Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Papua New Guinea instead of Nigeria, you would:
Health
live 11.6 years longer
In Nigeria, the average life expectancy is 55 years (54 years for men, 55 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 63.5% less likely to die by suicide
Nigeria has a suicide rate of 5.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Papua New Guinea, it is 1.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 25.0% more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Nigeria, 1.2% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 1.5% of people as of 2024.
be 2.0 times more likely to be obese
In Nigeria, 13.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 28.0% of people as of 2024.
see 48.9% less spent on your healthcare
Nigeria spends $260 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Papua New Guinea spends $133 as of 2023.
have 83.9% fewer doctors per person
Nigeria has 3.8 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Papua New Guinea has 0.6 as of 2023.
have 21.1% less access to essential health services
Nigeria scores 38 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Papua New Guinea scores 30 as of 2021.
Economy
be 16.0% less likely to be unemployed
In Nigeria, 3.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 2.6% as of 2025.
make 2.5 times more money
Nigeria has a GDP per capita of $1,224 as of 2025, while in Papua New Guinea, the GDP per capita is $3,020 as of 2025.
Life
be 81.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Nigeria, approximately 993.0 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 23.6% more likely to be literate
In Nigeria, the literacy rate is 70.4% as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, it is 87.0% as of 2022.
be 55.2% less likely to die during infancy
In Nigeria, approximately 69.8 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.
have 25.2% fewer children
In Nigeria, there are approximately 32.5 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 66.5% less likely to have access to electricity
In Nigeria, approximately 61% of people have electricity access (85% in urban areas, and 33% 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 54.4% less likely to have internet access
In Nigeria, approximately 41.2% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, about 18.8% do as of 2024.
be 35.2% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Nigeria, approximately 82% of people have access to drinking water (95% in urban areas, and 67% 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 31.5% less on healthcare
Nigeria spends 4.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 2.9% of GDP as of 2023.
spend 2.4 times more on education
Nigeria spends 0.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Papua New Guinea spends 0.8% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
Geography
see 6.0 times more coastline
Nigeria has a total of 853 km of coastline. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 5,152 km.
Safety
be 13.4% less likely to die in a road accident
In Nigeria, road accidents kill 17.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Papua New Guinea, they kill 14.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 2.9 times more home broadband
Nigeria has 0.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Papua New Guinea has 0.2 as of 2024.
live with 98.7% less strain on fresh water
Nigeria withdraws 10% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Papua New Guinea withdraws 0% as of 2022.
Environment
be 50.6% less likely to die from air pollution
In Nigeria, air pollution causes 77.0 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), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Nigeria vs. Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: At a glance
How big is Papua New Guinea compared to Nigeria? See an in-depth size comparison.