Marshall Islands vs Nauru
Marshall Islands is 8.62 times larger than Nauru. Nauru would fit into Marshall Islands about 8.6 times.
Marshall IslandsNauruMarshall Islands moved onto Nauru · Equal-area projection
8.62×
Marshall Islands is 8.62× the area of Nauru.
 Marshall Islands |  Nauru | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaMarshall Islands: 8.62× the area | 181 km²#189 of 194 | 21 km²#192 of 194 |
| Coastline | Coast, no land border | Coast, no land border |
| Land neighbours | 0 | 0 |
| People | ||
| PopulationMarshall Islands: 3.02× the population | 36,282#190 of 194 · 2025 | 12,025#193 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityNauru: 2.86× the density | 200 / km²#50 of 194 | 573 / km²#11 of 194 |
| Urban populationNauru: 1.26× the urban share | 79%#48 of 192 · 2025 | 100%#1 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateNauru: 1.15× the births per woman | 2.86 per woman#57 of 192 · 2024 | 3.29 per woman#47 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthNauru: 4.08 points higher | −3.43%#192 of 192 · 2025 | +0.65%#116 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateNauru: 1.22× the birth rate | 20.1 per 1,000#71 of 192 · 2024 | 24.6 per 1,000#52 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateNauru: 1.07× the death rate | 7.1 per 1,000#97 of 192 · 2024 | 7.6 per 1,000#83 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Nauru: 3.3 points higher | 33.9%#54 of 192 · 2025 | 37.2%#39 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Marshall Islands: 1.9 points higher | 4.9%#126 of 192 · 2025 | 3.0%#171 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationNauru: 36.7 per 1,000 higher | −46.8 per 1,000#192 of 192 · 2025 | −10.1 per 1,000#183 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroad | 0.00 per 1,000#174 of 190 · 2025 | 0.42 per 1,000#77 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyMarshall Islands: 4.8 years longer | 67.1 years#152 of 192 · 2024 | 62.3 years#177 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityMarshall Islands: 2.95× the infant mortality | 22.7 per 1,000 births#63 of 191 · 2024 | 7.7 per 1,000 births#126 of 191 · 2024 |
| University enrolment | 37.7%#94 of 145 · 2024 | — |
| Human Development IndexMarshall Islands: 0.030 higher | 0.733#107 of 190 · 2023 | 0.703#123 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaNauru: 2.13× the income per person | $9,710#81 of 185 · 2025 | $20,690#52 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPMarshall Islands: 1.75× the economy | $308M2025 | $176M2025 |
| Income group | Upper-middle income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Nauru: 1.58× the output per person | $8,964#132 of 184 · 2025 | $14,200#112 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthMarshall Islands: 0.2 points higher | +2.3%#124 of 187 · 2025 | +2.1%#127 of 187 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | 2.1%#73 of 149 · 2019 | — |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 35.5#68 of 149 · 2019 | — |
| Foreign investmentMarshall Islands: 1.0 points higher | 1.0% of GDP#126 of 184 · 2025 | 0.0% of GDP#162 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsNauru: 25.8 points higher | 36.0% of GDP#82 of 168 · 2025 | 61.8% of GDP#33 of 168 · 2025 |
| Internet usersNauru: 1.26× the share online | 66%#127 of 184 · 2024 | 83%#86 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsNauru: 2.17× the mobile subscriptions | 40 per 100#186 of 191 · 2022 | 87 per 100#145 of 191 · 2022 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest area | 54% of land#40 of 192 · 2024 | 0% of land#189 of 192 · 2023 |
| CO₂ per person | 0.00 t a year#183 of 185 · 2024 | 0.00 t a year#183 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyMarshall Islands: 10.3 points higher | 12.2%#130 of 190 · 2022 | 1.9%#168 of 190 · 2022 |
| Access to electricityNauru: 2.8 points higher | 97.2%#122 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Nauru: 1.17× the air pollution | 4.1 µg/m³#189 of 191 · 2023 | 4.8 µg/m³#185 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landMarshall Islands: 16.1 points higher | 16.1% of land#106 of 191 · 2025 | 0.0% of land#188 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable land | 2.8% of land#152 of 190 · 2024 | — |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityMarshall Islands: 0.30 higher | +1.52#3 of 193 · 2025 | +1.22#19 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionNauru: 0.11 higher | +0.35#65 of 193 · 2025 | +0.46#63 of 193 · 2025 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Parliamentary republicmixed presidential-parliamentary system in free association with the US | Parliamentary republic |
| Capital | Majuro | Yaren District |
| Currency | United States dollar (USD) | Australian dollar (AUD) |
| Official languages | English, Marshallese | English, Nauruan |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the left |
| Time zone | UTC+12 | UTC+12 |
| Calling code | +692 | +674 |
| 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. Marshall Islands sits at about 7° N and is stretched to 1.02× 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 Marshall Islands bigger than Nauru?
- Yes. Marshall Islands is 8.62 times larger than Nauru. Marshall Islands covers 181 km² and Nauru covers 21 km².
- How many times does Nauru fit into Marshall Islands?
- About 8.6 times: Marshall Islands has 8.62× the area of Nauru.
- Why do Marshall Islands and Nauru look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Marshall Islands is drawn about 1.02× 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, Marshall Islands or Nauru?
- Marshall Islands: 36,282 people against 12,025. Density: Marshall Islands 200 per km², Nauru 573 per km².
- Which is richer, Marshall Islands or Nauru?
- By gross national income per person, Nauru: $20,690 against $9,710 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 2.13× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Marshall Islands or Nauru?
- In Marshall Islands: life expectancy at birth is 67.1 years, against 62.3 — 4.8 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Marshall Islands and Nauru have?
- The same form of government, by constitution: parliamentary republic (CIA World Factbook).