Bahamas vs Vanuatu
Bahamas is 14% larger than Vanuatu.
BahamasVanuatuBahamas moved onto Vanuatu · Equal-area projection
1.14×
Bahamas is 1.14× the area of Vanuatu.
 Bahamas |  Vanuatu | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaBahamas: 1.14× the area | 13,878 km²#157 of 194 | 12,190 km²#158 of 194 |
| Coastline | Coast, no land border | Coast, no land border |
| Land neighbours | 0 | 0 |
| People | ||
| PopulationBahamas: 1.2× the population | 403,033#171 of 194 · 2025 | 335,169#173 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityBahamas: 1.06× the density | 29 / km²#154 of 194 | 27 / km²#156 of 194 |
| Urban populationBahamas: 3.65× the urban share | 81%#38 of 192 · 2025 | 22%#184 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateVanuatu: 2.61× the births per woman | 1.37 per woman#162 of 192 · 2024 | 3.57 per woman#42 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthVanuatu: 1.79 points higher | +0.44%#134 of 192 · 2025 | +2.23%#35 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateVanuatu: 2.56× the birth rate | 10.8 per 1,000#129 of 192 · 2024 | 27.7 per 1,000#40 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateBahamas: 1.76× the death rate | 8.8 per 1,000#57 of 192 · 2024 | 5.0 per 1,000#171 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Vanuatu: 20.5 points higher | 17.5%#135 of 192 · 2025 | 38.0%#33 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Bahamas: 7.7 points higher | 12.1%#71 of 192 · 2025 | 4.4%#134 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationBahamas: 2.5 per 1,000 higher | +2.3 per 1,000#36 of 192 · 2025 | −0.2 per 1,000#84 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadBahamas: 99× the refugees for its size | 3.96 per 1,000#32 of 190 · 2025 | 0.04 per 1,000#134 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyBahamas: 3.0 years longer | 74.7 years#87 of 192 · 2024 | 71.7 years#119 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityVanuatu: 1.3× the infant mortality | 11.1 per 1,000 births#104 of 191 · 2024 | 14.4 per 1,000 births#87 of 191 · 2024 |
| Doctors | — | 0.16 per 1,000#158 of 178 · 2019 |
| Human Development IndexBahamas: 0.199 higher | 0.820#65 of 190 · 2023 | 0.621#143 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaBahamas: 8.39× the income per person | $37,020#31 of 185 · 2024 | $4,410#120 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPBahamas: 11.7× the economy | $15.83B2024 | $1.35B2025 |
| Income group | High income | Lower-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Bahamas: 9.12× the output per person | $41,258#55 of 184 · 2024 | $4,525#156 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthBahamas: 0.3 points higher | +3.4%#89 of 187 · 2024 | +3.1%#96 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationBahamas: 0.4 points higher | +1.1%#138 of 176 · 2025 | +0.7%#149 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentBahamas: 1.8× the unemployment | 9.2%#39 of 178 · 2025 | 5.1%#88 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | — | 19.5%#36 of 149 · 2019 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | — | 32.3#100 of 149 · 2019 |
| Jobs in agricultureVanuatu: 43.7 points higher | 0.8% of jobs#175 of 178 · 2025 | 44.5% of jobs#31 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryBahamas: 4.8 points higher | 14.8% of jobs#138 of 178 · 2025 | 10.0% of jobs#155 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesBahamas: 39.0 points higher | 84.4% of jobs#5 of 178 · 2025 | 45.4% of jobs#136 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentVanuatu: 0.9 points higher | 1.5% of GDP#110 of 184 · 2024 | 2.4% of GDP#78 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsBahamas: 12.5 points higher | 37.8% of GDP#78 of 168 · 2024 | 25.3% of GDP#113 of 168 · 2024 |
| Internet users | 93%#41 of 184 · 2024 | — |
| Mobile subscriptionsBahamas: 1.09× the mobile subscriptions | 97 per 100#133 of 191 · 2024 | 89 per 100#142 of 191 · 2023 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaBahamas: 1.4× the forest share | 51% of land#46 of 192 · 2024 | 36% of land#80 of 192 · 2023 |
| CO₂ per personBahamas: 4.18× the CO₂ per person | 3.64 t a year#71 of 185 · 2024 | 0.87 t a year#133 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyVanuatu: 23.9 points higher | 1.1%#173 of 190 · 2022 | 25.0%#92 of 190 · 2022 |
| Access to electricityBahamas: 34.5 points higher | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 65.5%#158 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Vanuatu: 1.32× the air pollution | 5.3 µg/m³#181 of 191 · 2023 | 7.0 µg/m³#173 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landBahamas: 29.8 points higher | 34.6% of land#24 of 191 · 2025 | 4.8% of land#165 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landVanuatu: 0.8 points higher | 0.8% of land#173 of 190 · 2024 | 1.6% of land#167 of 190 · 2024 |
| PrecipitationVanuatu: 1.55× the rain and snow | 1,292 mm#70 of 180 · 2022 | 2,000 mm#32 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityBahamas: 0.07 higher | +1.02#33 of 193 · 2025 | +0.95#39 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionBahamas: 1.22 higher | +1.04#32 of 193 · 2025 | −0.18#91 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateBahamas: 107× the homicide rate | 32.2 per 100,000#9 of 146 · 2022 | 0.3 per 100,000#139 of 146 · 2020 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Constitutional monarchyparliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm | Parliamentary republic |
| Capital | Nassau | Port-Vila |
| Currency | Bahamian dollar (BSD) | Vanuatu vatus (VUV) |
| Official languages | English | English, French, Bislama |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC−5, summer time UTC−4 | UTC+11 |
| Calling code | +1 242 | +678 |
| Region | Caribbean, North America | Melanesia, Oceania |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Bahamas sits at about 24° N and is stretched to 1.2× its true area; Vanuatu at 16° S is stretched to 1.08×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Bahamas bigger than Vanuatu?
- Yes. Bahamas is 14% larger than Vanuatu. Bahamas covers 13,878 km² and Vanuatu covers 12,190 km².
- How many times does Vanuatu fit into Bahamas?
- About 1.1 times: Bahamas has 1.14× the area of Vanuatu.
- Why do Bahamas and Vanuatu look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Bahamas is drawn about 1.2× its true area there and Vanuatu about 1.08×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Bahamas or Vanuatu?
- Bahamas: 403,033 people against 335,169. Density: Bahamas 29 per km², Vanuatu 27 per km².
- Which is richer, Bahamas or Vanuatu?
- By gross national income per person, Bahamas: $37,020 against $4,410 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2024) — 8.39× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Bahamas or Vanuatu?
- In Bahamas: life expectancy at birth is 74.7 years, against 71.7 — 3.0 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Bahamas and Vanuatu have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Bahamas: constitutional monarchy; Vanuatu: parliamentary republic.