Palau vs Seychelles
Palau and Seychelles are almost exactly the same size.
PalauSeychellesPalau moved onto Seychelles · Equal-area projection
1.02×
Palau is 1.02× the area of Seychelles.
 Palau |  Seychelles | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaAbout the same area | 466 km²#180 of 194 | 459 km²#181 of 194 |
| Coastline | Coast, no land border | Coast, no land border |
| Land neighbours | 0 | 0 |
| People | ||
| PopulationSeychelles: 6.95× the population | 17,663#192 of 194 · 2025 | 122,730#179 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensitySeychelles: 7.05× the density | 38 / km²#143 of 194 | 267 / km²#33 of 194 |
| Urban populationPalau: 1.74× the urban share | 79%#46 of 192 · 2025 | 46%#137 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateAbout the same births per woman | 1.88 per woman#103 of 192 · 2024 | 1.85 per woman#104 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthSeychelles: 1.31 points higher | −0.18%#172 of 192 · 2025 | +1.13%#90 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateAbout the same birth rate | 10.7 per 1,000#130 of 192 · 2024 | 11.0 per 1,000#125 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death ratePalau: 1.67× the death rate | 11.7 per 1,000#19 of 192 · 2024 | 7.0 per 1,000#102 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Seychelles: 1.9 points higher | 17.9%#129 of 192 · 2025 | 19.8%#116 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Palau: 3.1 points higher | 11.8%#72 of 192 · 2025 | 8.7%#86 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSeychelles: 13.9 per 1,000 higher | −0.9 per 1,000#114 of 192 · 2025 | +13.0 per 1,000#5 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadPalau: 3.5× the refugees for its size | 0.28 per 1,000#89 of 190 · 2023 | 0.08 per 1,000#122 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancySeychelles: 6.9 years longer | 69.4 years#133 of 192 · 2024 | 76.3 years#75 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityPalau: 1.44× the infant mortality | 18.6 per 1,000 births#71 of 191 · 2024 | 12.9 per 1,000 births#93 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsSeychelles: 3.65× the doctors per person | 1.81 per 1,000#87 of 178 · 2023 | 6.60 per 1,000#3 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentPalau: 4.95× the university enrolment | 71.8%#42 of 145 · 2024 | 14.5%#124 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development IndexSeychelles: 0.062 higher | 0.786#83 of 190 · 2023 | 0.848#53 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaPalau: 1.04× the income per person | $19,890#54 of 185 · 2025 | $19,200#56 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPSeychelles: 6.92× the economy | $345M2025 | $2.39B2025 |
| Income group | High income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Seychelles: 1.56× the output per person | $23,052#82 of 184 · 2025 | $35,854#60 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthPalau: 0.5 points higher | +6.3%#26 of 187 · 2025 | +5.8%#35 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationSeychelles: 0.7 points higher | −0.4%#170 of 176 · 2025 | +0.3%#156 of 176 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | — | 0.7%#98 of 149 · 2018 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | — | 32.1#102 of 149 · 2018 |
| Foreign investmentPalau: 6.6 points higher | 16.6% of GDP#8 of 184 · 2025 | 10.0% of GDP#17 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsSeychelles: 46.9 points higher | 32.7% of GDP#90 of 168 · 2024 | 79.6% of GDP#13 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spending | — | 1.2% of GDP#102 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersSeychelles: 1.05× the share online | 84%#82 of 184 · 2024 | 88%#68 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsPalau: 1.07× the mobile subscriptions | 135 per 100#43 of 191 · 2023 | 126 per 100#64 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaPalau: 1.55× the forest share | 91% of land#4 of 192 · 2024 | 59% of land#29 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personPalau: 11.4× the CO₂ per person | 82.8 t a year#1 of 185 · 2024 | 7.24 t a year#29 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energySeychelles: 1.0 points higher | 0.9%#179 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)Seychelles: 1.9× the air pollution | 4.9 µg/m³#183 of 191 · 2023 | 9.3 µg/m³#159 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landSeychelles: 36.7 points higher | 31.4% of land#28 of 191 · 2025 | 68.1% of land#1 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landPalau: 0.4 points higher | 0.7% of land#178 of 190 · 2024 | 0.3% of land#186 of 190 · 2024 |
| Precipitation | — | 2,330 mm#20 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityPalau: 0.13 higher | +1.30#12 of 193 · 2025 | +1.17#25 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionSeychelles: 0.72 higher | +0.51#59 of 193 · 2025 | +1.23#24 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide ratePalau: 1.4× the homicide rate | 11.2 per 100,000#27 of 146 · 2018 | 8.0 per 100,000#34 of 146 · 2022 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republicpresidential republic in free association with the US | Presidential republic |
| Capital | Koror | Victoria |
| Currency | United States dollar (USD) | Seychellois rupee (SCR) |
| Official languages | English, Japanese, Palauan | English, French, Seychellois Creole |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the left |
| Time zone | UTC+9 | UTC+4 |
| Calling code | +680 | +248 |
| Region | Micronesia, Oceania | Eastern Africa, Africa |
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. Palau sits at about 7° N and is stretched to 1.02× its true area; Seychelles at 5° S is stretched to 1.01×. 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 Palau bigger than Seychelles?
- Yes. Palau and Seychelles are almost exactly the same size. Palau covers 466 km² and Seychelles covers 459 km².
- How many times does Seychelles fit into Palau?
- About 1.0 times: Palau has 1.02× the area of Seychelles.
- Why do Palau and Seychelles look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Palau is drawn about 1.02× its true area there and Seychelles about 1.01×. 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, Palau or Seychelles?
- Seychelles: 122,730 people against 17,663. Density: Palau 38 per km², Seychelles 267 per km².
- Which is richer, Palau or Seychelles?
- By gross national income per person, Palau: $19,890 against $19,200 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.04× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Palau or Seychelles?
- In Seychelles: life expectancy at birth is 76.3 years, against 69.4 — 6.9 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Palau and Seychelles have?
- The same form of government, by constitution: presidential republic (CIA World Factbook).