Maldives vs Norfolk Island

Maldives is 8.51 times larger than Norfolk Island. Norfolk Island would fit into Maldives about 8.5 times.

MaldivesNorfolk IslandMaldives moved onto Norfolk Island · Equal-area projection
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8.51×
Maldives is 8.51× the area of Norfolk Island.
MaldivesNorfolk Island
Size
AreaMaldives: 8.51× the area298 km²#187 of 19435 km²
CoastlineCoast, no land borderCoast, no land border
Land neighbours00
People
PopulationMaldives: 242× the population529,676#167 of 194 · 20252,1882021
DensityMaldives: 28.4× the density1,777 / km²#6 of 19463 / km²
Urban population43%#145 of 192 · 2025—
Fertility rate1.56 per woman#127 of 192 · 2024—
Population growth+0.35%#141 of 192 · 2025—
Birth rate10.6 per 1,000#132 of 192 · 2024—
Death rate2.4 per 1,000#186 of 192 · 2024—
Children under 1519.0%#119 of 192 · 2025—
People over 655.0%#123 of 192 · 2025—
Net migration−4.3 per 1,000#171 of 192 · 2025—
Refugees abroad0.12 per 1,000#113 of 190 · 2025—
Health & education
Life expectancy81.3 years#37 of 192 · 2024—
Infant mortality4.7 per 1,000 births#144 of 191 · 2024—
Doctors2.24 per 1,000#80 of 178 · 2019—
University enrolment48.5%#77 of 145 · 2022—
Human Development Index0.766#92 of 190 · 2023—
Economy
GNI per capita$12,950#72 of 185 · 2025—
GDP$7.74B2025—
Income groupUpper-middle income—
GDP per capita (PPP)$28,555#72 of 184 · 2025—
GDP growth+6.3%#26 of 187 · 2025—
Inflation+4.0%#55 of 176 · 2025—
Unemployment4.5%#106 of 178 · 2025—
Extreme poverty0.0%#136 of 149 · 2019—
Income inequality (Gini)29.3#125 of 149 · 2019—
Jobs in agriculture11.3% of jobs#105 of 178 · 2025—
Jobs in industry16.9% of jobs#115 of 178 · 2025—
Jobs in services71.8% of jobs#44 of 178 · 2025—
Foreign investment11.1% of GDP#12 of 184 · 2025—
Exports78.2% of GDP#16 of 168 · 2024—
Internet users85%#78 of 184 · 2024—
Mobile subscriptions148 per 100#28 of 191 · 2024—
Energy & environment
Forest area13% of land#140 of 192 · 2024—
CO₂ per person3.57 t a year#73 of 185 · 2024—
Renewable energy1.2%#172 of 190 · 2022—
Access to electricity100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024—
Air pollution (PM2.5)11.2 µg/m³#145 of 191 · 2023—
Protected land3.0% of land#176 of 191 · 2025—
Arable land13.1% of land#79 of 190 · 2024—
Water stress15.7%#74 of 176 · 2022—
Precipitation1,972 mm#35 of 180 · 2022—
Governance & safety
Political stability+0.08#100 of 193 · 2025—
Control of corruption−0.33#105 of 193 · 2025—
Homicide rate0.6 per 100,000#132 of 146 · 2019—
State
StatusIndependent stateTerritory of Australia
GovernmentPresidential republicDependent territoryadministered as an overseas territory of Australia
CapitalMaleKingston
CurrencyMaldivian rufiyaa (MVR)Australian dollar (AUD)
Official languagesMaldivianEnglish, Norfuk
Traffic drivesOn the leftOn the left
Time zoneUTC+5UTC+11, summer time UTC+12
Calling code+960+6723
RegionSouthern Asia, AsiaAustralia and New Zealand, 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; Norfolk Island at 29° S is stretched to 1.31×. 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 Norfolk Island?
Yes. Maldives is 8.51 times larger than Norfolk Island. Maldives covers 298 km² and Norfolk Island covers 35 km².
How many times does Norfolk Island fit into Maldives?
About 8.5 times: Maldives has 8.51× the area of Norfolk Island.
Why do Maldives and Norfolk Island 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 Norfolk Island about 1.31×. 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 Norfolk Island?
Maldives: 529,676 people against 2,188. Density: Maldives 1,777 per km², Norfolk Island 63 per km².
What kind of government do Maldives and Norfolk Island have?
By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Maldives: presidential republic; Norfolk Island: dependent territory.