Papua New Guinea vs Sweden
Papua New Guinea is 3% larger than Sweden.
Papua New GuineaSwedenPapua New Guinea moved onto Sweden · Equal-area projection
1.03×
Papua New Guinea is 1.03× the area of Sweden.
 Papua New Guinea |  Sweden | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaPapua New Guinea: 1.03× the area | 462,840 km²#53 of 194 | 447,425 km²#56 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 1 | 2 |
| People | ||
| PopulationAbout the same population | 10,762,817#92 of 194 · 2025 | 10,596,620#93 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityAbout the same density | 23 / km²#162 of 194 | 24 / km²#161 of 194 |
| Urban populationSweden: 5.64× the urban share | 16%#191 of 192 · 2025 | 89%#22 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility ratePapua New Guinea: 2.15× the births per woman | 3.07 per woman#53 of 192 · 2024 | 1.43 per woman#151 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthPapua New Guinea: 1.50 points higher | +1.75%#57 of 192 · 2025 | +0.25%#147 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth ratePapua New Guinea: 2.61× the birth rate | 24.3 per 1,000#54 of 192 · 2024 | 9.3 per 1,000#153 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateSweden: 1.3× the death rate | 6.6 per 1,000#117 of 192 · 2024 | 8.6 per 1,000#62 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Papua New Guinea: 16.4 points higher | 33.1%#55 of 192 · 2025 | 16.7%#144 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Sweden: 17.3 points higher | 3.6%#150 of 192 · 2025 | 20.9%#24 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSweden: 4.4 per 1,000 higher | 0.0 per 1,000#73 of 192 · 2025 | +4.4 per 1,000#23 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadPapua New Guinea: 6.0× the refugees for its size | 0.06 per 1,000#129 of 190 · 2025 | 0.01 per 1,000#155 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancySweden: 17.8 years longer | 66.3 years#158 of 192 · 2024 | 84.1 years#7 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityPapua New Guinea: 15.7× the infant mortality | 31.3 per 1,000 births#44 of 191 · 2024 | 2.0 per 1,000 births#182 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsSweden: 73.5× the doctors per person | 0.06 per 1,000#175 of 178 · 2023 | 4.41 per 1,000#20 of 178 · 2021 |
| University enrolment | — | 84.0%#17 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development IndexSweden: 0.383 higher | 0.576#157 of 190 · 2023 | 0.959#5 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaSweden: 21.8× the income per person | $2,890#134 of 185 · 2025 | $63,010#12 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPSweden: 20.6× the economy | $32.5B2025 | $669B2025 |
| Income group | Lower-middle income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Sweden: 13.9× the output per person | $5,215#150 of 184 · 2025 | $72,529#20 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthPapua New Guinea: 4.1 points higher | +5.6%#38 of 187 · 2025 | +1.5%#144 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationPapua New Guinea: 3.7 points higher | +4.4%#47 of 176 · 2025 | +0.7%#149 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentSweden: 3.35× the unemployment | 2.6%#154 of 178 · 2025 | 8.7%#44 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | — | 0.8%#92 of 149 · 2023 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | — | 29.3#125 of 149 · 2023 |
| Jobs in agriculturePapua New Guinea: 35.1 points higher | 36.9% of jobs#43 of 178 · 2025 | 1.8% of jobs#160 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industrySweden: 8.9 points higher | 7.9% of jobs#166 of 178 · 2025 | 16.8% of jobs#118 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesSweden: 26.1 points higher | 55.3% of jobs#98 of 178 · 2025 | 81.4% of jobs#10 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentSweden: 6.2 points higher | -3.6% of GDP#181 of 184 · 2025 | 2.6% of GDP#73 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | — | 53.2% of GDP#44 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingSweden: 7.06× the military spending | 0.3% of GDP#149 of 155 · 2025 | 2.5% of GDP#42 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersSweden: 5.1× the share online | 19%#175 of 184 · 2024 | 96%#20 of 184 · 2025 |
| Mobile subscriptionsSweden: 3.62× the mobile subscriptions | 39 per 100#187 of 191 · 2024 | 141 per 100#34 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaPapua New Guinea: 1.1× the forest share | 75% of land#9 of 192 · 2024 | 69% of land#16 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personSweden: 6.87× the CO₂ per person | 0.52 t a year#149 of 185 · 2024 | 3.57 t a year#73 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energySweden: 3.3 points higher | 54.6%#43 of 190 · 2022 | 57.9%#40 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricitySweden: 56.7 points higher | 43.3%#180 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Papua New Guinea: 2.66× the air pollution | 14.1 µg/m³#124 of 191 · 2023 | 5.3 µg/m³#181 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landSweden: 12.1 points higher | 3.7% of land#173 of 191 · 2025 | 15.8% of land#110 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landSweden: 5.5 points higher | 0.7% of land#178 of 190 · 2024 | 6.2% of land#121 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSweden: 36× the water stress | 0.1%#175 of 176 · 2022 | 3.6%#133 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationPapua New Guinea: 5.04× the rain and snow | 3,142 mm#3 of 180 · 2022 | 624 mm#127 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilitySweden: 1.40 higher | −0.55#145 of 193 · 2025 | +0.85#46 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionSweden: 2.74 higher | −0.78#140 of 193 · 2025 | +1.96#5 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | — | 1.1 per 100,000#99 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Constitutional monarchyparliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm | Constitutional monarchyparliamentary constitutional monarchy |
| Member of | — | EU, NATO, Schengen Area, OECD |
| Capital | Port Moresby | Stockholm |
| Currency | Kina (PGK) | Swedish krona (SEK) |
| Official languages | English, Tok Pisin, Hiri Motu, Papua New Guinean Sign Language | Swedish, Finnish, Yiddish, Romani, Sámi, Meänkieli |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+10 · UTC+10 to UTC+11, 2 time zones | UTC+1, summer time UTC+2 |
| Calling code | +675 | +46 |
| Region | Melanesia, Oceania | Northern Europe, Europe |
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. Papua New Guinea sits at about 6° S and is stretched to 1.01× its true area; Sweden at 62° N is stretched to 4.65×. That difference is why Sweden looks so much bigger than it is next to Papua New Guinea. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Papua New Guinea bigger than Sweden?
- Yes. Papua New Guinea is 3% larger than Sweden. Papua New Guinea covers 462,840 km² and Sweden covers 447,425 km².
- How many times does Sweden fit into Papua New Guinea?
- About 1.0 times: Papua New Guinea has 1.03× the area of Sweden.
- Why do Papua New Guinea and Sweden look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Papua New Guinea is drawn about 1.01× its true area there and Sweden about 4.65×. That is why Sweden looks so much bigger than it really is next to Papua New Guinea. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Papua New Guinea or Sweden?
- Papua New Guinea: 10,762,817 people against 10,596,620. Density: Papua New Guinea 23 per km², Sweden 24 per km².
- Which is richer, Papua New Guinea or Sweden?
- By gross national income per person, Sweden: $63,010 against $2,890 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 21.8× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Papua New Guinea or Sweden?
- In Sweden: life expectancy at birth is 84.1 years, against 66.3 — 17.8 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Papua New Guinea and Sweden have?
- The same form of government, by constitution: constitutional monarchy (CIA World Factbook).