GDP)76.283

Geography

IndicatorSouth AfricaBrazil
Area (km²)1,219,0908,515,770
Coastline (km)2,7987,491
Highest Elevation (m)3,4502,994

Military & Security

IndicatorSouth AfricaBrazil
Military Spending (% GDP)0.70%1.10%
Military Personnel-360,000

Infrastructure

IndicatorSouth AfricaBrazil
Internet Users76.0%84.0%
Electricity Consumption194,978,000,000608,451,000,000
Oil Production (bbl/day)88,0004,221,000
South Africa
Brazil

Related Comparisons