Is Palau bigger than Turks and Caicos Islands?

Yes. Palau is 12% larger than Turks and Caicos Islands. Palau covers 466 km² and Turks and Caicos Islands covers 417 km².

How many times does Turks and Caicos Islands fit into Palau?

About 1.1 times: Palau has 1.12× the area of Turks and Caicos Islands.

Why do Palau and Turks and Caicos Islands 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 Turks and Caicos Islands about 1.16×. 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 Turks and Caicos Islands?

Turks and Caicos Islands: 46,855 people against 17,663. Density: Palau 38 per km², Turks and Caicos Islands 112 per km².

Which is richer, Palau or Turks and Caicos Islands?

By gross national income per person, Turks and Caicos Islands: $36,760 against $19,890 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.85× as much.

Where do people live longer, Palau or Turks and Caicos Islands?

In Turks and Caicos Islands: life expectancy at birth is 78.2 years, against 69.4 — 8.8 years longer (World Bank, 2024).

What kind of government do Palau and Turks and Caicos Islands have?

By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Palau: presidential republic; Turks and Caicos Islands: dependent territory.

Palau vs Turks and Caicos Islands

Palau is 12% larger than Turks and Caicos Islands.

PalauTurks and Caicos IslandsPalau moved onto Turks and Caicos Islands · Equal-area projection

Embed this comparison

Paste this into any page — a lesson, a blog, an article. The figure stays true to scale, free, and links back here.

<iframe src="https://kartavera.com/embed/vs/palau-vs-turks-and-caicos-islands" width="100%" height="560" style="border:0;border-radius:6px;max-width:720px" loading="lazy" title="Palau vs Turks and Caicos Islands: true size comparison"></iframe>

1.12×

Palau is 1.12× the area of Turks and Caicos Islands.

	Palau	Turks and Caicos Islands
Size
AreaPalau: 1.12× the area	466 km²#180 of 194	417 km²
Coastline	Coast, no land border	Coast, no land border
Land neighbours	0	0
People
PopulationTurks and Caicos Islands: 2.65× the population	17,663#192 of 194 · 2025	46,8552025
DensityTurks and Caicos Islands: 2.96× the density	38 / km²#143 of 194	112 / km²
Urban populationTurks and Caicos Islands: 1.19× the urban share	79%#46 of 192 · 2025	94%2025
Fertility ratePalau: 1.3× the births per woman	1.88 per woman#103 of 192 · 2024	1.45 per woman2024
Population growthTurks and Caicos Islands: 0.87 points higher	−0.18%#172 of 192 · 2025	+0.69%2025
Birth rateAbout the same birth rate	10.7 per 1,000#130 of 192 · 2024	10.5 per 1,0002024
Death ratePalau: 1.58× the death rate	11.7 per 1,000#19 of 192 · 2024	7.4 per 1,0002024
Children under 15Palau: 1.9 points higher	17.9%#129 of 192 · 2025	16.0%2025
People over 65Palau: 0.1 points higher	11.8%#72 of 192 · 2025	11.7%2025
Net migrationTurks and Caicos Islands: 4.7 per 1,000 higher	−0.9 per 1,000#114 of 192 · 2025	+3.8 per 1,0002025
Refugees abroadTurks and Caicos Islands: 1.07× the refugees for its size	0.28 per 1,000#89 of 190 · 2023	0.30 per 1,0002025
Health & education
Life expectancyTurks and Caicos Islands: 8.8 years longer	69.4 years#133 of 192 · 2024	78.2 years2024
Infant mortalityPalau: 6.2× the infant mortality	18.6 per 1,000 births#71 of 191 · 2024	3.0 per 1,000 births2024
Doctors	1.81 per 1,000#87 of 178 · 2023	—
University enrolmentPalau: 2.84× the university enrolment	71.8%#42 of 145 · 2024	25.3%2023
Human Development Index	0.786#83 of 190 · 2023	—
Economy
GNI per capitaTurks and Caicos Islands: 1.85× the income per person	$19,890#54 of 185 · 2025	$36,7602024
GDPTurks and Caicos Islands: 5.06× the economy	$345M2025	$1.75B2024
Income group	High income	High income
GDP per capita (PPP)Turks and Caicos Islands: 1.65× the output per person	$23,052#82 of 184 · 2025	$38,0102024
GDP growthPalau: 0.7 points higher	+6.3%#26 of 187 · 2025	+5.6%2024
Inflation	−0.4%#170 of 176 · 2025	—
Foreign investmentPalau: 14.1 points higher	16.6% of GDP#8 of 184 · 2025	2.5% of GDP2024
Exports	32.7% of GDP#90 of 168 · 2024	—
Internet users	84%#82 of 184 · 2024	—
Mobile subscriptions	135 per 100#43 of 191 · 2023	—
Energy & environment
Forest areaPalau: 8.18× the forest share	91% of land#4 of 192 · 2024	11% of land2024
CO₂ per personPalau: 16.8× the CO₂ per person	82.8 t a year#1 of 185 · 2024	4.92 t a year2024
Renewable energyPalau: 0.1 points higher	0.9%#179 of 190 · 2022	0.8%2022
Access to electricityThe same	100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024	100.0%2024
Air pollution (PM2.5)	4.9 µg/m³#183 of 191 · 2023	—
Protected landTurks and Caicos Islands: 12.1 points higher	31.4% of land#28 of 191 · 2025	43.5% of land2025
Arable landTurks and Caicos Islands: 0.4 points higher	0.7% of land#178 of 190 · 2024	1.1% of land2024
Governance & safety
Political stability	+1.30#12 of 193 · 2025	—
Control of corruption	+0.51#59 of 193 · 2025	—
Homicide rateTurks and Caicos Islands: 6.81× the homicide rate	11.2 per 100,000#27 of 146 · 2018	76.3 per 100,0002022
State
Status	Independent state	Territory of United Kingdom
Government	Presidential republicpresidential republic in free association with the US	Dependent territoryparliamentary democracy
Capital	Koror	Grand Turk
Currency	United States dollar (USD)	United States dollar (USD)
Official languages	English, Japanese, Palauan	English
Traffic drives	On the right	On the left
Time zone	UTC+9	UTC−5, summer time UTC−4
Calling code	+680	+1 649
Region	Micronesia, Oceania	Caribbean, North America

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; Turks and Caicos Islands at 22° N is stretched to 1.16×. 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.

Open in the atlas Lay Turks and Caicos Islands over Palau

Questions about this pair

Is Palau bigger than Turks and Caicos Islands?: Yes. Palau is 12% larger than Turks and Caicos Islands. Palau covers 466 km² and Turks and Caicos Islands covers 417 km².
How many times does Turks and Caicos Islands fit into Palau?: About 1.1 times: Palau has 1.12× the area of Turks and Caicos Islands.
Why do Palau and Turks and Caicos Islands 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 Turks and Caicos Islands about 1.16×. 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 Turks and Caicos Islands?: Turks and Caicos Islands: 46,855 people against 17,663. Density: Palau 38 per km², Turks and Caicos Islands 112 per km².
Which is richer, Palau or Turks and Caicos Islands?: By gross national income per person, Turks and Caicos Islands: $36,760 against $19,890 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.85× as much.
Where do people live longer, Palau or Turks and Caicos Islands?: In Turks and Caicos Islands: life expectancy at birth is 78.2 years, against 69.4 — 8.8 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
What kind of government do Palau and Turks and Caicos Islands have?: By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Palau: presidential republic; Turks and Caicos Islands: dependent territory.

More comparisons