Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 61.9% less likely to be obese

In Cook Islands, 55.9% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 21.3% of people as of 2016.

live 7.7 years less

In Cook Islands, the average life expectancy is 77 years (74 years for men, 80 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 80.9% less likely to be unemployed

In Cook Islands, 13.1% of adults are unemployed as of 2005. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 2.5% as of 2017.

make 75.4% less money

Cook Islands has a GDP per capita of $16,700 as of 2016, while in Papua New Guinea, the GDP per capita is $4,100 as of 2020.

Life

have 2.3 times more children

In Cook Islands, there are approximately 12.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Papua New Guinea, there are 29.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.

be 2.1 times more likely to die during infancy

In Cook Islands, approximately 15.9 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 79.6% less likely to have internet access

In Cook Islands, approximately 54.0% of the population has internet access as of 2019. In Papua New Guinea, about 11.0% do as of 2019.

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

In Cook Islands, approximately 100% of people have improved drinking water access as of 2020. In Papua New Guinea, 48% of people do as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 45.7% less on education

Cook Islands spends 3.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2019. Papua New Guinea spends 1.9% of total GDP on education as of 2018.

spend 25.8% less on healthcare

Cook Islands spends 3.1% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 2.3% of GDP as of 2019.

Geography

see 42.9 times more coastline

Cook Islands has a total of 120 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 Cook Islands? See an in-depth size comparison.

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