Edinburgh
259 km²
Johannesburg
1,644 km²
United Kingdom
South Africa
Area Comparison
Edinburgh is 6.3x smaller than Johannesburg
Population Comparison
Edinburgh has 9.8x fewer people than Johannesburg
In terms of area, Johannesburg is 6.3x the size of Edinburgh. Johannesburg spans 1,644 km² (635 mi²) while Edinburgh covers 259 km² (100 mi²) — a difference of 1,385 km². You could fit Edinburgh inside Johannesburg approximately 6 times.
To put Edinburgh's size in perspective, its area of 259 km² is about 1.2x the size of Amsterdam. Meanwhile, Johannesburg at 1,644 km² is roughly the same size as London.
Edinburgh's footprint is roughly about 36,000 American football fields, 130 times the area of Monaco, or 76 times the area of Central Park — pick whichever unit feels intuitive. Johannesburg works out to about 230,000 American football fields, 28 times the area of Manhattan, or 16 times the area of Paris.
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. It is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh had a population of 506,520 in 2020, making it the second-most-populous city in Scotland and the seventh-most-populous in the United Kingdom. The wider metropolitan area had a population of 912,490 in the same year.
Known as "Auld Reekie", Edinburgh covers 259 km² with a population of 0.5 million. The city was established in 601. Edinburgh is known for Edinburgh Castle, Royal Mile, Arthur's Seat, among other attractions.
Edinburgh is bounded by the Firth of Forth to the north and the Pentland Hills to the south.
Johannesburg, colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg or "The City of Gold", is the most populous city in South Africa. The City of Johannesburg itself has a population of 5,538,596, while the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality has a population of 6,599,190, making it one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, and seat of the country's highest court, the Constitutional Court.
Often called "Jozi", Johannesburg has an area of 1,644 km² and is home to 4.8 million people. Its history stretches back to 1886. Visitors come for Apartheid Museum, Soweto township, Constitutional Court, and much more.
Johannesburg ranks among the world's 100 largest urban areas, with a metro population of about 6.6 million.
Edinburgh has a population density of 1,892 people per km² — a relatively spread-out city. Johannesburg, with 2,920 people per km², is a moderately dense city. Johannesburg is noticeably denser, packing 1.5 times more people per square kilometer.
Size Ratio
Edinburgh fits inside Johannesburg ~6 times
Density Gap
Johannesburg is 1.5x more densely populated
History
Edinburgh is ~1,285 years older
Edinburgh covers 259 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Taipei (272 km²), Kuala Lumpur (243 km²), Boston (232 km²), Osaka (225 km²), or Amsterdam (219 km²).
Johannesburg covers 1,644 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Bogotá (1,578 km²), London (1,572 km²), Bangkok (1,569 km²), Houston (1,725 km²), or São Paulo (1,521 km²).
The straight-line distance from Edinburgh to Johannesburg is 9,602 km (5,966 miles), with an estimated flight time of ~11h 48m.
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