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

Health

see 15.2 times more spent on your healthcare

Syria spends $122 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Palau spends $1,857 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

have 18.9% more doctors per person

Syria has 15.2 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Palau has 18.1 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

live 3.2 years less

In Syria, the average life expectancy is 73 years (70 years for men, 75 years for women) as of 2024. In Palau, that number is 69 years (67 years for men, 72 years for women) as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 22.8% more likely to be obese

In Syria, 33.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Palau, that number is 40.5% of people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Economy

make 18.5 times more money

Syria has a GDP per capita of $1,057 as of 2022, while in Palau, the GDP per capita is $19,532 as of 2025.

View global rankings →

Life

be 4.5 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Syria, approximately 20.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Palau, 89.0 women do as of 2023.

View global rankings →

have 53.8% fewer children

In Syria, there are approximately 23.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Palau, there are 10.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Basic Needs

be 13.1% more likely to have access to electricity

In Syria, approximately 88% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 73% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Palau, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023.

View global rankings →

be 80.1% more likely to have internet access

In Syria, approximately 46.6% of the population has internet access as of 2022. In Palau, about 83.9% do as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Expenditures

spend 4.0 times more on healthcare

Syria spends 2.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Palau, that number is 10.8% of GDP as of 2023.

View global rankings →

Geography

see 7.9 times more coastline

Syria has a total of 193 km of coastline. In Palau, that number is 1,519 km.

View global rankings →

Safety

be 25.8% less likely to die in a road accident

In Syria, road accidents kill 29.9 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Palau, they kill 22.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Environment

emit 65.2 times more CO2

Syria emits 1.3 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Palau emits 82.8 tonnes as of 2024.

View global rankings →


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

Palau: At a glance

Palau is a sovereign country in Australia-Oceania, with a total land area of approximately 459 sq km. After three decades as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific under US administration, this westernmost cluster of the Caroline Islands opted for independence in 1978 rather than join the Federated States of Micronesia. A Compact of Free Association with the US was approved in 1986 but not ratified until 1993. It entered into force the following year when the islands gained independence.
Read more

How big is Palau compared to Syria? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Palau or Syria. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.