Palau vs Tonga
Tonga is 61% larger than Palau. Palau would fit into Tonga about 1.6 times.
PalauTongaPalau moved onto Tonga · Equal-area projection
0.62×
Palau is 0.62× the area of Tonga. Put the other way, Tonga is 1.61× the size of Palau.
| Palau | Tonga | |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 466 km² | 749 km² |
| Population | 17,663 | 103,742 |
| Density | 38 / km² | 139 / km² |
| Capital | Koror | Nuku'alofa |
| Region | Micronesia | Polynesia |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Neighbours | 0 | 0 |
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; Tonga at 20° S is stretched to 1.14×. 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 Tonga?
- No. Palau is 38% smaller than Tonga. Palau covers 466 km² and Tonga covers 749 km².
- How many times does Palau fit into Tonga?
- About 1.6 times: Tonga has 1.61× the area of Palau.
- Why do Palau and Tonga 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 Tonga about 1.14×. 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 Tonga?
- Tonga: 103,742 people against 17,663. Density: Palau 38 per km², Tonga 139 per km².