Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Papua New Guinea instead of Timor-Leste, you would:
Health
be 48.9% less likely to die by suicide
Timor-Leste has a suicide rate of 3.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Papua New Guinea, it is 1.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 7.5 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Timor-Leste, 0.2% 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 1.6 years less
In Timor-Leste, the average life expectancy is 68 years (66 years for men, 70 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.
be 7.8 times more likely to be obese
In Timor-Leste, 3.6% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 28.0% of people as of 2024.
see 71.2% less spent on your healthcare
Timor-Leste spends $461 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Papua New Guinea spends $133 as of 2023.
have 91.9% fewer doctors per person
Timor-Leste has 7.5 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2020. Papua New Guinea has 0.6 as of 2023.
have 42.3% less access to essential health services
Timor-Leste scores 52 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Papua New Guinea scores 30 as of 2021.
Economy
make 2.3 times more money
Timor-Leste has a GDP per capita of $1,341 as of 2025, while in Papua New Guinea, the GDP per capita is $3,020 as of 2025.
be 61.6% more likely to be unemployed
In Timor-Leste, 1.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 2.6% as of 2025.
Life
be 25.4% more likely to be literate
In Timor-Leste, the literacy rate is 69.4% as of 2022. In Papua New Guinea, it is 87.0% as of 2022.
have 11.6% more children
In Timor-Leste, there are approximately 21.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Papua New Guinea, there are 24.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 79.5% less likely to have access to electricity
In Timor-Leste, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 100% 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 53.8% less likely to have internet access
In Timor-Leste, approximately 40.8% of the population has internet access as of 2022. In Papua New Guinea, about 18.8% do as of 2024.
be 39.0% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Timor-Leste, approximately 87% of people have access to drinking water (98% in urban areas, and 82% 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 85.1% less on education
Timor-Leste spends 5.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Papua New Guinea spends 0.8% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 70.1% less on healthcare
Timor-Leste spends 9.6% 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 7.3 times more coastline
Timor-Leste has a total of 706 km of coastline. In Papua New Guinea, that number is 5,152 km.
Safety
be 24.2% more likely to die in a road accident
In Timor-Leste, road accidents kill 12.0 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Papua New Guinea, they kill 14.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 23.0 times more home broadband
Timor-Leste has 0.0 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Papua New Guinea has 0.2 as of 2024.
live with 99.5% less strain on fresh water
Timor-Leste withdraws 28% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Papua New Guinea withdraws 0% as of 2022.
Environment
be 37.7% less likely to die from air pollution
In Timor-Leste, air pollution causes 61.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Papua New Guinea, it causes 38.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2022), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Timor-Leste vs. Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: At a glance
How big is Papua New Guinea compared to Timor-Leste? See an in-depth size comparison.