Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Papua New Guinea instead of Palau, you would:
Health
be 30.9% less likely to be obese
In Palau, 40.5% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 28.0% of people as of 2024.
live 3.1 years less
In Palau, the average life expectancy is 69 years (67 years for men, 72 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.
see 92.8% less spent on your healthcare
Palau spends $1,857 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Papua New Guinea spends $133 as of 2023.
have 96.6% fewer doctors per person
Palau has 18.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Papua New Guinea has 0.6 as of 2023.
have 53.8% less access to essential health services
Palau scores 65 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Papua New Guinea scores 30 as of 2021.
Economy
make 84.5% less money
Palau has a GDP per capita of $19,532 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 Palau, there are approximately 10.7 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 2.1 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Palau, approximately 89.0 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 12.9% less likely to be literate
In Palau, the literacy rate is 99.8% as of 2020. In Papua New Guinea, it is 87.0% as of 2022.
be 68.3% more likely to die during infancy
In Palau, approximately 18.6 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 Palau, 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 77.6% less likely to have internet access
In Palau, approximately 83.9% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, about 18.8% do as of 2024.
be 46.4% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Palau, approximately 100% of people have access to drinking water (100% in urban areas, and 99% 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 77.3% less on education
Palau spends 3.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Papua New Guinea spends 0.8% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 73.5% less on healthcare
Palau spends 10.8% 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 3.4 times more coastline
Palau has a total of 1,519 km of coastline. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 5,152 km.
Safety
be 32.9% less likely to die in a road accident
In Palau, road accidents kill 22.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Papua New Guinea, they kill 14.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 96.9% less home broadband
Palau has 7.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Papua New Guinea has 0.2 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 99.4% less CO2
Palau emits 82.8 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Papua New Guinea emits 0.5 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Palau vs. Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: At a glance
How big is Papua New Guinea compared to Palau? See an in-depth size comparison.