Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Gambia instead of Papua New Guinea, you would:
Health
be 13.3% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Papua New Guinea, 1.5% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Gambia, that number is 1.3% of people as of 2024.
be 55.7% less likely to be obese
In Papua New Guinea, 28.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Gambia, that number is 12.4% of people as of 2024.
have 47.5% more doctors per person
Papua New Guinea has 0.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Gambia has 0.9 as of 2023.
have 53.3% more access to essential health services
Papua New Guinea scores 30 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Gambia scores 46 as of 2021.
see 29.2% less spent on your healthcare
Papua New Guinea spends $133 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Gambia spends $94 as of 2023.
be 2.6 times more likely to die by suicide
Papua New Guinea has a suicide rate of 1.8 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Gambia, it is 4.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 2.5 times more likely to be unemployed
In Papua New Guinea, 2.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Gambia, that number is 6.5% as of 2025.
make 69.6% less money
Papua New Guinea has a GDP per capita of $3,020 as of 2025, while in Gambia, the GDP per capita is $919 as of 2025.
Life
have 22.9% more children
In Papua New Guinea, there are approximately 24.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Gambia, there are 29.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 87.3% more likely to die during childbirth
In Papua New Guinea, approximately 189.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Gambia, 354.0 women do as of 2023.
be 40.6% less likely to be literate
In Papua New Guinea, the literacy rate is 87.0% as of 2022. In Gambia, it is 51.6% as of 2021.
Basic Needs
be 3.3 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 Gambia, that number is 67% of people on average (85% in urban areas, and 35% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 2.6 times more likely to have internet access
In Papua New Guinea, approximately 18.8% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Gambia, about 49.5% do as of 2024.
be 63.4% more likely to have access to drinking water
In Papua New Guinea, approximately 53% of people have access to drinking water (84% in urban areas, and 48% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Gambia, that number is 87% of people on average (92% in urban areas, and 78% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 3.6 times more on education
Papua New Guinea spends 0.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Gambia spends 2.8% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
Geography
see 98.4% less coastline
Papua New Guinea has a total of 5,152 km of coastline. In Gambia, that number is 80 km.
Safety
be 47.7% more likely to die in a road accident
In Papua New Guinea, road accidents kill 14.9 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Gambia, they kill 22.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 2.3 times more home broadband
Papua New Guinea has 0.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Gambia has 0.5 as of 2024.
live with 17.0 times more strain on fresh water
Papua New Guinea withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Gambia withdraws 2% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 65.4% less CO2
Papua New Guinea emits 0.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Gambia emits 0.2 tonnes as of 2024.
be 2.4 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Papua New Guinea, air pollution causes 38.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Gambia, it causes 90.0 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: Papua New Guinea vs. Gambia
Gambia: At a glance
How big is Gambia compared to Papua New Guinea? See an in-depth size comparison.