If you lived in Nauru instead of Palau, you would:

Health

see 33.3% more spent on your healthcare

Palau spends $1,857 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Nauru spends $2,474 as of 2023.

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live 7.1 years less

In Palau, the average life expectancy is 69 years (67 years for men, 72 years for women) as of 2024. In Nauru, that number is 62 years (60 years for men, 64 years for women) as of 2024.

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be 76.2% more likely to be obese

In Palau, 40.5% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Nauru, that number is 71.4% of people as of 2024.

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Economy

make 25.1% less money

Palau has a GDP per capita of $19,532 as of 2025, while in Nauru, the GDP per capita is $14,640 as of 2025.

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Life

be 58.6% less likely to die during infancy

In Palau, approximately 18.6 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Nauru, on the other hand, 7.7 children do as of 2024.

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have 2.3 times more children

In Palau, there are approximately 10.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Nauru, there are 24.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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be 3.1 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Palau, approximately 89.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Nauru, 273.0 women do as of 2023.

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Expenditures

spend 68.0% more on education

Palau spends 3.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Nauru spends 5.8% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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spend 67.8% more on healthcare

Palau spends 10.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Nauru, that number is 18.2% of GDP as of 2023.

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Geography

see 98.0% less coastline

Palau has a total of 1,519 km of coastline. In Nauru, that number is 30 km.

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Safety

be 64.0% less likely to die in a road accident

In Palau, road accidents kill 22.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Nauru, they kill 8.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 35.9% more home broadband

Palau has 7.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Nauru has 10.0 as of 2022.

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Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook, United Nations SDG Indicators (2021). How we calculate this

Nauru: At a glance

Nauru is a sovereign country in Australia-Oceania, with a total land area of approximately 21 sq km. The exact origins of the Nauruans are unclear since their language does not resemble any other in the Pacific region. Germany annexed the island in 1888. A German-British consortium began mining the island's phosphate deposits early in the 20th century. Australian forces occupied Nauru in World War I; it subsequently became a League of Nations mandate. After the Second World War - and a brutal occupation by Japan - Nauru became a UN trust territory. It achieved independence in 1968 and joined the UN in 1999 as the world's smallest independent republic.
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How big is Nauru compared to Palau? See an in-depth size comparison.

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