Is Africa or Australia closer to the South Pole?

Australia is closer than Africa to the South Pole. Melbourne, Australia's southern-most city, is approximately 3,613 miles from the pole. Cape Town, South Africa's southern-most city, is 3,882 miles away, 269 miles further north than Melbourne.

The continent of South America is closer than African or Australia to the South Pole. The South American city of Puntas Arenas in Chile is 2,554 miles away from the pole. The U.K. territory of King Edward Point of the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, an isolated archipelago in the South Atlantic, is 2,476 miles from the South Pole. The distance from the South Pole to the North Pole is approximately 12,431 miles.