The duel
Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
The Seychelles fits inside Madagascar 1,295 times
Madagascar: 591,896 km² (2024) · Seychelles: 457 km² (2024)
How much coast is there?
Madagascar’s coastline is 9.8 times as long as the Seychelles’
Madagascar: 4,828 km (2026 edition) · Seychelles: 491 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Madagascar’s highest peak towers 1,971 m above the Seychelles’
Madagascar: 2,876 m (2026 edition) · Seychelles: 905 m (2026 edition)
How much of the land is farmed?
Farmland covers 70% of Madagascar, versus 3.4% of the Seychelles
Madagascar: 70.4% (2024) · Seychelles: 3.4% (2024)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Madagascar has 267 times as many people as the Seychelles
Madagascar: 32.7 million (2025) · Seychelles: 122,730 (2025)
How crowded is it?
The Seychelles is 4.8 times as densely populated as Madagascar
Madagascar: 56 per km² (2025) · Seychelles: 269 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in the Seychelles are 10.7 cm taller than in Madagascar
Madagascar: 165.2 cm (2019) · Seychelles: 175.9 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in the Seychelles are 9.4 cm taller than in Madagascar
Madagascar: 153.1 cm (2019) · Seychelles: 162.5 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in the Seychelles is 15 years older than in Madagascar
Madagascar: 18.9 years (2023) · Seychelles: 33.7 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Madagascar have 2.1 more children on average than in the Seychelles
Madagascar: 3.91 children per woman (2024) · Seychelles: 1.85 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
8.7% of people in the Seychelles are 65 or older, versus 3.5% in Madagascar
Madagascar: 3.5% (2025) · Seychelles: 8.7% (2025)
How many refugees does it host?
Madagascar: 0.0027 per 1,000 (2025) · Seychelles: no data
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Madagascar: 0.3 (2026) · Seychelles: no data
How many official languages?
The Seychelles has 3 official languages, Madagascar 2
Madagascar: 2 (2026) · Seychelles: 3 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Madagascar’s economy is 8.2 times the size of the Seychelles’
Madagascar: $19.6 billion (2025) · Seychelles: $2.39 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
The Seychelles produces 18 times as much per person as Madagascar
Madagascar: Int$1,952 (2025) · Seychelles: Int$35,854 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Madagascar than in the Seychelles (Gini 4.7 points higher)
Madagascar: 36.8 (2021) · Seychelles: 32.1 (2018)
How many live on less than $3 a day?
69% of people in Madagascar live on less than $3 a day, versus 0.7% in the Seychelles
Madagascar: 69.2% (2021) · Seychelles: 0.7% (2018)
How many people are looking for work?
Madagascar: 3% (2025) · Seychelles: no data
How much goes to the military?
The Seychelles spends 1.2% of its GDP on the military, Madagascar 0.6%
Madagascar: 0.6% (2025) · Seychelles: 1.2% (2025)
How much does the central government collect in tax?
Madagascar: 10.9% (2024) · Seychelles: no data
How expensive is it?
The Seychelles’ price level (US = 100) is 1.8× Madagascar’s
Madagascar: 31% (2025) · Seychelles: 54% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
The Seychelles spends 44 times as much on health per person as Madagascar
Madagascar: $17 (2023) · Seychelles: $766 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in the Seychelles live 12 years longer than in Madagascar
Madagascar: 63.8 years (2024) · Seychelles: 76.3 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Madagascar is 3.3 times as likely to die before turning one as in the Seychelles
Madagascar: 43 per 1,000 (2024) · Seychelles: 12.9 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
The Seychelles has 38 times as many doctors per person as Madagascar
Madagascar: 0.2 per 1,000 (2022) · Seychelles: 6.6 per 1,000 (2022)
How many hospital beds are there?
Madagascar: no data · Seychelles: 2.6 per 1,000 (2023)
How common is suicide?
The suicide rate in Madagascar is 2 times that in the Seychelles
Madagascar: 17 per 100k (2023) · Seychelles: 8.4 per 100k (2023)
How common is obesity?
35% of adults in the Seychelles are obese, versus 4.1% in Madagascar
Madagascar: 4.1% (2024) · Seychelles: 34.9% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
26% of adults in Madagascar smoke, versus 17% in the Seychelles
Madagascar: 25.6% (2024) · Seychelles: 17.3% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
Madagascar: 4.17 (2025) · Seychelles: no data
How much do people drink?
Adults in the Seychelles drink 12 times as much alcohol as in Madagascar
Madagascar: 0.7 litres (2023) · Seychelles: 9 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
The Seychelles has 13 times as much meat per person as Madagascar
Madagascar: 5.3 kg (2023) · Seychelles: 70.7 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
The Seychelles has 910 kcal more food per person per day than Madagascar
Madagascar: 1,978 kcal (2023) · Seychelles: 2,888 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Madagascar: 1,799 hours (2023) · Seychelles: no data
How long do people go to school?
Adults in the Seychelles went to school 6.6 years longer than in Madagascar
Madagascar: 4.6 years (2023) · Seychelles: 11.2 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
The Seychelles welcomed 204 times as many tourists per resident as Madagascar (2019)
Madagascar: 0.01 (2019) · Seychelles: 2.77 (2022)
How many World Heritage sites?
Madagascar has 1 more World Heritage site than the Seychelles (3 against 2)
Madagascar: 3 (2026) · Seychelles: 2 (2026)
How many Olympic medals has it won?
Madagascar and the Seychelles are practically level
Madagascar: 0 (2026 edition) · Seychelles: 0 (2026 edition)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
88% of people in the Seychelles are online, versus 19% in Madagascar
Madagascar: 19% (2024) · Seychelles: 88% (2024)
How fast is home internet?
Home internet in the Seychelles is 2.6 times as fast as in Madagascar
Madagascar: 54 Mbps (2026) · Seychelles: 139 Mbps (2026)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in the Seychelles have electricity, versus 43% in Madagascar
Madagascar: 42.5% (2024) · Seychelles: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
45% of people in the Seychelles live in cities, versus 33% in Madagascar
Madagascar: 33% (2025) · Seychelles: 45% (2025)
How many phones per person?
The Seychelles has 126 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Madagascar 75
Madagascar: 75 (2023) · Seychelles: 126 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Madagascar: 673 km (2021) · Seychelles: no data
How much do they fly?
Airlines from the Seychelles fly 202 times as many passengers per resident as those from Madagascar
Madagascar: 0.01 (2023) · Seychelles: 1.93 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 59% of the Seychelles, but only 17% of Madagascar
Madagascar: 17.3% (2024) · Seychelles: 58.5% (2024)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in the Seychelles emits 35 times as much CO₂ as someone in Madagascar
Madagascar: 0.1 t (2024) · Seychelles: 5 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
42% of Madagascar’s electricity is renewable, versus 16% in the Seychelles
Madagascar: 42.4% (2024) · Seychelles: 15.9% (2024)
How clean is the air?
The air in Madagascar carries 68% more fine dust than in the Seychelles
Madagascar: 11.6 µg/m³ (2024) · Seychelles: 6.9 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
Madagascar: no data · Seychelles: 8 per 100k (2022)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Madagascar are 3.2 times as deadly as in the Seychelles
Madagascar: 33.7 per 100k (2023) · Seychelles: 10.4 per 100k (2023)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
The Seychelles is on average 3.6 °C warmer than Madagascar
Madagascar: 23°C (2016–2025 avg) · Seychelles: 26.7°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
The Seychelles gets 41% more rain than Madagascar
Madagascar: 1,384 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Seychelles: 1,948 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Between them
People, goods and passports that cross from one to the other
Quick answers
Is Madagascar bigger than the Seychelles?
Madagascar is larger. The Seychelles fits inside Madagascar 1,295 times.
Which has more people, Madagascar or the Seychelles?
Madagascar has 267 times as many people as the Seychelles (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Madagascar or the Seychelles?
People in the Seychelles live 12 years longer than in Madagascar. Life expectancy at birth is 63.8 years in Madagascar and 76.3 in the Seychelles.
Are people taller in Madagascar or the Seychelles?
Men in the Seychelles are 10.7 cm taller than in Madagascar (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).