Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Puerto Rico instead of Palau, you would:
Health
live 12.5 years longer
In Palau, the average life expectancy is 69 years (67 years for men, 72 years for women) as of 2024. In Puerto Rico, that number is 82 years (78 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2024.
Economy
make 2.1 times more money
Palau has a GDP per capita of $19,532 as of 2025, while in Puerto Rico, the GDP per capita is $40,620 as of 2025.
Life
be 87.6% less 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 Puerto Rico, 11.0 women do as of 2023.
be 67.5% 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 Puerto Rico, on the other hand, 6.0 children do as of 2022.
have 46.7% fewer children
In Palau, there are approximately 10.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Puerto Rico, there are 5.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 24.1% more on education
Palau spends 3.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Puerto Rico spends 4.3% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
Geography
see 67.0% less coastline
Palau has a total of 1,519 km of coastline. In Puerto Rico, that number is 501 km.
Safety
be 43.7% less likely to die in a road accident
In Palau, road accidents kill 22.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Puerto Rico, they kill 12.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 3.8 times more home broadband
Palau has 7.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Puerto Rico has 28.0 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 94.2% less CO2
Palau emits 82.8 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Puerto Rico emits 4.8 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2023–2025), The World Factbook (2022), United Nations SDG Indicators (2021). How we calculate this
Compare further: Palau vs. Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico: At a glance
How big is Puerto Rico compared to Palau? See an in-depth size comparison.