Barbados vs Palau
Palau is 6% larger than Barbados.
BarbadosPalauBarbados moved onto Palau · Equal-area projection
0.94×
Barbados is 0.94× the area of Palau. Put the other way, Palau is 1.06× the size of Barbados.
 Barbados |  Palau | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaPalau: 1.06× the area | 439 km²#183 of 194 | 466 km²#180 of 194 |
| Coastline | Coast, no land border | Coast, no land border |
| Land neighbours | 0 | 0 |
| People | ||
| PopulationBarbados: 16× the population | 282,623#174 of 194 · 2025 | 17,663#192 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityBarbados: 17.0× the density | 644 / km²#8 of 194 | 38 / km²#143 of 194 |
| Urban populationPalau: 1.33× the urban share | 60%#106 of 192 · 2025 | 79%#46 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility ratePalau: 1.1× the births per woman | 1.71 per woman#117 of 192 · 2024 | 1.88 per woman#103 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthBarbados: 0.24 points higher | +0.06%#154 of 192 · 2025 | −0.18%#172 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateBarbados: 1.04× the birth rate | 11.1 per 1,000#122 of 192 · 2024 | 10.7 per 1,000#130 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death ratePalau: 1.15× the death rate | 10.2 per 1,000#32 of 192 · 2024 | 11.7 per 1,000#19 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Palau: 0.8 points higher | 17.1%#140 of 192 · 2025 | 17.9%#129 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Barbados: 5.3 points higher | 17.1%#45 of 192 · 2025 | 11.8%#72 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationBarbados: 0.6 per 1,000 higher | −0.3 per 1,000#89 of 192 · 2025 | −0.9 per 1,000#114 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadBarbados: 7.29× the refugees for its size | 2.04 per 1,000#41 of 190 · 2025 | 0.28 per 1,000#89 of 190 · 2023 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyBarbados: 6.9 years longer | 76.3 years#75 of 192 · 2024 | 69.4 years#133 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityPalau: 2.04× the infant mortality | 9.1 per 1,000 births#115 of 191 · 2024 | 18.6 per 1,000 births#71 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsBarbados: 1.64× the doctors per person | 2.96 per 1,000#61 of 178 · 2022 | 1.81 per 1,000#87 of 178 · 2023 |
| University enrolmentPalau: 1.41× the university enrolment | 50.8%#75 of 145 · 2025 | 71.8%#42 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development IndexBarbados: 0.025 higher | 0.811#68 of 190 · 2023 | 0.786#83 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaBarbados: 1.36× the income per person | $27,080#42 of 185 · 2025 | $19,890#54 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPBarbados: 23.2× the economy | $8.02B2025 | $345M2025 |
| Income group | High income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Barbados: 1.12× the output per person | $25,894#77 of 184 · 2025 | $23,052#82 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthPalau: 3.6 points higher | +2.7%#111 of 187 · 2025 | +6.3%#26 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationBarbados: 1.2 points higher | +0.8%#147 of 176 · 2025 | −0.4%#170 of 176 · 2025 |
| Unemployment | 6.5%#65 of 178 · 2025 | — |
| Extreme poverty | 1.7%#76 of 149 · 2016 | — |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 34.1#78 of 149 · 2016 | — |
| Jobs in agriculture | 1.2% of jobs#166 of 178 · 2025 | — |
| Jobs in industry | 16.2% of jobs#127 of 178 · 2025 | — |
| Jobs in services | 82.6% of jobs#8 of 178 · 2025 | — |
| Foreign investmentPalau: 13.2 points higher | 3.4% of GDP#58 of 184 · 2025 | 16.6% of GDP#8 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | — | 32.7% of GDP#90 of 168 · 2024 |
| Internet usersPalau: 1.19× the share online | 70%#118 of 184 · 2024 | 84%#82 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsPalau: 1.17× the mobile subscriptions | 115 per 100#96 of 191 · 2022 | 135 per 100#43 of 191 · 2023 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaPalau: 6.22× the forest share | 15% of land#133 of 192 · 2024 | 91% of land#4 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personPalau: 32.9× the CO₂ per person | 2.52 t a year#93 of 185 · 2024 | 82.8 t a year#1 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyBarbados: 4.6 points higher | 5.5%#157 of 190 · 2022 | 0.9%#179 of 190 · 2022 |
| Access to electricityThe same | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Barbados: 2.22× the air pollution | 10.9 µg/m³#147 of 191 · 2023 | 4.9 µg/m³#183 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landPalau: 30.3 points higher | 1.1% of land#183 of 191 · 2025 | 31.4% of land#28 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landBarbados: 15.5 points higher | 16.2% of land#66 of 190 · 2024 | 0.7% of land#178 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stress | 87.5%#20 of 176 · 2022 | — |
| Precipitation | 1,422 mm#63 of 180 · 2022 | — |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityPalau: 0.02 higher | +1.28#14 of 193 · 2025 | +1.30#12 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionBarbados: 0.72 higher | +1.23#24 of 193 · 2025 | +0.51#59 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide ratePalau: 1.51× the homicide rate | 7.4 per 100,000#36 of 146 · 2023 | 11.2 per 100,000#27 of 146 · 2018 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Parliamentary republicparliamentary republic; a Commonwealth realm | Presidential republicpresidential republic in free association with the US |
| Capital | Bridgetown | Koror |
| Currency | Barbadian dollar (BBD) | United States dollar (USD) |
| Official languages | English, Bajan Creole | English, Japanese, Palauan |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC−4 | UTC+9 |
| Calling code | +1 246 | +680 |
| Region | Caribbean, North America | Micronesia, 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. Barbados sits at about 13° N and is stretched to 1.05× its true area; Palau at 7° N is stretched to 1.02×. 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 Barbados bigger than Palau?
- No. Barbados is 6% smaller than Palau. Barbados covers 439 km² and Palau covers 466 km².
- How many times does Barbados fit into Palau?
- About 1.1 times: Palau has 1.06× the area of Barbados.
- Why do Barbados and Palau look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Barbados is drawn about 1.05× its true area there and Palau about 1.02×. 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, Barbados or Palau?
- Barbados: 282,623 people against 17,663. Density: Barbados 644 per km², Palau 38 per km².
- Which is richer, Barbados or Palau?
- By gross national income per person, Barbados: $27,080 against $19,890 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.36× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Barbados or Palau?
- In Barbados: life expectancy at birth is 76.3 years, against 69.4 — 6.9 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Barbados and Palau have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Barbados: parliamentary republic; Palau: presidential republic.