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

Health

be 56.7% less likely to die by suicide

Dominican Republic has a suicide rate of 4.2 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Papua New Guinea, it is 1.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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be 50.0% more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Dominican Republic, 1.0% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 1.5% of people as of 2024.

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live 7.6 years less

In Dominican Republic, the average life expectancy is 74 years (71 years for men, 77 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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see 88.6% less spent on your healthcare

Dominican Republic spends $1,169 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Papua New Guinea spends $133 as of 2023.

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have 97.5% fewer doctors per person

Dominican Republic has 24.3 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Papua New Guinea has 0.6 as of 2023.

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have 61.0% less access to essential health services

Dominican Republic scores 77 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Papua New Guinea scores 30 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 49.5% less likely to be unemployed

In Dominican Republic, 5.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 2.6% as of 2025.

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make 72.7% less money

Dominican Republic has a GDP per capita of $11,059 as of 2025, while in Papua New Guinea, the GDP per capita is $3,020 as of 2025.

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Life

have 37.9% more children

In Dominican Republic, there are approximately 17.6 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 52.4% more likely to die during childbirth

In Dominican Republic, approximately 124.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Papua New Guinea, 189.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 13.0% more likely to die during infancy

In Dominican Republic, approximately 27.7 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, on the other hand, 31.3 children do as of 2024.

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Basic Needs

be 79.4% less likely to have access to electricity

In Dominican Republic, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 98% 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 79.3% less likely to have internet access

In Dominican Republic, approximately 91.0% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, about 18.8% do as of 2024.

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be 45.3% less likely to have access to drinking water

In Dominican Republic, approximately 97% of people have access to drinking water (98% in urban areas, and 95% 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.

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Expenditures

spend 79.3% less on education

Dominican Republic spends 3.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Papua New Guinea spends 0.8% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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spend 37.6% less on healthcare

Dominican Republic spends 4.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 2.9% of GDP as of 2023.

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Geography

see 4.0 times more coastline

Dominican Republic has a total of 1,288 km of coastline. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 5,152 km.

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Safety

be 45.6% less likely to die in a road accident

In Dominican Republic, road accidents kill 27.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Papua New Guinea, they kill 14.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

live with 99.7% less strain on fresh water

Dominican Republic withdraws 40% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Papua New Guinea withdraws 0% as of 2022.

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find 97.9% less home broadband

Dominican Republic has 11.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Papua New Guinea has 0.2 as of 2024.

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Environment

emit 82.6% less CO2

Dominican Republic emits 3.0 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Papua New Guinea emits 0.5 tonnes as of 2024.

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be 40.7% more likely to die from air pollution

In Dominican Republic, air pollution causes 27.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Papua New Guinea, it causes 38.0 as of 2019.

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Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook. 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 Dominican Republic? See an in-depth size comparison.

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