Chagos Islands vs Palau

Palau is 7.77 times larger than Chagos Islands. Chagos Islands would fit into Palau about 7.8 times.

Chagos IslandsPalauChagos Islands moved onto Palau · Equal-area projection
0.13×
Chagos Islands is 0.13× the area of Palau. Put the other way, Palau is 7.77× the size of Chagos Islands.
Chagos IslandsPalau
Area60 km²466 km²
Population3,00017,663
Density50 / km²38 / km²
CapitalDiego GarciaKoror
RegionSeven seas (open ocean)Micronesia
CoastlineHas a coastHas a coast
Neighbours00

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; 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 Chagos Islands bigger than Palau?
No. Chagos Islands is 7.77 times smaller than Palau. Chagos Islands covers 60 km² and Palau covers 466 km².
How many times does Chagos Islands fit into Palau?
About 7.8 times: Palau has 7.77× the area of Chagos Islands.
Why do Chagos Islands and Palau 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 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, Chagos Islands or Palau?
Palau: 17,663 people against 3,000. Density: Chagos Islands 50 per km², Palau 38 per km².