South Africa vs Kenya — Country Comparison

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

How do South Africa and Kenya 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. Kenya, in Africa, has a population of 55.8M across 580,367 km², with a GDP of $328.6B and GDP per capita of $5,800. In terms of quality of life, South Africa has a life expectancy of 71.9 years compared to Kenya's 70.4 years.

Demographics

IndicatorSouth AfricaKenya
Population61,089,92655,751,717
Birth Rate17.225.9
Death Rate6.64.7
Life Expectancy71.970.4
Literacy Rate91.2%-

Economy

IndicatorSouth AfricaKenya
GDP (PPP)$870.42B$328.63B
GDP per Capita$13,600$5,800
Unemployment33.2%5.5%
Inflation4.4%4.5%
Public Debt (% GDP)76.253.2

Geography

IndicatorSouth AfricaKenya
Area (km²)1,219,090580,367
Coastline (km)2,798536
Highest Elevation (m)3,4505,199

Military & Security

IndicatorSouth AfricaKenya
Military Spending (% GDP)0.70%1.10%
Military Personnel-25,000

Infrastructure

IndicatorSouth AfricaKenya
Internet Users76.0%35.0%
Electricity Consumption194,978,000,00010,002,000,000
Oil Production (bbl/day)88,000-
South Africa
Kenya