Kiribati vs Micronesia
Kiribati is 16% larger than Micronesia.
KiribatiMicronesiaKiribati moved onto Micronesia · Equal-area projection
Remote islands and overseas parts not drawn; the figures include them
1.16×
Kiribati is 1.16× the area of Micronesia.
 Kiribati |  Micronesia | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaKiribati: 1.16× the area | 811 km²#172 of 194 | 702 km²#177 of 194 |
| Coastline | Coast, no land border | Coast, no land border |
| Land neighbours | 0 | 0 |
| People | ||
| PopulationKiribati: 1.2× the population | 136,488#178 of 194 · 2025 | 113,683#181 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityKiribati: 1.04× the density | 168 / km²#56 of 194 | 162 / km²#57 of 194 |
| Urban populationKiribati: 2.82× the urban share | 63%#95 of 192 · 2025 | 23%#183 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateKiribati: 1.14× the births per woman | 3.12 per woman#51 of 192 · 2024 | 2.74 per woman#58 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthKiribati: 0.99 points higher | +1.45%#70 of 192 · 2025 | +0.46%#131 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateKiribati: 1.13× the birth rate | 25.3 per 1,000#49 of 192 · 2024 | 22.3 per 1,000#59 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateMicronesia: 1.08× the death rate | 7.1 per 1,000#97 of 192 · 2024 | 7.7 per 1,000#79 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Kiribati: 2.9 points higher | 34.4%#52 of 192 · 2025 | 31.5%#62 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Micronesia: 1.8 points higher | 4.4%#134 of 192 · 2025 | 6.2%#111 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationKiribati: 6.5 per 1,000 higher | −3.4 per 1,000#163 of 192 · 2025 | −9.9 per 1,000#182 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroad | 0.04 per 1,000#134 of 190 · 2025 | 0.00 per 1,000#174 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyMicronesia: 0.8 years longer | 66.6 years#155 of 192 · 2024 | 67.4 years#150 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityKiribati: 1.91× the infant mortality | 38.8 per 1,000 births#28 of 191 · 2024 | 20.3 per 1,000 births#68 of 191 · 2024 |
| Doctors | — | 0.97 per 1,000#110 of 178 · 2020 |
| University enrolment | 5.0%#141 of 145 · 2024 | — |
| Human Development IndexKiribati: 0.029 higher | 0.644#137 of 190 · 2023 | 0.615#146 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaMicronesia: 1.21× the income per person | $3,930#126 of 185 · 2025 | $4,760#116 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPMicronesia: 1.44× the economy | $349M2025 | $502M2025 |
| Income group | Lower-middle income | Upper-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Micronesia: 1.17× the output per person | $3,937#162 of 184 · 2025 | $4,604#155 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthKiribati: 3.1 points higher | +4.2%#65 of 187 · 2025 | +1.1%#152 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationKiribati: 1.1 points higher | +6.5%#35 of 176 · 2025 | +5.4%#39 of 176 · 2022 |
| Extreme poverty | 0.9%#88 of 149 · 2023 | — |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 24.7#145 of 149 · 2023 | — |
| Foreign investment | 1.2% of GDP#122 of 184 · 2025 | — |
| ExportsMicronesia: 17.6 points higher | 4.5% of GDP#166 of 168 · 2024 | 22.1% of GDP#124 of 168 · 2025 |
| Internet usersKiribati: 2.26× the share online | 89%#60 of 184 · 2024 | 40%#155 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsKiribati: 2.7× the mobile subscriptions | 54 per 100#179 of 191 · 2024 | 20 per 100#191 of 191 · 2022 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaMicronesia: 70.8× the forest share | 1% of land#175 of 192 · 2024 | 92% of land#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per person | 0.59 t a year#143 of 185 · 2024 | 0.00 t a year#183 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyKiribati: 39.9 points higher | 41.9%#57 of 190 · 2022 | 2.0%#166 of 190 · 2022 |
| Access to electricityKiribati: 8.8 points higher | 97.7%#120 of 192 · 2024 | 88.9%#141 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Kiribati: 1.11× the air pollution | 3.9 µg/m³#190 of 191 · 2023 | 3.5 µg/m³#191 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landKiribati: 22.9 points higher | 22.9% of land#60 of 191 · 2025 | 0.0% of land#188 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landMicronesia: 0.9 points higher | 2.5% of land#157 of 190 · 2024 | 3.4% of land#145 of 190 · 2024 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityMicronesia: 0.27 higher | +1.25#16 of 193 · 2025 | +1.52#3 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionMicronesia: 0.37 higher | +0.30#67 of 193 · 2025 | +0.67#47 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | — | 0.9 per 100,000#110 of 146 · 2019 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republic | Parliamentary republicfederal republic in free association with the US |
| Capital | Tarawa | Palikir |
| Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | United States dollar (USD) |
| Official languages | English, Gilbertese | English |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+12 · UTC+12 to UTC+14, 3 time zones | UTC+11 · UTC+10 to UTC+11, 2 time zones |
| Calling code | +686 | +691 |
| Region | Micronesia, Oceania | 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. Kiribati sits at about 1° N and is stretched to 1.0× its true area; Micronesia at 8° 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 Kiribati bigger than Micronesia?
- Yes. Kiribati is 16% larger than Micronesia. Kiribati covers 811 km² and Micronesia covers 702 km².
- How many times does Micronesia fit into Kiribati?
- About 1.2 times: Kiribati has 1.16× the area of Micronesia.
- Why do Kiribati and Micronesia look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Kiribati is drawn about 1.0× its true area there and Micronesia 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, Kiribati or Micronesia?
- Kiribati: 136,488 people against 113,683. Density: Kiribati 168 per km², Micronesia 162 per km².
- Which is richer, Kiribati or Micronesia?
- By gross national income per person, Micronesia: $4,760 against $3,930 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.21× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Kiribati or Micronesia?
- In Micronesia: life expectancy at birth is 67.4 years, against 66.6 — 0.8 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Kiribati and Micronesia have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Kiribati: presidential republic; Micronesia: parliamentary republic.