Maldives vs Marshall Islands
Maldives is 65% larger than Marshall Islands. Marshall Islands would fit into Maldives about 1.6 times.
MaldivesMarshall IslandsMaldives moved onto Marshall Islands · Equal-area projection
1.65×
Maldives is 1.65× the area of Marshall Islands.
 Maldives |  Marshall Islands | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaMaldives: 1.65× the area | 298 km²#187 of 194 | 181 km²#189 of 194 |
| Coastline | Coast, no land border | Coast, no land border |
| Land neighbours | 0 | 0 |
| People | ||
| PopulationMaldives: 14.6× the population | 529,676#167 of 194 · 2025 | 36,282#190 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityMaldives: 8.87× the density | 1,777 / km²#6 of 194 | 200 / km²#50 of 194 |
| Urban populationMarshall Islands: 1.86× the urban share | 43%#145 of 192 · 2025 | 79%#48 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateMarshall Islands: 1.83× the births per woman | 1.56 per woman#127 of 192 · 2024 | 2.86 per woman#57 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthMaldives: 3.78 points higher | +0.35%#141 of 192 · 2025 | −3.43%#192 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateMarshall Islands: 1.9× the birth rate | 10.6 per 1,000#132 of 192 · 2024 | 20.1 per 1,000#71 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateMarshall Islands: 2.96× the death rate | 2.4 per 1,000#186 of 192 · 2024 | 7.1 per 1,000#97 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Marshall Islands: 14.9 points higher | 19.0%#119 of 192 · 2025 | 33.9%#54 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Maldives: 0.1 points higher | 5.0%#123 of 192 · 2025 | 4.9%#126 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationMaldives: 42.5 per 1,000 higher | −4.3 per 1,000#171 of 192 · 2025 | −46.8 per 1,000#192 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroad | 0.12 per 1,000#113 of 190 · 2025 | 0.00 per 1,000#174 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyMaldives: 14.2 years longer | 81.3 years#37 of 192 · 2024 | 67.1 years#152 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityMarshall Islands: 4.83× the infant mortality | 4.7 per 1,000 births#144 of 191 · 2024 | 22.7 per 1,000 births#63 of 191 · 2024 |
| Doctors | 2.24 per 1,000#80 of 178 · 2019 | — |
| University enrolmentMaldives: 1.29× the university enrolment | 48.5%#77 of 145 · 2022 | 37.7%#94 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development IndexMaldives: 0.033 higher | 0.766#92 of 190 · 2023 | 0.733#107 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaMaldives: 1.33× the income per person | $12,950#72 of 185 · 2025 | $9,710#81 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPMaldives: 25.1× the economy | $7.74B2025 | $308M2025 |
| Income group | Upper-middle income | Upper-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Maldives: 3.19× the output per person | $28,555#72 of 184 · 2025 | $8,964#132 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthMaldives: 4.0 points higher | +6.3%#26 of 187 · 2025 | +2.3%#124 of 187 · 2025 |
| Inflation | +4.0%#55 of 176 · 2025 | — |
| Unemployment | 4.5%#106 of 178 · 2025 | — |
| Extreme poverty | 0.0%#136 of 149 · 2019 | 2.1%#73 of 149 · 2019 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Marshall Islands: 6.2 higher | 29.3#125 of 149 · 2019 | 35.5#68 of 149 · 2019 |
| Jobs in agriculture | 11.3% of jobs#105 of 178 · 2025 | — |
| Jobs in industry | 16.9% of jobs#115 of 178 · 2025 | — |
| Jobs in services | 71.8% of jobs#44 of 178 · 2025 | — |
| Foreign investmentMaldives: 10.1 points higher | 11.1% of GDP#12 of 184 · 2025 | 1.0% of GDP#126 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsMaldives: 42.2 points higher | 78.2% of GDP#16 of 168 · 2024 | 36.0% of GDP#82 of 168 · 2025 |
| Internet usersMaldives: 1.29× the share online | 85%#78 of 184 · 2024 | 66%#127 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsMaldives: 3.7× the mobile subscriptions | 148 per 100#28 of 191 · 2024 | 40 per 100#186 of 191 · 2022 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaMarshall Islands: 4.29× the forest share | 13% of land#140 of 192 · 2024 | 54% of land#40 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per person | 3.57 t a year#73 of 185 · 2024 | 0.00 t a year#183 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyMarshall Islands: 11.0 points higher | 1.2%#172 of 190 · 2022 | 12.2%#130 of 190 · 2022 |
| Access to electricityMaldives: 2.8 points higher | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 97.2%#122 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Maldives: 2.73× the air pollution | 11.2 µg/m³#145 of 191 · 2023 | 4.1 µg/m³#189 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landMarshall Islands: 13.1 points higher | 3.0% of land#176 of 191 · 2025 | 16.1% of land#106 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landMaldives: 10.3 points higher | 13.1% of land#79 of 190 · 2024 | 2.8% of land#152 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stress | 15.7%#74 of 176 · 2022 | — |
| Precipitation | 1,972 mm#35 of 180 · 2022 | — |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityMarshall Islands: 1.44 higher | +0.08#100 of 193 · 2025 | +1.52#3 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionMarshall Islands: 0.68 higher | −0.33#105 of 193 · 2025 | +0.35#65 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | 0.6 per 100,000#132 of 146 · 2019 | — |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republic | Parliamentary republicmixed presidential-parliamentary system in free association with the US |
| Capital | Male | Majuro |
| Currency | Maldivian rufiyaa (MVR) | United States dollar (USD) |
| Official languages | Maldivian | English, Marshallese |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+5 | UTC+12 |
| Calling code | +960 | +692 |
| Region | Southern Asia, Asia | 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. Maldives sits at about 4° N and is stretched to 1.0× 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 Maldives bigger than Marshall Islands?
- Yes. Maldives is 65% larger than Marshall Islands. Maldives covers 298 km² and Marshall Islands covers 181 km².
- How many times does Marshall Islands fit into Maldives?
- About 1.6 times: Maldives has 1.65× the area of Marshall Islands.
- Why do Maldives and Marshall Islands look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Maldives is drawn about 1.0× 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, Maldives or Marshall Islands?
- Maldives: 529,676 people against 36,282. Density: Maldives 1,777 per km², Marshall Islands 200 per km².
- Which is richer, Maldives or Marshall Islands?
- By gross national income per person, Maldives: $12,950 against $9,710 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.33× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Maldives or Marshall Islands?
- In Maldives: life expectancy at birth is 81.3 years, against 67.1 — 14.2 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Maldives and Marshall Islands have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Maldives: presidential republic; Marshall Islands: parliamentary republic.