Papua New Guinea vs Thailand
Thailand is 11% larger than Papua New Guinea.
Papua New GuineaThailandPapua New Guinea moved onto Thailand · Equal-area projection
0.9×
Papua New Guinea is 0.9× the area of Thailand. Put the other way, Thailand is 1.11× the size of Papua New Guinea.
 Papua New Guinea |  Thailand | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaThailand: 1.11× the area | 462,840 km²#53 of 194 | 513,120 km²#49 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 1 | 4 |
| People | ||
| PopulationThailand: 6.65× the population | 10,762,817#92 of 194 · 2025 | 71,619,863#20 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityThailand: 6.0× the density | 23 / km²#162 of 194 | 140 / km²#64 of 194 |
| Urban populationThailand: 3.97× the urban share | 16%#191 of 192 · 2025 | 63%#99 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility ratePapua New Guinea: 2.56× the births per woman | 3.07 per woman#53 of 192 · 2024 | 1.20 per woman#178 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthPapua New Guinea: 1.82 points higher | +1.75%#57 of 192 · 2025 | −0.07%#161 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth ratePapua New Guinea: 3.0× the birth rate | 24.3 per 1,000#54 of 192 · 2024 | 8.1 per 1,000#169 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateThailand: 1.36× the death rate | 6.6 per 1,000#117 of 192 · 2024 | 9.0 per 1,000#52 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Papua New Guinea: 18.7 points higher | 33.1%#55 of 192 · 2025 | 14.4%#171 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Thailand: 12.4 points higher | 3.6%#150 of 192 · 2025 | 16.0%#51 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationThailand: 0.4 per 1,000 higher | 0.0 per 1,000#73 of 192 · 2025 | +0.4 per 1,000#60 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroad | 0.06 per 1,000#129 of 190 · 2025 | 0.00 per 1,000#174 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyThailand: 10.3 years longer | 66.3 years#158 of 192 · 2024 | 76.6 years#70 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityPapua New Guinea: 4.06× the infant mortality | 31.3 per 1,000 births#44 of 191 · 2024 | 7.7 per 1,000 births#126 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsThailand: 9.0× the doctors per person | 0.06 per 1,000#175 of 178 · 2023 | 0.54 per 1,000#126 of 178 · 2021 |
| University enrolment | — | 49.1%#76 of 145 · 2025 |
| Human Development IndexThailand: 0.222 higher | 0.576#157 of 190 · 2023 | 0.798#75 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaThailand: 2.66× the income per person | $2,890#134 of 185 · 2025 | $7,690#91 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPThailand: 17.8× the economy | $32.5B2025 | $577.01B2025 |
| Income group | Lower-middle income | Upper-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Thailand: 5.03× the output per person | $5,215#150 of 184 · 2025 | $26,250#75 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthPapua New Guinea: 3.2 points higher | +5.6%#38 of 187 · 2025 | +2.4%#121 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationPapua New Guinea: 4.5 points higher | +4.4%#47 of 176 · 2025 | −0.1%#164 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentPapua New Guinea: 3.25× the unemployment | 2.6%#154 of 178 · 2025 | 0.8%#175 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | — | 0.0%#136 of 149 · 2024 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | — | 33.3#93 of 149 · 2024 |
| Jobs in agriculturePapua New Guinea: 8.3 points higher | 36.9% of jobs#43 of 178 · 2025 | 28.6% of jobs#64 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryThailand: 14.3 points higher | 7.9% of jobs#166 of 178 · 2025 | 22.2% of jobs#63 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesPapua New Guinea: 6.1 points higher | 55.3% of jobs#98 of 178 · 2025 | 49.2% of jobs#125 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentThailand: 6.8 points higher | -3.6% of GDP#181 of 184 · 2025 | 3.2% of GDP#61 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | — | 71.1% of GDP#23 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingThailand: 2.97× the military spending | 0.3% of GDP#149 of 155 · 2025 | 1.0% of GDP#111 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersThailand: 4.84× the share online | 19%#175 of 184 · 2024 | 91%#51 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsThailand: 4.13× the mobile subscriptions | 39 per 100#187 of 191 · 2024 | 161 per 100#18 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaPapua New Guinea: 1.94× the forest share | 75% of land#9 of 192 · 2024 | 39% of land#71 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personThailand: 7.62× the CO₂ per person | 0.52 t a year#149 of 185 · 2024 | 3.96 t a year#64 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyPapua New Guinea: 35.6 points higher | 54.6%#43 of 190 · 2022 | 19.0%#110 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityThailand: 56.7 points higher | 43.3%#180 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Thailand: 1.67× the air pollution | 14.1 µg/m³#124 of 191 · 2023 | 23.5 µg/m³#66 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landThailand: 14.7 points higher | 3.7% of land#173 of 191 · 2025 | 18.4% of land#91 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landThailand: 30.1 points higher | 0.7% of land#178 of 190 · 2024 | 30.8% of land#27 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressThailand: 230× the water stress | 0.1%#175 of 176 · 2022 | 23.0%#63 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationPapua New Guinea: 1.94× the rain and snow | 3,142 mm#3 of 180 · 2022 | 1,622 mm#50 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityPapua New Guinea: 0.01 higher | −0.55#145 of 193 · 2025 | −0.56#146 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionThailand: 0.28 higher | −0.78#140 of 193 · 2025 | −0.50#118 of 193 · 2025 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Constitutional monarchyparliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm | Constitutional monarchy |
| Member of | — | ASEAN |
| Capital | Port Moresby | Bangkok |
| Currency | Kina (PGK) | Thai baht (THB) |
| Official languages | English, Tok Pisin, Hiri Motu, Papua New Guinean Sign Language | Thai |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the left |
| Time zone | UTC+10 · UTC+10 to UTC+11, 2 time zones | UTC+7 |
| Calling code | +675 | +66 |
| Region | Melanesia, Oceania | South-Eastern Asia, Asia |
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; Thailand at 15° N is stretched to 1.07×. 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 Papua New Guinea bigger than Thailand?
- No. Papua New Guinea is 10% smaller than Thailand. Papua New Guinea covers 462,840 km² and Thailand covers 513,120 km².
- How many times does Papua New Guinea fit into Thailand?
- About 1.1 times: Thailand has 1.11× the area of Papua New Guinea.
- Why do Papua New Guinea and Thailand 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 Thailand about 1.07×. 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, Papua New Guinea or Thailand?
- Thailand: 71,619,863 people against 10,762,817. Density: Papua New Guinea 23 per km², Thailand 140 per km².
- Which is richer, Papua New Guinea or Thailand?
- By gross national income per person, Thailand: $7,690 against $2,890 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 2.66× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Papua New Guinea or Thailand?
- In Thailand: life expectancy at birth is 76.6 years, against 66.3 — 10.3 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Papua New Guinea and Thailand have?
- The same form of government, by constitution: constitutional monarchy (CIA World Factbook).