Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 59.7% less likely to be obese

In Marshall Islands, 52.9% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 21.3% of people as of 2016.

live 5.2 years less

In Marshall Islands, the average life expectancy is 75 years (72 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2022. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 69 years (68 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

be 93.1% less likely to be unemployed

In Marshall Islands, 36.0% of adults are unemployed as of 2006. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 2.5% as of 2017.

Life

have 27.3% more children

In Marshall Islands, there are approximately 22.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2020. In Papua New Guinea, there are 29.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.

be 34.7% less likely to be literate

In Marshall Islands, the literacy rate is 98.3% as of 2011. In Papua New Guinea, it is 64.2% as of 2015.

be 55.1% more likely to die during infancy

In Marshall Islands, approximately 21.7 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Papua New Guinea, on the other hand, 33.6 children do as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 38.8% less likely to have access to electricity

In Marshall Islands, approximately 96% of people have electricity access (96% in urban areas, and 98% in rural areas) as of 2018. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 59% of people on average (82% in urban areas, and 55% in rural areas) as of 2018.

be 71.8% less likely to have internet access

In Marshall Islands, approximately 39.0% of the population has internet access as of 2019. In Papua New Guinea, about 11.0% do as of 2019.

be 52.5% less likely to have access to improved drinking water

In Marshall Islands, approximately 100% of people have improved drinking water access (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2020. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 48% of people on average (86% in urban areas, and 42% in rural areas) as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 80.2% less on education

Marshall Islands spends 9.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2019. Papua New Guinea spends 1.9% of total GDP on education as of 2018.

spend 85.9% less on healthcare

Marshall Islands spends 16.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 2.3% of GDP as of 2019.

Geography

see 13.9 times more coastline

Marshall Islands has a total of 370 km of coastline. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 5,152 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

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 Marshall Islands? See an in-depth size comparison.

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