South Africa vs Guatemala

South Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Upper middle income
Capital: Pretoria
Population
64M
GDP
$401.1B
Guatemala
Latin America & Caribbean
Upper middle income
Capital: Guatemala City
Population
18.4M
GDP
$113.2B

POP 3.5x GDP 3.5x LE 6.4 yrs same-band UMC

Widest indicator spreads · South Africa vs Guatemala

Net Migration104.6%Freshwater Withdrawal93.5%Unemployment Rate91.9%GDP Growth Rate85.6%Renewable Energy Consump…84.4%CO2 Emissions Per Capita83.9%Electric Power Consumption77.4%GDP (Current USD)71.8%
WIDE pair: the board is the Net Migration gap first (South Africa UMC vs Guatemala UMC).

Demographics: Population (South Africa, 71% spread)

Indicator South Africa Guatemala Year
Population 64M 18.4M 2024
Population Density 52.1 169.1 2023
Population Ages 65+ 6.7% 4.8% 2024
Population Ages 0-14 25.9% 31.6% 2024

3 closer demographics rows sit on the South Africa and Guatemala profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.

Economy: Unemployment Rate (Guatemala, 92% spread)

Indicator South Africa Guatemala Year
Unemployment Rate 32.3% 2.6% 2024
GDP Growth Rate 0.5% 3.7% 2024
GDP (Current USD) $401.1B $113.2B 2024
Government Debt (% of GDP) 82.8% 25.2% 2024

5 closer economy rows sit on the South Africa and Guatemala profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.

Health: Stunting Prevalence (under 5) (Guatemala, 54% spread)

Indicator South Africa Guatemala Year
Stunting Prevalence (under 5) 21.3% 46.0% 2017
Under-5 Mortality Rate 35.1 20.5 2024
Physicians (per 1,000 people) 0.8 1.3 2022
Infant Mortality Rate 24.2 17.2 2024

3 closer health rows sit on the South Africa and Guatemala profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.

Education: School Enrollment (Secondary) (South Africa, 52% spread)

Indicator South Africa Guatemala Year
School Enrollment (Secondary) 104.1% 49.6% 2023
Education Expenditure (% of GDP) 6.0% 3.1% 2024

4 closer education rows sit on the South Africa and Guatemala profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.

Environment: Freshwater Withdrawal (South Africa, 94% spread)

Indicator South Africa Guatemala Year
Freshwater Withdrawal 47.1% 3.0% 2022
Renewable Energy Consumption 9.7% 62.1% 2021
CO2 Emissions Per Capita 6.9 1.1 2024
Electric Power Consumption 3,247 733 2023

1 closer environment rows sit on the South Africa and Guatemala profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.

Infrastructure: Mobile Subscriptions (South Africa, 37% spread)

Indicator South Africa Guatemala Year
Mobile Subscriptions 179.3 112.5 2024
Access to Clean Water 68.0% 48.8% 2024
Internet Users 78.4% 60.2% 2024

2 closer infrastructure rows sit on the South Africa and Guatemala profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.

Social: Net Migration (South Africa, 105% spread)

Indicator South Africa Guatemala Year
Net Migration 167K -7,725 2024
Intentional Homicides 43.7 23.4 2022
Poverty (< $2.15/day) 17.4% 9.7% 2022
Male Labor Participation 61.8% 81.8% 2024

2 closer social rows sit on the South Africa and Guatemala profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.

How to read this South Africa vs Guatemala comparison

South Africa (UMC, Sub-Saharan Africa) vs Guatemala (UMC, Latin America & Caribbean) is a WIDE WDI pair: population is 3.5x larger (64M vs 18.4M) and total GDP is 3.5x larger ($401.1B vs $113.2B). The gap board leads on Net Migration (~105% relative spread) across 47 indicators in 8 topics. Same income tier; rate and stock gaps are the sharper policy read. Figures may come from different reporting years; dollar values move with exchange rates; national averages conceal inequality. See our methodology.

Other curated pairs · WIDE band

Indexable comparisons only (Module 42). Full picker with every country lives on /compare, not duplicated under every pair.

South Africa vs Guatemala figures: World Bank Open Data and health rows: WHO Global Health Observatory. CC BY 4.0 · same-band UMC · WIDE scale band.