Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Papua New Guinea instead of Timor-Leste, you would:

Health

be 5.6 times more likely to be obese

In Timor-Leste, 3.8% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 21.3% of people as of 2016.

Economy

be 11.5% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Timor-Leste, 41.8% live below the poverty line as of 2014. In Papua New Guinea, however, that number is 37.0% as of 2002.

be 74.3% more likely to be unemployed

In Timor-Leste, 1.5% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 2.6% as of 2023.

Basic Needs

be 80.9% less likely to have access to electricity

In Timor-Leste, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 79% 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 17.9% less likely to have internet access

In Timor-Leste, approximately 39.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Papua New Guinea, about 32.0% do as of 2021.

be 45.7% less likely to have access to improved drinking water

In Timor-Leste, approximately 87% of people have improved drinking water access (98% in urban areas, and 82% 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 66.7% less on education

Timor-Leste spends 4.2% 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

Timor-Leste 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 7.3 times more coastline

Timor-Leste has a total of 706 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.

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

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