South Africa vs Tonga

South Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Upper middle income
Capital: Pretoria
Population
64M
GDP
$401.1B
Tonga
East Asia & Pacific
Upper middle income
Capital: Nuku'alofa
Population
104.2K
GDP
$647.5M

POP 614.4x GDP 619.5x LE 6.8 yrs same-band UMC

Widest indicator spreads · South Africa vs Tonga

Net Migration101.3%Foreign Direct Investment100.5%GDP (Current USD)99.8%Population99.8%Intentional Homicides97.8%Poverty (< $2.15/day)97.7%Unemployment Rate93.9%Stunting Prevalence (und…89.7%
WIDE pair: the board is the Net Migration gap first (South Africa UMC vs Tonga UMC).

Demographics: Population (South Africa, 100% spread)

Indicator South Africa Tonga Year
Population 64M 104.2K 2024
Urban Population 63.7% 21.2% 2024
Population Density 52.1 145.3 2023
Population Ages 0-14 25.9% 35.4% 2024

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

Economy: Foreign Direct Investment (South Africa, 101% spread)

Indicator South Africa Tonga Year
Foreign Direct Investment $2.3B $-12,079,633.359 2024
GDP (Current USD) $401.1B $647.5M 2024
Unemployment Rate 32.3% 2.0% 2024
GDP Growth Rate 0.5% 1.7% 2024

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

Health: Stunting Prevalence (under 5) (South Africa, 90% spread)

Indicator South Africa Tonga Year
Stunting Prevalence (under 5) 21.3% 2.2% 2017
Under-5 Mortality Rate 35.1 9.5 2024
Infant Mortality Rate 24.2 7.8 2024
Maternal Mortality Ratio 118 67 2023

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

Education: School Enrollment (Tertiary) (Tonga, 45% spread)

Indicator South Africa Tonga Year
School Enrollment (Tertiary) 23.5% 42.9% 2023

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

Environment: CO2 Emissions Per Capita (Tonga, 76% spread)

Indicator South Africa Tonga Year
CO2 Emissions Per Capita 6.9 1.6 2024
Renewable Energy Consumption 9.7% 2.3% 2021

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

Infrastructure: Mobile Subscriptions (South Africa, 66% spread)

Indicator South Africa Tonga Year
Mobile Subscriptions 179.3 61.7 2024
Access to Sanitation 73.8% 31.2% 2024
Access to Clean Water 68.0% 29.6% 2024

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

Social: Net Migration (South Africa, 101% spread)

Indicator South Africa Tonga Year
Net Migration 167K -2,149 2024
Intentional Homicides 43.7 0.9 2022
Poverty (< $2.15/day) 17.4% 0.4% 2022
GINI Index 54.1 27.1 2022

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

How to read this South Africa vs Tonga comparison

South Africa (UMC, Sub-Saharan Africa) vs Tonga (UMC, East Asia & Pacific) is a WIDE WDI pair: population is 614.4x larger (64M vs 104.2K) and total GDP is 619.5x larger ($401.1B vs $647.5M). The gap board leads on Net Migration (~101% 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 Tonga figures: World Bank Open Data and health rows: WHO Global Health Observatory. CC BY 4.0 · same-band UMC · WIDE scale band.