Kiribati vs Tonga
Kiribati is 8% larger than Tonga.
KiribatiTongaKiribati moved onto Tonga · Equal-area projection
Remote islands and overseas parts not drawn; the figures include them
1.08×
Kiribati is 1.08× the area of Tonga.
 Kiribati |  Tonga | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaKiribati: 1.08× the area | 811 km²#172 of 194 | 749 km²#175 of 194 |
| Coastline | Coast, no land border | Coast, no land border |
| Land neighbours | 0 | 0 |
| People | ||
| PopulationKiribati: 1.32× the population | 136,488#178 of 194 · 2025 | 103,742#182 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityKiribati: 1.22× the density | 168 / km²#56 of 194 | 139 / km²#65 of 194 |
| Urban populationKiribati: 2.99× the urban share | 63%#95 of 192 · 2025 | 21%#186 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateAbout the same births per woman | 3.12 per woman#51 of 192 · 2024 | 3.10 per woman#52 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthKiribati: 1.87 points higher | +1.45%#70 of 192 · 2025 | −0.42%#177 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateKiribati: 1.1× the birth rate | 25.3 per 1,000#49 of 192 · 2024 | 23.0 per 1,000#58 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateKiribati: 1.11× the death rate | 7.1 per 1,000#97 of 192 · 2024 | 6.4 per 1,000#125 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Tonga: 0.5 points higher | 34.4%#52 of 192 · 2025 | 34.9%#51 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Tonga: 2.5 points higher | 4.4%#134 of 192 · 2025 | 6.9%#102 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationKiribati: 17.3 per 1,000 higher | −3.4 per 1,000#163 of 192 · 2025 | −20.7 per 1,000#190 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadTonga: 15.8× the refugees for its size | 0.04 per 1,000#134 of 190 · 2025 | 0.63 per 1,000#72 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyTonga: 6.5 years longer | 66.6 years#155 of 192 · 2024 | 73.1 years#103 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityKiribati: 4.97× the infant mortality | 38.8 per 1,000 births#28 of 191 · 2024 | 7.8 per 1,000 births#125 of 191 · 2024 |
| Doctors | — | 1.01 per 1,000#108 of 178 · 2021 |
| University enrolmentTonga: 8.58× the university enrolment | 5.0%#141 of 145 · 2024 | 42.9%#87 of 145 · 2023 |
| Human Development IndexTonga: 0.125 higher | 0.644#137 of 190 · 2023 | 0.769#91 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaTonga: 1.74× the income per person | $3,930#126 of 185 · 2025 | $6,840#97 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPTonga: 1.95× the economy | $349M2025 | $679M2025 |
| Income group | Lower-middle income | Upper-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Tonga: 2.2× the output per person | $3,937#162 of 184 · 2025 | $8,675#133 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthKiribati: 1.4 points higher | +4.2%#65 of 187 · 2025 | +2.8%#108 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationKiribati: 0.9 points higher | +6.5%#35 of 176 · 2025 | +5.6%#37 of 176 · 2025 |
| Unemployment | — | 2.0%#162 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyKiribati: 2.25× the share in extreme poverty | 0.9%#88 of 149 · 2023 | 0.4%#107 of 149 · 2021 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Tonga: 2.4 higher | 24.7#145 of 149 · 2023 | 27.1#135 of 149 · 2021 |
| Jobs in agriculture | — | 23.6% of jobs#75 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industry | — | 23.3% of jobs#52 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in services | — | 53.0% of jobs#104 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentTonga: 1.4 points higher | 1.2% of GDP#122 of 184 · 2025 | 2.6% of GDP#73 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsTonga: 12.4 points higher | 4.5% of GDP#166 of 168 · 2024 | 16.9% of GDP#142 of 168 · 2024 |
| Internet usersKiribati: 1.33× the share online | 89%#60 of 184 · 2024 | 67%#124 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsTonga: 1.15× the mobile subscriptions | 54 per 100#179 of 191 · 2024 | 62 per 100#171 of 191 · 2022 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaTonga: 9.31× the forest share | 1% of land#175 of 192 · 2024 | 12% of land#143 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personTonga: 2.76× the CO₂ per person | 0.59 t a year#143 of 185 · 2024 | 1.63 t a year#110 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyKiribati: 39.6 points higher | 41.9%#57 of 190 · 2022 | 2.3%#165 of 190 · 2022 |
| Access to electricityTonga: 2.3 points higher | 97.7%#120 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Tonga: 1.21× the air pollution | 3.9 µg/m³#190 of 191 · 2023 | 4.7 µg/m³#186 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landKiribati: 9.6 points higher | 22.9% of land#60 of 191 · 2025 | 13.3% of land#127 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landTonga: 27.8 points higher | 2.5% of land#157 of 190 · 2024 | 30.3% of land#28 of 190 · 2024 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityTonga: 0.06 higher | +1.25#16 of 193 · 2025 | +1.31#11 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionKiribati: 0.72 higher | +0.30#67 of 193 · 2025 | −0.42#114 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | — | 0.9 per 100,000#110 of 146 · 2019 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republic | Constitutional monarchy |
| Capital | Tarawa | Nuku'alofa |
| Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | Tongan paʻanga (TOP) |
| Official languages | English, Gilbertese | English, Tongan |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the left |
| Time zone | UTC+12 · UTC+12 to UTC+14, 3 time zones | UTC+13 |
| Calling code | +686 | +676 |
| Region | Micronesia, Oceania | Polynesia, 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; Tonga at 20° S is stretched to 1.14×. 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 Tonga?
- Yes. Kiribati is 8% larger than Tonga. Kiribati covers 811 km² and Tonga covers 749 km².
- How many times does Tonga fit into Kiribati?
- About 1.1 times: Kiribati has 1.08× the area of Tonga.
- Why do Kiribati and Tonga 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 Tonga about 1.14×. 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 Tonga?
- Kiribati: 136,488 people against 103,742. Density: Kiribati 168 per km², Tonga 139 per km².
- Which is richer, Kiribati or Tonga?
- By gross national income per person, Tonga: $6,840 against $3,930 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.74× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Kiribati or Tonga?
- In Tonga: life expectancy at birth is 73.1 years, against 66.6 — 6.5 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Kiribati and Tonga have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Kiribati: presidential republic; Tonga: constitutional monarchy.