Place comparison
Phu Quoc Island compared with Koh Samui: area, population and density
Phu Quoc main island has about two and a half times the land of Koh Samui, while both population figures extend beyond their main-island outlines.
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 detailed guide below compares Phu Quoc Island with Koh Samui. Use the selector above to explore any other pair.
Direct answer
How different are Phu Quoc Island and Koh Samui?
Phu Quoc Island covers 567 km²; Phu Quoc Island's area is 2.5 times Koh Samui's. Its reported population is 179,480; Phu Quoc Island's population is 2.58 times Koh Samui's. By average density, Phu Quoc Island's population density is 1.03 times Koh Samui's.
Population difference
Phu Quoc Island's population is 2.58 times Koh Samui's 179,480 · 69,689Density difference
Phu Quoc Island's population density is 1.03 times Koh Samui's 316.5 /km² · 307 /km²On a familiar scale
- Phu Quoc Island ≈ 53% of Changhua County 3,159 m² of land per resident
- Koh Samui ≈ 84% of Taipei City 3,257 m² of land per resident
Reference scales come from Department of Household Registration, Ministry of the Interior: Land area, households and population density by township and district (year-end 2025) , as of 2025-12-31.
How to read it
The land comparison is direct. The population comparison uses Phu Quoc City and Ko Samui Municipality, each including surrounding islands.
Geography and shape
Phu Quoc is a much larger continuous island in the Gulf of Thailand, off Vietnam. Koh Samui is also a major resort island but occupies less than half as much land. Their outlines show how destinations with similar resort labels can operate at different geographic scales.
Population context
Phu Quoc population is the official city total at establishment in 2020, including smaller islands. Samui population is its 2024 municipality total, also including surrounding islands. The figures describe administrative destination systems rather than people strictly inside each main coastline.
Boundaries and definitions
Use this page for main-island land scale and approximate resident-system scale. Do not quote either density as a pure island-only measure, and do not treat different population years as a current growth comparison.
Phu Quoc Island: Area and outline represent the physical main island. Population is the official figure used to establish Phu Quoc City in 2020 and covers the wider city archipelago, including smaller islands; main-island density is therefore approximate.
Koh Samui: Area is for Koh Samui main island. Population is the 2024 Ko Samui City Municipality total, whose 252 km² administration includes the 227 km² main island and 18 surrounding islands; density is therefore approximate for the main island.
In-depth guide
How should Phu Quoc Island and Koh Samui be understood in context?
The cleanest conclusion is the physical land ratio: Phu Quoc main island is about two and a half times Koh Samui. Population adds context but uses wider island administrations on both sides.
Large resort islands are not interchangeable
A destination can be marketed as one island even when its official government covers surrounding islands. The physical outlines on this page keep the main landmasses visible.
Phu Quoc has enough additional land that road distances, settlement spread and resort zones can operate at a broader scale than Samui.
Why the density is deliberately approximate
Phu Quoc uses the population recorded when the city was established in 2020; Samui uses a 2024 municipal total. Both include nearby islands beyond the displayed main outline.
The dates are also different, so the page should not be used as a present-day growth ranking.
Questions people ask
About this geographic comparison
Which island is larger?
Phu Quoc. Its physical main-island area is about two and a half times Koh Samui.
Are the population figures island-only?
No. Both official administrative totals include surrounding islands.
Why keep the comparison?
The physical land-area result is clean and useful, while the population limitation is explicit rather than hidden.
Sources
- Phu Quoc Tourism Portal: Phu Quoc introduction and physical-island area
- National Assembly of Vietnam: Establishment of Phu Quoc City and its population scale
- Ko Samui City Municipality: General information: municipal and main-island area
- National Statistical Office, Thailand: Surat Thani Provincial Statistical Report 2025, Table 1.2
Outline data: