Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Papua New Guinea instead of New Caledonia, you would:
Health
live 12.7 years less
In New Caledonia, the average life expectancy is 79 years (76 years for men, 81 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.
Economy
be 77.0% less likely to be unemployed
In New Caledonia, 11.2% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 2.6% as of 2025.
make 89.7% less money
New Caledonia has a GDP per capita of $29,213 as of 2024, while in Papua New Guinea, the GDP per capita is $3,020 as of 2025.
Life
have 73.1% more children
In New Caledonia, there are approximately 14.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, there are 24.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 79.5% less likely to have access to electricity
In New Caledonia, 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 77.1% less likely to have internet access
In New Caledonia, approximately 82.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Papua New Guinea, about 18.8% do as of 2024.
be 46.5% less likely to have access to drinking water
In New Caledonia, approximately 100% of people have access to drinking water as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, 53% of people do as of 2024.
Geography
see 2.3 times more coastline
New Caledonia has a total of 2,254 km of coastline. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 5,152 km.
Safety
be 3.0 times more likely to be murdered
New Caledonia has a homicide rate of 3.1 per 100,000 people as of 2009. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 9.4 per 100,000 as of 2010.
Infrastructure
find 98.8% less home broadband
New Caledonia has 19.4 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Papua New Guinea has 0.2 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 97.0% less CO2
New Caledonia emits 17.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Papua New Guinea emits 0.5 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), The World Factbook (2021), United Nations SDG Indicators (2009–2010). How we calculate this
Compare further: New Caledonia vs. Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: At a glance
How big is Papua New Guinea compared to New Caledonia? See an in-depth size comparison.