Cost of living comparison

Panama

compared to

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea vs. Panama Cost of Living Summary

Papua New Guinea is 35.1% more expensive than Panama overall.

Restaurants: pay 7.8% less in Papua New Guinea
Groceries: pay 20.7% more in Papua New Guinea
Transportation: pay 11.4% more in Papua New Guinea
Housing: pay 3.0 times more in Papua New Guinea
Childcare: pay 16.1% more in Papua New Guinea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 12.3% more in Papua New Guinea
Clothing: pay 3.0% less in Papua New Guinea

The cost of housing, groceries, childcare, entertainment and sports, and transportation in Papua New Guinea are more expensive than in Panama. Expenses including restaurants and clothing are lower in Papua New Guinea. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Papua New Guinea.

Papua New Guinea vs. Panama Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 7.8% less for restaurants

	Panama	Papua New Guinea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.45 PAB8.45	$12.38 PGK51.03	+46.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.90 PAB7.90	$7.43 PGK30.62	-6.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.54 PAB1.54	$0.80 PGK3.28	-48.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.17 PAB1.17	$0.89 PGK3.67	-23.6%
Average			-7.8%

Panama vs. Papua New Guinea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 20.7% more for groceries

	Panama	Papua New Guinea
Bread 1 loaf	$2.19 PAB2.19	$1.49 PGK6.12	-32.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.66 PAB5.66	$2.20 PGK9.06	-61.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.43 PAB6.43	$7.01 PGK28.91	+9.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.53 PAB2.53	$3.68 PGK15.19	+45.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.54 PAB3.54	$3.28 PGK13.50	-7.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.12 PAB2.12	$1.56 PGK6.41	-26.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.61 PAB0.61	$1.19 PGK4.92	+95.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.29 PAB1.29	$1.74 PGK7.18	+35.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.16 PAB1.16	$2.02 PGK8.33	+74.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.98 PAB0.98	$1.57 PGK6.48	+60.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.01 PAB1.01	$1.37 PGK5.63	+35.6%
Average			+20.7%

Panama vs. Papua New Guinea - Cost of groceries

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pay 11.4% more for transportation

	Panama	Papua New Guinea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.92 PAB3.92	$4.29 PGK17.68	+9.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$25.00 PAB25.00	$16.69 PGK68.78	-33.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,916.67 PAB18,916.67	$25,877.21 PGK106,653.16	+36.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.61 PAB16.61	$22.04 PGK90.83	+32.7%
Average			+11.4%

Panama vs. Papua New Guinea - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.0 times more for housing

	Panama	Papua New Guinea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$47.61 PAB47.61	$309.54 PGK1,275.76	+550.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$747.76 PAB747.76	$2,346.03 PGK9,669.21	+213.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$567.84 PAB567.84	$609.17 PGK2,510.69	+7.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$69.20 PAB69.20	$78.11 PGK321.94	+12.9%
Average			+196.0%

Panama vs. Papua New Guinea - Cost of housing

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pay 16.1% more for childcare

	Panama	Papua New Guinea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$302.08 PAB302.08	$494.23 PGK2,036.96	+63.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,548.17 PAB6,548.17	$4,498.59 PGK18,540.98	-31.3%
Average			+16.1%

Panama vs. Papua New Guinea - Cost of childcare

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pay 12.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Panama	Papua New Guinea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.95 PAB1.95	$2.48 PGK10.21	+27.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.39 PAB3.39	$1.83 PGK7.55	-45.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.38 PAB5.38	$7.48 PGK30.82	+39.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.20 PAB57.20	$45.19 PGK186.26	-21.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.33 PAB5.33	$8.67 PGK35.72	+62.5%
Average			+12.3%

Panama vs. Papua New Guinea - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 3.0% less for clothing

	Panama	Papua New Guinea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$47.41 PAB47.41	$39.25 PGK161.77	-17.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.81 PAB34.81	$44.57 PGK183.71	+28.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.21 PAB81.21	$64.38 PGK265.36	-20.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$100.42 PAB100.42	$98.43 PGK405.69	-2.0%
Average			-3.0%

Panama vs. Papua New Guinea - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: March 2025

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