Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Papua New Guinea instead of Burma, you would:
Health
be 37.0% less likely to die by suicide
Burma has a suicide rate of 2.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Papua New Guinea, it is 1.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 66.7% more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Burma, 0.9% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 1.5% of people as of 2024.
live 0.8 years less
In Burma, the average life expectancy is 67 years (64 years for men, 70 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.
be 3.4 times more likely to be obese
In Burma, 8.1% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 28.0% of people as of 2024.
see 53.0% less spent on your healthcare
Burma spends $283 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Papua New Guinea spends $133 as of 2023.
have 42.3% less access to essential health services
Burma scores 52 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Papua New Guinea scores 30 as of 2021.
Economy
be 15.7% less likely to be unemployed
In Burma, 3.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 2.6% as of 2025.
make 2.0 times more money
Burma has a GDP per capita of $1,489 as of 2025, while in Papua New Guinea, the GDP per capita is $3,020 as of 2025.
Life
have 47.6% more children
In Burma, there are approximately 16.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, there are 24.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 73.3% less likely to have access to electricity
In Burma, approximately 77% of people have electricity access (95% in urban areas, and 69% 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.
be 57.2% less likely to have internet access
In Burma, approximately 44.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Papua New Guinea, about 18.8% do as of 2024.
be 37.8% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Burma, approximately 86% of people have access to drinking water (96% in urban areas, and 81% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 53% of people on average (84% in urban areas, and 48% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 35.7% less on healthcare
Burma spends 4.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 2.9% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 2.7 times more coastline
Burma has a total of 1,930 km of coastline. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 5,152 km.
Safety
be 22.8% less likely to die in a road accident
In Burma, road accidents kill 19.3 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Papua New Guinea, they kill 14.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 97.8% less strain on fresh water
Burma withdraws 6% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Papua New Guinea withdraws 0% as of 2022.
find 92.0% less home broadband
Burma has 2.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Papua New Guinea has 0.2 as of 2024.
Environment
be 46.5% less likely to die from air pollution
In Burma, air pollution causes 71.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Papua New Guinea, it causes 38.0 as of 2019.
emit 10.3% less CO2
Burma emits 0.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Papua New Guinea emits 0.5 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Burma vs. Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: At a glance
How big is Papua New Guinea compared to Burma? See an in-depth size comparison.