Chagos Islands vs Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands is 3.02 times larger than Chagos Islands. Chagos Islands would fit into Marshall Islands about 3.0 times.
Chagos IslandsMarshall IslandsChagos Islands moved onto Marshall Islands · Equal-area projection
0.33×
Chagos Islands is 0.33× the area of Marshall Islands. Put the other way, Marshall Islands is 3.02× the size of Chagos Islands.
 Chagos Islands |  Marshall Islands | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaMarshall Islands: 3.02× the area | 60 km² | 181 km²#189 of 194 |
| Coastline | Coast, no land border | Coast, no land border |
| Land neighbours | 0 | 0 |
| People | ||
| PopulationMarshall Islands: 12.1× the population | 3,0002018 | 36,282#190 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityMarshall Islands: 4.01× the density | 50 / km² | 200 / km²#50 of 194 |
| Urban population | — | 79%#48 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rate | — | 2.86 per woman#57 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growth | — | −3.43%#192 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rate | — | 20.1 per 1,000#71 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rate | — | 7.1 per 1,000#97 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15 | — | 33.9%#54 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65 | — | 4.9%#126 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migration | — | −46.8 per 1,000#192 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroad | — | 0.00 per 1,000#174 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancy | — | 67.1 years#152 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortality | — | 22.7 per 1,000 births#63 of 191 · 2024 |
| University enrolment | — | 37.7%#94 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development Index | — | 0.733#107 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capita | — | $9,710#81 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDP | — | $308M2025 |
| Income group | — | Upper-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | — | $8,964#132 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growth | — | +2.3%#124 of 187 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | — | 2.1%#73 of 149 · 2019 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | — | 35.5#68 of 149 · 2019 |
| Foreign investment | — | 1.0% of GDP#126 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | — | 36.0% of GDP#82 of 168 · 2025 |
| Internet users | — | 66%#127 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptions | — | 40 per 100#186 of 191 · 2022 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest area | — | 54% of land#40 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per person | — | 0.00 t a year#183 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energy | — | 12.2%#130 of 190 · 2022 |
| Access to electricity | — | 97.2%#122 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5) | — | 4.1 µg/m³#189 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected land | — | 16.1% of land#106 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable land | — | 2.8% of land#152 of 190 · 2024 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stability | — | +1.52#3 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruption | — | +0.35#65 of 193 · 2025 |
| State | ||
| Status | Territory of United Kingdom | Independent state |
| Government | Dependent territory | Parliamentary republicmixed presidential-parliamentary system in free association with the US |
| Capital | Diego Garcia | Majuro |
| Currency | United States dollar (USD), Pound sterling (GBP) | United States dollar (USD) |
| Official languages | English | English, Marshallese |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+6 | UTC+12 |
| Calling code | +246 | +692 |
| Region | Seven seas (open ocean) | 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. Chagos Islands sits at about 7° S and is stretched to 1.02× its true area; Marshall Islands 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 Chagos Islands bigger than Marshall Islands?
- No. Chagos Islands is 3.02 times smaller than Marshall Islands. Chagos Islands covers 60 km² and Marshall Islands covers 181 km².
- How many times does Chagos Islands fit into Marshall Islands?
- About 3.0 times: Marshall Islands has 3.02× the area of Chagos Islands.
- Why do Chagos Islands and Marshall Islands look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Chagos Islands is drawn about 1.02× its true area there and Marshall Islands 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, Chagos Islands or Marshall Islands?
- Marshall Islands: 36,282 people against 3,000. Density: Chagos Islands 50 per km², Marshall Islands 200 per km².
- What kind of government do Chagos Islands and Marshall Islands have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Chagos Islands: dependent territory; Marshall Islands: parliamentary republic.