Quality of life comparison
If you lived in South Korea instead of Papua New Guinea, you would:
Health
live 13.5 years longer
In Papua New Guinea, the average life expectancy is 69 years (68 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2022. In South Korea, that number is 83 years (80 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2022.
be 77.9% less likely to be obese
In Papua New Guinea, 21.3% of adults are obese as of 2016. In South Korea, that number is 4.7% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 10.3 times more money
Papua New Guinea has a GDP per capita of $4,100 as of 2020, while in South Korea, the GDP per capita is $42,300 as of 2020.
be 61.1% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Papua New Guinea, 37.0% live below the poverty line as of 2002. In South Korea, however, that number is 14.4% as of 2016.
be 50.4% more likely to be unemployed
In Papua New Guinea, 2.5% of adults are unemployed as of 2017. In South Korea, that number is 3.8% as of 2019.
Life
be 92.4% less likely to die during childbirth
In Papua New Guinea, approximately 145.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In South Korea, 11.0 women do as of 2017.
be 52.6% more likely to be literate
In Papua New Guinea, the literacy rate is 64.2% as of 2015. In South Korea, it is 98.0% as of 2019.
be 91.5% less likely to die during infancy
In Papua New Guinea, approximately 33.6 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In South Korea, on the other hand, 2.9 children do as of 2022.
have 76.2% fewer children
In Papua New Guinea, there are approximately 29.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In South Korea, there are 6.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 69.8% more likely to have access to electricity
In Papua New Guinea, approximately 59% of the population has electricity access as of 2018. In South Korea, 100% of the population do as of 2020.
be 8.8 times more likely to have internet access
In Papua New Guinea, approximately 11.0% of the population has internet access as of 2019. In South Korea, about 97.0% do as of 2020.
be 2.1 times more likely to have access to improved drinking water
In Papua New Guinea, approximately 48% of people have improved drinking water access as of 2020. In South Korea, 100% of people do as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 2.4 times more on education
Papua New Guinea spends 1.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2018. South Korea spends 4.5% of total GDP on education as of 2018.
spend 3.6 times more on healthcare
Papua New Guinea spends 2.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In South Korea, that number is 8.2% of GDP as of 2019.
Geography
see 53.2% less coastline
Papua New Guinea has a total of 5,152 km of coastline. In South Korea, that number is 2,413 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.
South Korea: At a glance
How big is South Korea compared to Papua New Guinea? See an in-depth size comparison.