Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Papua New Guinea instead of Maldives, you would:
Health
be 15.0 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Maldives, 0.1% 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 15.0 years less
In Maldives, the average life expectancy is 81 years (80 years for men, 83 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.
be 56.7% more likely to be obese
In Maldives, 17.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 28.0% of people as of 2024.
see 94.2% less spent on your healthcare
Maldives spends $2,288 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Papua New Guinea spends $133 as of 2023.
have 50.8% less access to essential health services
Maldives scores 61 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Papua New Guinea scores 30 as of 2021.
be 23.8% more likely to die by suicide
Maldives has a suicide rate of 1.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Papua New Guinea, it is 1.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 43.0% less likely to be unemployed
In Maldives, 4.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 2.6% as of 2025.
make 79.3% less money
Maldives has a GDP per capita of $14,615 as of 2025, while in Papua New Guinea, the GDP per capita is $3,020 as of 2025.
Life
have 2.3 times more children
In Maldives, there are approximately 10.6 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 5.9 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Maldives, approximately 32.0 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 11.1% less likely to be literate
In Maldives, the literacy rate is 97.9% as of 2021. In Papua New Guinea, it is 87.0% as of 2022.
be 6.7 times more likely to die during infancy
In Maldives, approximately 4.7 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.
Basic Needs
be 79.5% less likely to have access to electricity
In Maldives, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 100% 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 77.9% less likely to have internet access
In Maldives, approximately 85.2% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, about 18.8% do as of 2024.
be 46.6% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Maldives, approximately 100% of people have access to drinking water (100% in urban areas, and 100% 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 84.9% less on education
Maldives spends 5.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Papua New Guinea spends 0.8% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 69.0% less on healthcare
Maldives spends 9.2% 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 8.0 times more coastline
Maldives has a total of 644 km of coastline. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 5,152 km.
Safety
be 11.5 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Maldives, road accidents kill 1.3 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Papua New Guinea, they kill 14.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 99.2% less strain on fresh water
Maldives withdraws 16% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Papua New Guinea withdraws 0% as of 2022.
find 98.8% less home broadband
Maldives has 19.6 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Papua New Guinea has 0.2 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 85.4% less CO2
Maldives emits 3.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Papua New Guinea emits 0.5 tonnes as of 2024.
be 31.0% more likely to die from air pollution
In Maldives, air pollution causes 29.0 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), The World Factbook (2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Maldives vs. Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: At a glance
How big is Papua New Guinea compared to Maldives? See an in-depth size comparison.