Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Papua New Guinea instead of Panama, you would:
Health
be 25.8% less likely to be obese
In Panama, 37.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 28.0% of people as of 2024.
be 44.7% less likely to die by suicide
Panama has a suicide rate of 3.3 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Papua New Guinea, it is 1.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 36.4% more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Panama, 1.1% 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 13.5 years less
In Panama, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 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.
see 96.0% less spent on your healthcare
Panama spends $3,318 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Papua New Guinea spends $133 as of 2023.
have 96.2% fewer doctors per person
Panama has 16.2 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Papua New Guinea has 0.6 as of 2023.
have 61.5% less access to essential health services
Panama scores 78 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Papua New Guinea scores 30 as of 2021.
Economy
be 69.3% less likely to be unemployed
In Panama, 8.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 2.6% as of 2025.
make 84.7% less money
Panama has a GDP per capita of $19,790 as of 2025, while in Papua New Guinea, the GDP per capita is $3,020 as of 2025.
Life
have 53.1% more children
In Panama, there are approximately 15.9 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 5.1 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Panama, approximately 37.0 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 2.6 times more likely to die during infancy
In Panama, approximately 12.0 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 78.9% less likely to have access to electricity
In Panama, approximately 97% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 91% 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 74.2% less likely to have internet access
In Panama, approximately 72.8% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, about 18.8% do as of 2024.
be 44.0% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Panama, approximately 95% of people have access to drinking water (98% in urban areas, and 88% 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 68.4% less on education
Panama spends 2.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Papua New Guinea spends 0.8% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 65.5% less on healthcare
Panama spends 8.3% 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 2.1 times more coastline
Panama has a total of 2,490 km of coastline. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 5,152 km.
Safety
be 2.0 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Panama, road accidents kill 7.3 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Papua New Guinea, they kill 14.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 85.6% less strain on fresh water
Panama withdraws 1% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Papua New Guinea withdraws 0% as of 2022.
find 98.7% less home broadband
Panama has 18.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Papua New Guinea has 0.2 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 81.0% less CO2
Panama emits 2.7 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Papua New Guinea emits 0.5 tonnes as of 2024.
be 2.2 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Panama, air pollution causes 17.0 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: Panama vs. Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: At a glance
How big is Papua New Guinea compared to Panama? See an in-depth size comparison.