Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Papua New Guinea fits inside Australia 17 times.
Australia: 7,741,220 km² (2023) · Papua New Guinea: 462,840 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
Australia’s coastline is 5 times as long as Papua New Guinea’s.
Australia: 25,760 km (2026 edition) · Papua New Guinea: 5,152 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Papua New Guinea’s highest peak towers 2,281 m above Australia’s.
Australia: 2,228 m (2026 edition) · Papua New Guinea: 4,509 m (2026 edition)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Australia has 2.6 times as many people as Papua New Guinea.
Australia: 27.6 million (2025) · Papua New Guinea: 10.8 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Papua New Guinea is 6.6 times as densely populated as Australia.
Australia: 4 per km² (2025) · Papua New Guinea: 24 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Australia are 15.7 cm taller than in Papua New Guinea.
Australia: 178.8 cm (2019) · Papua New Guinea: 163.1 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in Australia are 7.8 cm taller than in Papua New Guinea.
Australia: 164.7 cm (2019) · Papua New Guinea: 156.9 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Australia is 15 years older than in Papua New Guinea.
Australia: 37.8 years (2023) · Papua New Guinea: 22.3 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Papua New Guinea have 1.6 more children on average than in Australia.
Australia: 1.48 children per woman (2024) · Papua New Guinea: 3.07 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
18% of people in Australia are 65 or older, versus 3.6% in Papua New Guinea.
Australia: 18.1% (2025) · Papua New Guinea: 3.6% (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Australia has produced 3.6 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Papua New Guinea 0.0.
Australia: 3.6 (2025) · Papua New Guinea: 0 (2025)
How many official languages?
Papua New Guinea has 3 official languages, Australia 1.
Australia: 1 (2026) · Papua New Guinea: 3 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Australia’s economy is 55 times the size of Papua New Guinea’s.
Australia: $1.8 trillion (2025) · Papua New Guinea: $32.5 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Australia produces 14 times as much per person as Papua New Guinea.
Australia: Int$71,934 (2025) · Papua New Guinea: Int$5,215 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Australia: 33.8 (2020) · Papua New Guinea: no data
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 4.1% in Australia, versus 2.6% in Papua New Guinea.
Australia: 4.1% (2025) · Papua New Guinea: 2.6% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Australia spends 1.9% of its GDP on the military, Papua New Guinea 0.3%.
Australia: 1.9% (2024) · Papua New Guinea: 0.3% (2024)
How expensive is it?
Australia’s price level (US = 100) is 1.6× Papua New Guinea’s.
Australia: 91% (2025) · Papua New Guinea: 58% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Australia spends 82 times as much on health per person as Papua New Guinea.
Australia: $6,980 (2023) · Papua New Guinea: $85 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in Australia live 17 years longer than in Papua New Guinea.
Australia: 83.1 years (2024) · Papua New Guinea: 66.3 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Papua New Guinea is 10 times as likely to die before turning one as in Australia.
Australia: 3.1 per 1,000 (2024) · Papua New Guinea: 31.3 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Australia has 67 times as many doctors per person as Papua New Guinea.
Australia: 4.1 per 1,000 (2022) · Papua New Guinea: 0.1 per 1,000 (2023)
How common is obesity?
32% of adults in Australia are obese, versus 28% in Papua New Guinea.
Australia: 32.4% (2024) · Papua New Guinea: 27.6% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
39% of adults in Papua New Guinea smoke, versus 12% in Australia.
Australia: 11.6% (2024) · Papua New Guinea: 39.3% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
Australia: 6.92 (2025) · Papua New Guinea: no data
How much do people drink?
Adults in Australia drink 11 times as much alcohol as in Papua New Guinea.
Australia: 10.5 litres (2023) · Papua New Guinea: 1 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Australia has 2 times as much meat per person as Papua New Guinea.
Australia: 116.8 kg (2023) · Papua New Guinea: 58.5 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Australia has 1,385 kcal more food per person per day than Papua New Guinea.
Australia: 3,562 kcal (2023) · Papua New Guinea: 2,177 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Australia: 1,611 hours (2023) · Papua New Guinea: no data
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Australia went to school 7.9 years longer than in Papua New Guinea.
Australia: 12.9 years (2023) · Papua New Guinea: 5 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Australia: no data · Papua New Guinea: 0.01 (2022)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
96% of people in Australia are online, versus 19% in Papua New Guinea.
Australia: 96% (2024) · Papua New Guinea: 19% (2024)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in Australia have electricity, versus 43% in Papua New Guinea.
Australia: 100% (2024) · Papua New Guinea: 43.3% (2024)
How many live in cities?
88% of people in Australia live in cities, versus 16% in Papua New Guinea.
Australia: 88% (2025) · Papua New Guinea: 16% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Australia has 113 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Papua New Guinea 39.
Australia: 113 (2024) · Papua New Guinea: 39 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Australia: 32,606 km (2022) · Papua New Guinea: no data
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Australia fly 17 times as many passengers per resident as those from Papua New Guinea.
Australia: 2.5 (2023) · Papua New Guinea: 0.14 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 79% of Papua New Guinea, but only 17% of Australia.
Australia: 17.4% (2023) · Papua New Guinea: 79% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Australia emits 18 times as much CO₂ as someone in Papua New Guinea.
Australia: 14.5 t (2024) · Papua New Guinea: 0.8 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
39% of Australia’s electricity is renewable, versus 24% in Papua New Guinea.
Australia: 38.6% (2025) · Papua New Guinea: 23.7% (2024)
How clean is the air?
The air in Papua New Guinea carries 2 times as much fine dust as in Australia.
Australia: 5.4 µg/m³ (2024) · Papua New Guinea: 11 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
Australia: 0.9 per 100k (2023) · Papua New Guinea: no data
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Papua New Guinea are 3.3 times as deadly as in Australia.
Australia: 4.5 per 100k (2021) · Papua New Guinea: 14.9 per 100k (2021)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Papua New Guinea is on average 1.5 °C warmer than Australia.
Australia: 22.5°C (2016–2025 avg) · Papua New Guinea: 24°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Papua New Guinea gets 9.6 times as much rain as Australia.
Australia: 447 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Papua New Guinea: 4,281 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is Australia bigger than Papua New Guinea?
Australia is larger. Papua New Guinea fits inside Australia 17 times.
Which has more people, Australia or Papua New Guinea?
Australia has 2.6 times as many people as Papua New Guinea (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Australia or Papua New Guinea?
People in Australia live 17 years longer than in Papua New Guinea. Life expectancy at birth is 83.1 years in Australia and 66.3 in Papua New Guinea.
Are people taller in Australia or Papua New Guinea?
Men in Australia are 15.7 cm taller than in Papua New Guinea (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
