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

Health

live 2.4 years longer

In Equatorial Guinea, the average life expectancy is 64 years (62 years for men, 66 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.

View global rankings →

be 74.1% less likely to die by suicide

Equatorial Guinea has a suicide rate of 7.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Papua New Guinea, it is 1.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

be 45.8% more likely to be obese

In Equatorial Guinea, 19.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 28.0% of people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

see 78.2% less spent on your healthcare

Equatorial Guinea spends $609 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Papua New Guinea spends $133 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

have 60.1% fewer doctors per person

Equatorial Guinea has 1.5 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Papua New Guinea has 0.6 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

have 34.8% less access to essential health services

Equatorial Guinea scores 46 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Papua New Guinea scores 30 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Economy

be 69.2% less likely to be unemployed

In Equatorial Guinea, 8.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 2.6% as of 2025.

View global rankings →

make 54.4% less money

Equatorial Guinea has a GDP per capita of $6,615 as of 2025, while in Papua New Guinea, the GDP per capita is $3,020 as of 2025.

View global rankings →

Life

be 34.2% less likely to die during infancy

In Equatorial Guinea, approximately 47.6 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.

View global rankings →

have 19.0% fewer children

In Equatorial Guinea, there are approximately 30.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, there are 24.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Basic Needs

be 69.4% less likely to have access to electricity

In Equatorial Guinea, approximately 67% of people have electricity access (89% in urban areas, and 2% 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.

View global rankings →

be 70.3% less likely to have internet access

In Equatorial Guinea, approximately 63.3% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, about 18.8% do as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Expenditures

spend 18.0% less on healthcare

Equatorial Guinea spends 3.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 2.9% of GDP as of 2023.

View global rankings →

Geography

see 17.4 times more coastline

Equatorial Guinea has a total of 296 km of coastline. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 5,152 km.

View global rankings →

Safety

be 27.4% more likely to die in a road accident

In Equatorial Guinea, road accidents kill 11.7 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Papua New Guinea, they kill 14.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Infrastructure

find 2.3 times more home broadband

Equatorial Guinea has 0.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Papua New Guinea has 0.2 as of 2024.

View global rankings →

live with 27.8% less strain on fresh water

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

View global rankings →

Environment

be 35.6% less likely to die from air pollution

In Equatorial Guinea, air pollution causes 59.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Papua New Guinea, it causes 38.0 as of 2019.

View global rankings →

emit 79.6% less CO2

Equatorial Guinea emits 2.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Papua New Guinea emits 0.5 tonnes as of 2024.

View global rankings →


Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), 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.
Read more

How big is Papua New Guinea compared to Equatorial Guinea? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Papua New Guinea or Equatorial Guinea. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.