Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Palau instead of Maldives, you would:
Health
live 11.9 years less
In Maldives, the average life expectancy is 81 years (80 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2024. In Palau, that number is 69 years (67 years for men, 72 years for women) as of 2024.
be 2.3 times more likely to be obese
In Maldives, 17.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Palau, that number is 40.5% of people as of 2024.
see 18.8% less spent on your healthcare
Maldives spends $2,288 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Palau spends $1,857 as of 2023.
Economy
make 33.6% more money
Maldives has a GDP per capita of $14,615 as of 2025, while in Palau, the GDP per capita is $19,532 as of 2025.
Life
be 2.8 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Maldives, approximately 32.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Palau, 89.0 women do as of 2023.
be 4.0 times more likely to die during infancy
In Maldives, approximately 4.7 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Palau, on the other hand, 18.6 children do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 33.5% less on education
Maldives spends 5.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Palau spends 3.4% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 17.3% more on healthcare
Maldives spends 9.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Palau, that number is 10.8% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 2.4 times more coastline
Maldives has a total of 644 km of coastline. In Palau, that number is 1,519 km.
Safety
be 18.1 times more likely to be murdered
Maldives has a homicide rate of 0.6 per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Palau, that number is 11.2 per 100,000 as of 2018.
be 17.1 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Maldives, road accidents kill 1.3 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Palau, they kill 22.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 62.7% less home broadband
Maldives has 19.6 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Palau has 7.3 as of 2023.
Environment
emit 23.2 times more CO2
Maldives emits 3.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Palau emits 82.8 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2018–2025), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook, United Nations SDG Indicators (2021). How we calculate this
Compare further: Maldives vs. Palau
Palau: At a glance
How big is Palau compared to Maldives? See an in-depth size comparison.