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

Health

live 3.9 years longer

In Liberia, the average life expectancy is 62 years (61 years for men, 64 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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be 69.5% less likely to die by suicide

Liberia has a suicide rate of 6.0 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 66.7% more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Liberia, 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.

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be 57.4% more likely to be obese

In Liberia, 17.8% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 28.0% of people as of 2024.

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see 42.9% less spent on your healthcare

Liberia spends $233 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 65.7% fewer doctors per person

Liberia has 1.8 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Papua New Guinea has 0.6 as of 2023.

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have 33.3% less access to essential health services

Liberia scores 45 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 10.8% less likely to be unemployed

In Liberia, 2.9% 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 3.3 times more money

Liberia has a GDP per capita of $915 as of 2025, while in Papua New Guinea, the GDP per capita is $3,020 as of 2025.

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Life

be 69.9% less likely to die during childbirth

In Liberia, approximately 628.0 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 50.5% less likely to die during infancy

In Liberia, approximately 63.2 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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have 20.6% fewer children

In Liberia, there are approximately 30.6 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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Basic Needs

be 36.9% less likely to have access to electricity

In Liberia, approximately 32% of people have electricity access (53% in urban areas, and 9% 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 41.6% less likely to have internet access

In Liberia, approximately 32.2% 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 32.4% less likely to have access to drinking water

In Liberia, approximately 79% of people have access to drinking water (86% in urban areas, and 70% 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 65.6% less on education

Liberia spends 2.3% 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 77.9% less on healthcare

Liberia spends 13.0% 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 8.9 times more coastline

Liberia has a total of 579 km of coastline. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 5,152 km.

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Safety

be 3.0 times more likely to be murdered

Liberia has a homicide rate of 3.1 per 100,000 people as of 2012. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 9.4 per 100,000 as of 2010.

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Infrastructure

live with 50.0% less strain on fresh water

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

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find 14.8% less home broadband

Liberia has 0.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Papua New Guinea has 0.2 as of 2024.

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Environment

be 36.7% less likely to die from air pollution

In Liberia, air pollution causes 60.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Papua New Guinea, it causes 38.0 as of 2019.

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emit 3.5 times more CO2

Liberia emits 0.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Papua New Guinea emits 0.5 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2010–2021), 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.
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How big is Papua New Guinea compared to Liberia? See an in-depth size comparison.

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