South Africa vs United States
POP 5.3x GDP 71.7x LE 12.6 yrs UMC↔HIC
Widest indicator spreads · South Africa vs United States
Demographics: Population (United States, 81% spread)
| Indicator | South Africa | United States | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 64M | 340.1M | 2024 |
| Population Ages 65+ | 6.7% | 17.9% | 2024 |
| Population Ages 0-14 | 25.9% | 17.3% | 2024 |
| Population Density | 52.1 | 36.8 | 2023 |
3 closer demographics rows sit on the South Africa and United States profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.
Economy: Foreign Direct Investment (United States, 99% spread)
| Indicator | South Africa | United States | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreign Direct Investment | $2.3B | $297.1B | 2024 |
| GDP (Current USD) | $401.1B | $28.8T | 2024 |
| GNI Per Capita | $6,110 | $83,490 | 2024 |
| GDP Per Capita (Current USD) | $6,267.187 | $84,534.041 | 2024 |
5 closer economy rows sit on the South Africa and United States profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.
Health: Maternal Mortality Ratio (United States, 86% spread)
| Indicator | South Africa | United States | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maternal Mortality Ratio | 118 | 17 | 2023 |
| Stunting Prevalence (under 5) | 21.3% | 3.8% | 2017 |
| Under-5 Mortality Rate | 35.1 | 6.5 | 2024 |
| Physicians (per 1,000 people) | 0.8 | 3.7 | 2022 |
3 closer health rows sit on the South Africa and United States profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.
Education: School Enrollment (Tertiary) (United States, 70% spread)
| Indicator | South Africa | United States | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| School Enrollment (Tertiary) | 23.5% | 79.4% | 2023 |
5 closer education rows sit on the South Africa and United States profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.
Environment: Electric Power Consumption (United States, 75% spread)
| Indicator | South Africa | United States | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electric Power Consumption | 3,247 | 12,839 | 2023 |
| Freshwater Withdrawal | 47.1% | 15.8% | 2022 |
| Forest Area | 14.0% | 33.9% | 2023 |
| CO2 Emissions Per Capita | 6.9 | 13.6 | 2024 |
1 closer environment rows sit on the South Africa and United States profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.
Infrastructure: Mobile Subscriptions (South Africa, 37% spread)
| Indicator | South Africa | United States | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile Subscriptions | 179.3 | 113.2 | 2024 |
| Access to Clean Water | 68.0% | 97.6% | 2024 |
| Access to Sanitation | 73.8% | 97.0% | 2024 |
| Internet Users | 78.4% | 94.7% | 2024 |
1 closer infrastructure rows sit on the South Africa and United States profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.
Social: Poverty (< $2.15/day) (United States, 94% spread)
| Indicator | South Africa | United States | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poverty (< $2.15/day) | 17.4% | 1.1% | 2022 |
| Net Migration | 167K | 1.3M | 2024 |
| Intentional Homicides | 43.7 | 5.8 | 2022 |
| GINI Index | 54.1 | 41.8 | 2022 |
2 closer social rows sit on the South Africa and United States profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.
Labor & Wages: PPP Conversion Factor (GDP) (South Africa, 87% spread)
| Indicator | South Africa | United States | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| PPP Conversion Factor (GDP) | 7.4 | 1 | 2024 |
2 closer labor & wages rows sit on the South Africa and United States profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.
How to read this South Africa vs United States comparison
South Africa (UMC, Sub-Saharan Africa) vs United States (HIC, North America) is a WIDE WDI pair: population is 5.3x smaller (64M vs 340.1M) and total GDP is 71.7x smaller ($401.1B vs $28.8T). The gap board leads on Foreign Direct Investment (~99% relative spread) across 48 indicators in 8 topics. Cross-tier pair; prefer per-capita and rate columns over raw totals. Figures may come from different reporting years; dollar values move with exchange rates; national averages conceal inequality. See our methodology.
Read with South Africa vs United States
Drills from this UMC↔HIC WDI pair and other curated comparisons sharing either country - not a fixed Related strip.
UMC HIC
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United States vs China
United States vs China keeps United States on the board while swapping the counterpart - contrast with this UMC↔HIC read.
South Africa full profile · UMC
South Africa (UMC) carries the full WDI topic tables behind every row above.
United States full profile · HIC
United States (HIC) is the counterpart sheet for South Africa's column in this pair.
GDP/cap leaderboard
Rank South Africa (UMC) and United States (HIC) on NY.GDP.PCAP.CD after the pair table.
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 United States figures: World Bank Open Data and health rows: WHO Global Health Observatory. CC BY 4.0 · UMC↔HIC · WIDE scale band.