Place comparison

Orchid Island compared with Xiaoliuqiu: area, population and density

Orchid Island has about 7.1 times Xiaoliuqiu’s land, but Xiaoliuqiu has about 2.3 times its population, so Xiaoliuqiu is about 16.5 times as dense.

Place A Grouped by country or region Place B Grouped by country or region

Equal-area outline comparison

Outlines are centered and scaled by official land area; position does not show geographic location.

Area

Population

Population density

Area data date

Population data date

The guide below belongs to this pair: Orchid Island and Xiaoliuqiu. Change the selector above and the page follows, so the reading always matches the tool.

Direct answer

How different are Orchid Island and Xiaoliuqiu?

Orchid Island covers 48.4 km² (18.7 sq mi); Orchid Island's area is 7.11 times Xiaoliuqiu's. Its reported population is 5,220; Orchid Island's population is about 43.2% of Xiaoliuqiu's. By average density, Orchid Island's population density is about 6.1% of Xiaoliuqiu's.

Area difference

Orchid Island's area is 7.11 times Xiaoliuqiu's 48.4 km² (18.7 sq mi) · 6.8 km² (2.63 sq mi)

Population difference

Orchid Island's population is about 43.2% of Xiaoliuqiu's 5,220 · 12,076

Density difference

Orchid Island's population density is about 6.1% of Xiaoliuqiu's 107.9 /km² (279 /sq mi) · 1,775.4 /km² (4,598 /sq mi)

Full data and sources for each place: Orchid Island area & population, Xiaoliuqiu area & population

Straight-line distance between geometric centres: about 125 km; time difference: none.

On a familiar scale

Orchid Island ≈ 82% of Manhattan (reference rung) 9,270 m² of land per resident
Xiaoliuqiu ≈ 12% of Manhattan (reference rung) 563 m² of land per resident

Reference scales come from U.S. Census Bureau: 2025 Gazetteer Files: land area of states and counties , as of 2025-01-01.

How to read it

Orchid Island has about seven times Xiaoliuqiu’s land but fewer than half its residents.

Geography and shape

Orchid Island lies in the Pacific off Taitung, south-east of Taiwan; it is a steep volcanic island whose Tao villages sit along a single coastal road. Xiaoliuqiu lies in the Taiwan Strait off Pingtung and is a raised coral-limestone platform with gentle ground almost everywhere. Each is one township: Lanyu Township in Taitung County and Liuqiu Township in Pingtung County.

Population context

Xiaoliuqiu has 12,076 registered residents on 6.8018 km², about 1,775 per km²; Orchid Island has 5,220 on 48.3892 km², about 108. Xiaoliuqiu’s average is about 2.8 times Taiwan’s national 644, while Orchid Island’s is about one-sixth of it.

Boundaries and definitions

Both rows come from the same Ministry of the Interior table at year-end 2025, so the area date, population date and definition match exactly. Liuqiu Township is the island itself, with no outlying islands of any size. Lanyu Township also contains the uninhabited Little Orchid Island, which is inside the 48.3892 km² but outside the outline drawn here, so the drawn shape is about 5% smaller than the stated area. Both figures are registered residents, not visitors.

Orchid Island: Lanyu Township, Taitung County, at year-end 2025: 48.3892 km² of land and 5,220 registered residents, both from the same Ministry of the Interior table. The township covers Orchid Island together with the uninhabited Little Orchid Island (Jimagaod) offshore, so the outline drawn here — Orchid Island alone, about 45.8 km² — is roughly 5% smaller than the area figure.

Xiaoliuqiu: Liuqiu Township, Pingtung County, at year-end 2025: 6.8018 km² of land and 12,076 registered residents, both from the same Ministry of the Interior table. The township is the island, with no separate outlying islands of any size, so area, population and outline describe one object. Registered residents are not visitors: this is Taiwan's most visited offshore island and the daytime population is far higher in season.

In-depth guide

How should Orchid Island and Xiaoliuqiu be understood in context?

Orchid Island and Xiaoliuqiu are both single-township islands off southern Taiwan, counted in the same official table on the same date. On that common footing they are opposites: Orchid Island has about seven times the land and fewer than half the residents.

Seven times the land, less than half the people

Orchid Island covers 48.3892 km² with 5,220 registered residents; Xiaoliuqiu covers 6.8018 km² with 12,076. That puts Xiaoliuqiu at about 1,775 people per km² and Orchid Island at about 108 — a gap of about 16.5 times between two islands counted the same way on the same date.

The ground explains much of it. Xiaoliuqiu is a raised coral platform where nearly all of the land is gentle enough to use; Orchid Island is a steep volcanic island whose villages keep to the coast.

On a Taiwanese scale

Orchid Island is about 3.2 Green Islands of land and about 18% of Taipei City; Xiaoliuqiu is about 45% of Green Island and about 2.5% of Taipei City. Xiaoliuqiu’s density is about twice the averages of Penghu and Kinmen counties, though still only about one-fifth of Taipei City’s 8,975 per km².

Questions people ask

About this geographic comparison

Which is bigger, Orchid Island or Xiaoliuqiu?

Orchid Island is bigger, with a land area about 7.11× that of Xiaoliuqiu (48.4 vs 6.8 km², or 18.7 sq mi vs 2.63 sq mi).

How do Orchid Island and Xiaoliuqiu differ in area, population and density?

Orchid Island is 7.11× the size of Xiaoliuqiu — 48.4 km² vs 6.8 km² (18.7 sq mi vs 2.63 sq mi). Population is 43.2% as high; average density is 6.1% as high. Each side’s scope and reference date are set out under “Boundaries and definitions” on this page.

Which island has more people, Orchid Island or Xiaoliuqiu?

Xiaoliuqiu: 12,076 registered residents against Orchid Island’s 5,220, about 2.3 times as many, on about one-seventh of the land.

Sources

Outline data: