If you lived in Papua New Guinea instead of El Salvador, you would:

Health

be 13.4% less likely to be obese

In El Salvador, 24.6% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 21.3% of people as of 2016.

live 5.9 years less

In El Salvador, the average life expectancy is 75 years (72 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2022. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 69 years (68 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

make 62.8% less money

El Salvador has a GDP per capita of $11,300 as of 2023, while in Papua New Guinea, the GDP per capita is $4,200 as of 2023.

be 39.1% more likely to live below the poverty line

In El Salvador, 26.6% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Papua New Guinea, however, that number is 37.0% as of 2002.

pay a 40.0% higher top tax rate

El Salvador has a top tax rate of 30.0% as of 2016. In Papua New Guinea, the top tax rate is 42.0% as of 2016.

Life

have 64.3% more children

In El Salvador, there are approximately 17.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, there are 28.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 4.5 times more likely to die during childbirth

In El Salvador, approximately 43.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Papua New Guinea, 192.0 women do as of 2020.

be 27.9% less likely to be literate

In El Salvador, the literacy rate is 89.1% as of 2019. In Papua New Guinea, it is 64.2% as of 2015.

be 2.8 times more likely to die during infancy

In El Salvador, approximately 12.1 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Papua New Guinea, on the other hand, 33.6 children do as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 81.0% less likely to have access to electricity

In El Salvador, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (99% in urban areas, and 94% in rural areas) as of 2022. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 19% of people on average (65% in urban areas, and 14% in rural areas) as of 2022.

be 49.2% less likely to have internet access

In El Salvador, approximately 63.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Papua New Guinea, about 32.0% do as of 2021.

be 51.6% less likely to have access to improved drinking water

In El Salvador, approximately 98% of people have improved drinking water access (100% in urban areas, and 94% in rural areas) as of 2020. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 48% of people on average (86% in urban areas, and 42% in rural areas) as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 65.9% less on education

El Salvador spends 4.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Papua New Guinea spends 1.4% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 74.7% less on healthcare

El Salvador spends 9.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 2.5% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 16.8 times more coastline

El Salvador has a total of 307 km of coastline. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 5,152 km.


The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Ministry of Finance, Internal Revenue Commission, Papua New Guinea.

Papua New Guinea: At a glance

Papua New Guinea (sometimes abbreviated PNG) is a sovereign country in East/Southeast Asia, with a total land area of approximately 452,860 sq km. The eastern half of the island of New Guinea - second largest in the world - was divided between Germany (north) and the UK (south) in 1885. The latter area was transferred to Australia in 1902, which occupied the northern portion during World War I and continued to administer the combined areas until independence in 1975. A nine-year secessionist revolt on the island of Bougainville ended in 1997 after claiming some 20,000 lives.
Read more

How big is Papua New Guinea compared to El Salvador? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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