Maldives vs Nauru
Maldives is 14.2 times larger than Nauru. Nauru would fit into Maldives about 14 times.
MaldivesNauruMaldives moved onto Nauru · Equal-area projection
14.2×
Maldives is 14.2× the area of Nauru.
 Maldives |  Nauru | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaMaldives: 14.2× the area | 298 km²#187 of 194 | 21 km²#192 of 194 |
| Coastline | Coast, no land border | Coast, no land border |
| Land neighbours | 0 | 0 |
| People | ||
| PopulationMaldives: 44× the population | 529,676#167 of 194 · 2025 | 12,025#193 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityMaldives: 3.1× the density | 1,777 / km²#6 of 194 | 573 / km²#11 of 194 |
| Urban populationNauru: 2.35× the urban share | 43%#145 of 192 · 2025 | 100%#1 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateNauru: 2.11× the births per woman | 1.56 per woman#127 of 192 · 2024 | 3.29 per woman#47 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthNauru: 0.30 points higher | +0.35%#141 of 192 · 2025 | +0.65%#116 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateNauru: 2.32× the birth rate | 10.6 per 1,000#132 of 192 · 2024 | 24.6 per 1,000#52 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateNauru: 3.17× the death rate | 2.4 per 1,000#186 of 192 · 2024 | 7.6 per 1,000#83 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Nauru: 18.2 points higher | 19.0%#119 of 192 · 2025 | 37.2%#39 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Maldives: 2.0 points higher | 5.0%#123 of 192 · 2025 | 3.0%#171 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationMaldives: 5.8 per 1,000 higher | −4.3 per 1,000#171 of 192 · 2025 | −10.1 per 1,000#183 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadNauru: 3.5× the refugees for its size | 0.12 per 1,000#113 of 190 · 2025 | 0.42 per 1,000#77 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyMaldives: 19.0 years longer | 81.3 years#37 of 192 · 2024 | 62.3 years#177 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityNauru: 1.64× the infant mortality | 4.7 per 1,000 births#144 of 191 · 2024 | 7.7 per 1,000 births#126 of 191 · 2024 |
| Doctors | 2.24 per 1,000#80 of 178 · 2019 | — |
| University enrolment | 48.5%#77 of 145 · 2022 | — |
| Human Development IndexMaldives: 0.063 higher | 0.766#92 of 190 · 2023 | 0.703#123 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaNauru: 1.6× the income per person | $12,950#72 of 185 · 2025 | $20,690#52 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPMaldives: 44.0× the economy | $7.74B2025 | $176M2025 |
| Income group | Upper-middle income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Maldives: 2.01× the output per person | $28,555#72 of 184 · 2025 | $14,200#112 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthMaldives: 4.2 points higher | +6.3%#26 of 187 · 2025 | +2.1%#127 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 | — |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 29.3#125 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: 11.1 points higher | 11.1% of GDP#12 of 184 · 2025 | 0.0% of GDP#162 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsMaldives: 16.4 points higher | 78.2% of GDP#16 of 168 · 2024 | 61.8% of GDP#33 of 168 · 2025 |
| Internet usersAbout the same share online | 85%#78 of 184 · 2024 | 83%#86 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsMaldives: 1.7× the mobile subscriptions | 148 per 100#28 of 191 · 2024 | 87 per 100#145 of 191 · 2022 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest area | 13% of land#140 of 192 · 2024 | 0% of land#189 of 192 · 2023 |
| CO₂ per person | 3.57 t a year#73 of 185 · 2024 | 0.00 t a year#183 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyNauru: 0.7 points higher | 1.2%#172 of 190 · 2022 | 1.9%#168 of 190 · 2022 |
| Access to electricityThe same | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Maldives: 2.33× the air pollution | 11.2 µg/m³#145 of 191 · 2023 | 4.8 µg/m³#185 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landMaldives: 3.0 points higher | 3.0% of land#176 of 191 · 2025 | 0.0% of land#188 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable land | 13.1% of land#79 of 190 · 2024 | — |
| Water stress | 15.7%#74 of 176 · 2022 | — |
| Precipitation | 1,972 mm#35 of 180 · 2022 | — |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityNauru: 1.14 higher | +0.08#100 of 193 · 2025 | +1.22#19 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionNauru: 0.79 higher | −0.33#105 of 193 · 2025 | +0.46#63 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | 0.6 per 100,000#132 of 146 · 2019 | — |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republic | Parliamentary republic |
| Capital | Male | Yaren District |
| Currency | Maldivian rufiyaa (MVR) | Australian dollar (AUD) |
| Official languages | Maldivian | English, Nauruan |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the left |
| Time zone | UTC+5 | UTC+12 |
| Calling code | +960 | +674 |
| 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; Nauru at 1° S is stretched to 1.0×. 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 Nauru?
- Yes. Maldives is 14.2 times larger than Nauru. Maldives covers 298 km² and Nauru covers 21 km².
- How many times does Nauru fit into Maldives?
- About 14 times: Maldives has 14.2× the area of Nauru.
- Why do Maldives and Nauru 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 Nauru about 1.0×. 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 Nauru?
- Maldives: 529,676 people against 12,025. Density: Maldives 1,777 per km², Nauru 573 per km².
- Which is richer, Maldives or Nauru?
- By gross national income per person, Nauru: $20,690 against $12,950 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.6× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Maldives or Nauru?
- In Maldives: life expectancy at birth is 81.3 years, against 62.3 — 19.0 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Maldives and Nauru have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Maldives: presidential republic; Nauru: parliamentary republic.