Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Cayman Islands instead of Papua New Guinea, you would:
Health
live 14.3 years longer
In Papua New Guinea, the average life expectancy is 66 years (64 years for men, 69 years for women) as of 2024. In Cayman Islands, that number is 81 years (78 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2024.
Economy
make 34.5 times more money
Papua New Guinea has a GDP per capita of $3,020 as of 2025, while in Cayman Islands, the GDP per capita is $104,293 as of 2024.
Life
be 13.7% more likely to be literate
In Papua New Guinea, the literacy rate is 87.0% as of 2022. In Cayman Islands, it is 98.9% as of 2021.
be 75.6% less likely to die during infancy
In Papua New Guinea, approximately 31.3 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Cayman Islands, on the other hand, 7.7 children do as of 2022.
have 52.4% fewer children
In Papua New Guinea, there are approximately 24.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Cayman Islands, there are 11.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 4.9 times more likely to have access to electricity
In Papua New Guinea, approximately 20% of people have electricity access (65% in urban areas, and 13% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Cayman Islands, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 4.3 times more likely to have internet access
In Papua New Guinea, approximately 18.8% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Cayman Islands, about 81.1% do as of 2021.
be 79.1% more likely to have access to drinking water
In Papua New Guinea, approximately 53% of people have access to drinking water as of 2024. In Cayman Islands, 95% of people do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 2.0 times more on education
Papua New Guinea spends 0.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Cayman Islands spends 1.6% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
Geography
see 96.9% less coastline
Papua New Guinea has a total of 5,152 km of coastline. In Cayman Islands, that number is 160 km.
Infrastructure
find 245.0 times more home broadband
Papua New Guinea has 0.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Cayman Islands has 56.4 as of 2022.
Environment
emit 9.6 times more CO2
Papua New Guinea emits 0.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Cayman Islands emits 5.0 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), The World Factbook (2021–2022). How we calculate this
Compare further: Papua New Guinea vs. Cayman Islands
Cayman Islands: At a glance
How big is Cayman Islands compared to Papua New Guinea? See an in-depth size comparison.