Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Papua New Guinea instead of El Salvador, you would:
Health
be 13.0% less likely to be obese
In El Salvador, 32.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 28.0% of people as of 2024.
be 76.1% less likely to die by suicide
El Salvador has a suicide rate of 7.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Papua New Guinea, it is 1.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 3.8 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In El Salvador, 0.4% 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 6.0 years less
In El Salvador, the average life expectancy is 72 years (68 years for men, 76 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.
see 88.7% less spent on your healthcare
El Salvador spends $1,176 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Papua New Guinea spends $133 as of 2023.
have 96.2% fewer doctors per person
El Salvador has 16.2 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Papua New Guinea has 0.6 as of 2023.
have 61.5% less access to essential health services
El Salvador scores 78 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Papua New Guinea scores 30 as of 2021.
Economy
be 22.1% less likely to be unemployed
In El Salvador, 3.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 2.6% as of 2025.
make 47.6% less money
El Salvador has a GDP per capita of $5,767 as of 2025, while in Papua New Guinea, the GDP per capita is $3,020 as of 2025.
Life
have 55.7% more children
In El Salvador, there are approximately 15.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, there are 24.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 4.8 times more likely to die during childbirth
In El Salvador, approximately 39.0 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.
be 3.6 times more likely to die during infancy
In El Salvador, approximately 8.8 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.
Basic Needs
be 79.1% less likely to have access to electricity
In El Salvador, approximately 98% of people have electricity access (99% in urban areas, and 97% 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 71.7% less likely to have internet access
In El Salvador, approximately 66.5% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, about 18.8% do as of 2024.
be 41.8% less likely to have access to drinking water
In El Salvador, approximately 92% of people have access to drinking water (95% in urban areas, and 80% 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 76.5% less on education
El Salvador spends 3.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Papua New Guinea spends 0.8% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 69.1% less on healthcare
El Salvador spends 9.3% 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 16.8 times more coastline
El Salvador has a total of 307 km of coastline. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 5,152 km.
Safety
be 30.7% less likely to die in a road accident
In El Salvador, road accidents kill 21.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Papua New Guinea, they kill 14.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 98.9% less strain on fresh water
El Salvador withdraws 12% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Papua New Guinea withdraws 0% as of 2022.
find 98.2% less home broadband
El Salvador has 12.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Papua New Guinea has 0.2 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 65.6% less CO2
El Salvador emits 1.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Papua New Guinea emits 0.5 tonnes as of 2024.
be 22.6% more likely to die from air pollution
In El Salvador, air pollution causes 31.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Papua New Guinea, it causes 38.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: El Salvador vs. Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: At a glance
How big is Papua New Guinea compared to El Salvador? See an in-depth size comparison.