Cameroon vs Papua New Guinea
Cameroon and Papua New Guinea are almost exactly the same size.
CameroonPapua New GuineaCameroon moved onto Papua New Guinea · Equal-area projection
1.03×
Cameroon is 1.03× the area of Papua New Guinea.
 Cameroon |  Papua New Guinea | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaAbout the same area | 475,442 km²#52 of 194 | 462,840 km²#53 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 6 | 1 |
| People | ||
| PopulationCameroon: 2.78× the population | 29,879,337#51 of 194 · 2025 | 10,762,817#92 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityCameroon: 2.7× the density | 63 / km²#122 of 194 | 23 / km²#162 of 194 |
| Urban populationCameroon: 3.53× the urban share | 56%#121 of 192 · 2025 | 16%#191 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateCameroon: 1.39× the births per woman | 4.26 per woman#16 of 192 · 2024 | 3.07 per woman#53 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthCameroon: 0.81 points higher | +2.56%#22 of 192 · 2025 | +1.75%#57 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateCameroon: 1.37× the birth rate | 33.3 per 1,000#15 of 192 · 2024 | 24.3 per 1,000#54 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateCameroon: 1.06× the death rate | 7.0 per 1,000#102 of 192 · 2024 | 6.6 per 1,000#117 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Cameroon: 8.0 points higher | 41.1%#16 of 192 · 2025 | 33.1%#55 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Papua New Guinea: 0.8 points higher | 2.8%#175 of 192 · 2025 | 3.6%#150 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationPapua New Guinea: 0.5 per 1,000 higher | −0.5 per 1,000#100 of 192 · 2025 | 0.0 per 1,000#73 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadCameroon: 78.3× the refugees for its size | 4.70 per 1,000#28 of 190 · 2025 | 0.06 per 1,000#129 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyPapua New Guinea: 2.3 years longer | 64.0 years#169 of 192 · 2024 | 66.3 years#158 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityCameroon: 1.28× the infant mortality | 40.2 per 1,000 births#26 of 191 · 2024 | 31.3 per 1,000 births#44 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsCameroon: 2.33× the doctors per person | 0.14 per 1,000#161 of 178 · 2022 | 0.06 per 1,000#175 of 178 · 2023 |
| University enrolment | 16.7%#118 of 145 · 2024 | — |
| Human Development IndexCameroon: 0.012 higher | 0.588#152 of 190 · 2023 | 0.576#157 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaPapua New Guinea: 1.55× the income per person | $1,860#152 of 185 · 2025 | $2,890#134 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPCameroon: 1.81× the economy | $58.93B2025 | $32.5B2025 |
| Income group | Lower-middle income | Lower-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Cameroon: 1.11× the output per person | $5,788#148 of 184 · 2025 | $5,215#150 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthPapua New Guinea: 2.4 points higher | +3.2%#93 of 187 · 2025 | +5.6%#38 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationPapua New Guinea: 1.0 points higher | +3.4%#78 of 176 · 2025 | +4.4%#47 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentCameroon: 1.38× the unemployment | 3.6%#119 of 178 · 2025 | 2.6%#154 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | 26.7%#29 of 149 · 2021 | — |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 42.2#29 of 149 · 2021 | — |
| Jobs in agricultureCameroon: 5.0 points higher | 41.9% of jobs#37 of 178 · 2025 | 36.9% of jobs#43 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryCameroon: 6.7 points higher | 14.6% of jobs#140 of 178 · 2025 | 7.9% of jobs#166 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesPapua New Guinea: 11.8 points higher | 43.5% of jobs#141 of 178 · 2025 | 55.3% of jobs#98 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentCameroon: 4.6 points higher | 1.0% of GDP#126 of 184 · 2025 | -3.6% of GDP#181 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | 13.1% of GDP#155 of 168 · 2025 | — |
| Military spendingCameroon: 3.03× the military spending | 1.1% of GDP#109 of 155 · 2025 | 0.3% of GDP#149 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersCameroon: 2.46× the share online | 46%#147 of 184 · 2024 | 19%#175 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsCameroon: 2.77× the mobile subscriptions | 108 per 100#114 of 191 · 2024 | 39 per 100#187 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaPapua New Guinea: 1.85× the forest share | 41% of land#66 of 192 · 2024 | 75% of land#9 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personPapua New Guinea: 1.49× the CO₂ per person | 0.35 t a year#157 of 185 · 2024 | 0.52 t a year#149 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyCameroon: 24.6 points higher | 79.2%#19 of 190 · 2021 | 54.6%#43 of 190 · 2022 |
| Access to electricityCameroon: 28.7 points higher | 72.0%#153 of 192 · 2024 | 43.3%#180 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Cameroon: 3.94× the air pollution | 55.6 µg/m³#10 of 191 · 2023 | 14.1 µg/m³#124 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landCameroon: 7.3 points higher | 11.0% of land#140 of 191 · 2025 | 3.7% of land#173 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landCameroon: 12.4 points higher | 13.1% of land#79 of 190 · 2024 | 0.7% of land#178 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressCameroon: 16× the water stress | 1.6%#153 of 176 · 2022 | 0.1%#175 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationPapua New Guinea: 1.96× the rain and snow | 1,604 mm#51 of 180 · 2022 | 3,142 mm#3 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityPapua New Guinea: 1.14 higher | −1.69#176 of 193 · 2025 | −0.55#145 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionPapua New Guinea: 0.42 higher | −1.20#166 of 193 · 2025 | −0.78#140 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | 6.8 per 100,000#38 of 146 · 2022 | — |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republic | Constitutional monarchyparliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm |
| Capital | Yaounde | Port Moresby |
| Currency | Central African CFA franc (XAF) | Kina (PGK) |
| Official languages | English, French | English, Tok Pisin, Hiri Motu, Papua New Guinean Sign Language |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the left |
| Time zone | UTC+1 | UTC+10 · UTC+10 to UTC+11, 2 time zones |
| Calling code | +237 | +675 |
| Region | Middle Africa, Africa | Melanesia, Oceania |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Cameroon sits at about 6° N and is stretched to 1.01× its true area; Papua New Guinea at 6° S is stretched to 1.01×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Cameroon bigger than Papua New Guinea?
- Yes. Cameroon and Papua New Guinea are almost exactly the same size. Cameroon covers 475,442 km² and Papua New Guinea covers 462,840 km².
- How many times does Papua New Guinea fit into Cameroon?
- About 1.0 times: Cameroon has 1.03× the area of Papua New Guinea.
- Why do Cameroon and Papua New Guinea look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Cameroon is drawn about 1.01× its true area there and Papua New Guinea about 1.01×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Cameroon or Papua New Guinea?
- Cameroon: 29,879,337 people against 10,762,817. Density: Cameroon 63 per km², Papua New Guinea 23 per km².
- Which is richer, Cameroon or Papua New Guinea?
- By gross national income per person, Papua New Guinea: $2,890 against $1,860 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.55× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Cameroon or Papua New Guinea?
- In Papua New Guinea: life expectancy at birth is 66.3 years, against 64.0 — 2.3 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Cameroon and Papua New Guinea have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Cameroon: presidential republic; Papua New Guinea: constitutional monarchy.