Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 30.8% less likely to be obese

In New Zealand, 30.8% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 21.3% of people as of 2016.

live 13.1 years less

In New Zealand, the average life expectancy is 83 years (81 years for men, 84 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

be 15.8% less likely to be unemployed

In New Zealand, 3.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 2.8% as of 2022.

make 91.6% less money

New Zealand has a GDP per capita of $45,200 as of 2022, while in Papua New Guinea, the GDP per capita is $3,800 as of 2022.

pay a 27.3% higher top tax rate

New Zealand has a top tax rate of 33.0% as of 2016. In Papua New Guinea, the top tax rate is 42.0% as of 2016.

Life

have 2.2 times more children

In New Zealand, there are approximately 12.6 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 27.4 times more likely to die during childbirth

In New Zealand, approximately 7.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Papua New Guinea, 192.0 women do as of 2020.

be 9.8 times more likely to die during infancy

In New Zealand, approximately 3.4 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 79.1% less likely to have access to electricity

In New Zealand, approximately 100% of the population has electricity access as of 2021. In Papua New Guinea, 21% of the population do as of 2021.

be 66.7% less likely to have internet access

In New Zealand, approximately 96.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Papua New Guinea, about 32.0% do as of 2021.

be 52.5% less likely to have access to improved drinking water

In New Zealand, approximately 100% of people have improved drinking water access (100% in urban areas, and 100% 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 76.7% less on education

New Zealand spends 6.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Papua New Guinea spends 1.4% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 75.0% less on healthcare

New Zealand spends 10.0% 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 66.0% less coastline

New Zealand has a total of 15,134 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, New Zealand Inland Revenue Department, 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 New Zealand? 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 New Zealand It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.