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

Health

live 10.2 years less

In Aruba, the average life expectancy is 76 years (74 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 66 years (64 years for men, 69 years for women) as of 2024.

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Economy

make 92.2% less money

Aruba has a GDP per capita of $38,591 as of 2024, while in Papua New Guinea, the GDP per capita is $3,020 as of 2025.

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Life

have 3.2 times more children

In Aruba, there are approximately 7.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, there are 24.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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be 2.6 times more likely to die during infancy

In Aruba, 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, 31.3 children do as of 2024.

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Basic Needs

be 79.5% less likely to have access to electricity

In Aruba, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 20% of people on average (65% in urban areas, and 13% in rural areas) as of 2023.

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be 80.6% less likely to have internet access

In Aruba, approximately 97.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Papua New Guinea, about 18.8% do as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 78.5% less on education

Aruba spends 3.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Papua New Guinea spends 0.8% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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Geography

see 75.2 times more coastline

Aruba has a total of 68 km of coastline. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 5,152 km.

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Infrastructure

find 98.7% less home broadband

Aruba has 17.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Papua New Guinea has 0.2 as of 2024.

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Environment

emit 89.9% less CO2

Aruba emits 5.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Papua New Guinea emits 0.5 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), The World Factbook (2021–2022). How we calculate this

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 Aruba? See an in-depth size comparison.

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