Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Economy

make 27.8 times more money

Papua New Guinea has a GDP per capita of $3,020 as of 2025, while in California, the GDP per capita is $84,028 as of 2024.

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be 98.4% more likely to be unemployed

In Papua New Guinea, 2.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In California, that number is 5.1% as of 2025.

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Basic Needs

be 4.9 times more likely to have internet access

In Papua New Guinea, approximately 18.8% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In California, about 92.6% do as of 2023.

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Sources: World Bank (2024–2025), Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025), Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024), US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) (2023). How we calculate this

Compare further: Papua New Guinea vs. California

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
California is 73.7% more expensive than Papua New Guinea overall
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Size Comparison · See true size
Papua New Guinea is around the same size as California.
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Moving from Papua New Guinea to California · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
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