Papua New Guinea vs Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan is 6% larger than Papua New Guinea.
Papua New GuineaTurkmenistanPapua New Guinea moved onto Turkmenistan · Equal-area projection
0.94×
Papua New Guinea is 0.94× the area of Turkmenistan. Put the other way, Turkmenistan is 1.06× the size of Papua New Guinea.
 Papua New Guinea |  Turkmenistan | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaTurkmenistan: 1.06× the area | 462,840 km²#53 of 194 | 491,210 km²#51 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Landlocked |
| Land neighbours | 1 | 4 |
| People | ||
| PopulationPapua New Guinea: 1.41× the population | 10,762,817#92 of 194 · 2025 | 7,618,847#104 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityPapua New Guinea: 1.5× the density | 23 / km²#162 of 194 | 16 / km²#178 of 194 |
| Urban populationTurkmenistan: 2.98× the urban share | 16%#191 of 192 · 2025 | 47%#133 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility ratePapua New Guinea: 1.15× the births per woman | 3.07 per woman#53 of 192 · 2024 | 2.66 per woman#64 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthPapua New Guinea: 0.10 points higher | +1.75%#57 of 192 · 2025 | +1.65%#60 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth ratePapua New Guinea: 1.16× the birth rate | 24.3 per 1,000#54 of 192 · 2024 | 20.9 per 1,000#64 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death ratePapua New Guinea: 1.14× the death rate | 6.6 per 1,000#117 of 192 · 2024 | 5.8 per 1,000#146 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Papua New Guinea: 1.9 points higher | 33.1%#55 of 192 · 2025 | 31.2%#64 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Turkmenistan: 1.2 points higher | 3.6%#150 of 192 · 2025 | 4.8%#127 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationTurkmenistan: 1.7 per 1,000 higher | 0.0 per 1,000#73 of 192 · 2025 | +1.7 per 1,000#41 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadTurkmenistan: 4.0× the refugees for its size | 0.06 per 1,000#129 of 190 · 2025 | 0.24 per 1,000#95 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyTurkmenistan: 3.9 years longer | 66.3 years#158 of 192 · 2024 | 70.2 years#130 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityAbout the same infant mortality | 31.3 per 1,000 births#44 of 191 · 2024 | 30.4 per 1,000 births#46 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsTurkmenistan: 32.2× the doctors per person | 0.06 per 1,000#175 of 178 · 2023 | 1.93 per 1,000#83 of 178 · 2023 |
| University enrolment | — | 20.4%#117 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development IndexTurkmenistan: 0.188 higher | 0.576#157 of 190 · 2023 | 0.764#94 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaTurkmenistan: 2.19× the income per person | $2,890#134 of 185 · 2025 | $6,340#100 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPTurkmenistan: 1.53× the economy | $32.5B2025 | $49.83B2025 |
| Income group | Lower-middle income | Upper-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Turkmenistan: 4.33× the output per person | $5,215#150 of 184 · 2025 | $22,602#87 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthTurkmenistan: 0.7 points higher | +5.6%#38 of 187 · 2025 | +6.3%#26 of 187 · 2025 |
| Inflation | +4.4%#47 of 176 · 2025 | — |
| UnemploymentTurkmenistan: 1.65× the unemployment | 2.6%#154 of 178 · 2025 | 4.3%#109 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in agriculturePapua New Guinea: 15.0 points higher | 36.9% of jobs#43 of 178 · 2025 | 21.9% of jobs#80 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryTurkmenistan: 20.7 points higher | 7.9% of jobs#166 of 178 · 2025 | 28.6% of jobs#24 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesPapua New Guinea: 5.8 points higher | 55.3% of jobs#98 of 178 · 2025 | 49.5% of jobs#122 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentTurkmenistan: 5.0 points higher | -3.6% of GDP#181 of 184 · 2025 | 1.4% of GDP#112 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | — | 14.5% of GDP#151 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spending | 0.3% of GDP#149 of 155 · 2025 | — |
| Internet users | 19%#175 of 184 · 2024 | — |
| Mobile subscriptionsTurkmenistan: 2.26× the mobile subscriptions | 39 per 100#187 of 191 · 2024 | 88 per 100#144 of 191 · 2021 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaPapua New Guinea: 15× the forest share | 75% of land#9 of 192 · 2024 | 5% of land#164 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personTurkmenistan: 20.9× the CO₂ per person | 0.52 t a year#149 of 185 · 2024 | 10.9 t a year#16 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyPapua New Guinea: 54.5 points higher | 54.6%#43 of 190 · 2022 | 0.1%#183 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityTurkmenistan: 56.7 points higher | 43.3%#180 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Turkmenistan: 2.21× the air pollution | 14.1 µg/m³#124 of 191 · 2023 | 31.2 µg/m³#45 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landTurkmenistan: 0.6 points higher | 3.7% of land#173 of 191 · 2025 | 4.3% of land#168 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landTurkmenistan: 2.8 points higher | 0.7% of land#178 of 190 · 2024 | 3.5% of land#144 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressTurkmenistan: 1,352× the water stress | 0.1%#175 of 176 · 2022 | 135.2%#9 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationPapua New Guinea: 19.5× the rain and snow | 3,142 mm#3 of 180 · 2022 | 161 mm#168 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityTurkmenistan: 0.79 higher | −0.55#145 of 193 · 2025 | +0.24#83 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionPapua New Guinea: 0.53 higher | −0.78#140 of 193 · 2025 | −1.31#173 of 193 · 2025 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Constitutional monarchyparliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm | Presidential republicpresidential republic; authoritarian |
| Capital | Port Moresby | Ashgabat |
| Currency | Kina (PGK) | Turkmenistan new manat (TMT) |
| Official languages | English, Tok Pisin, Hiri Motu, Papua New Guinean Sign Language | Turkmen |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+10 · UTC+10 to UTC+11, 2 time zones | UTC+5 |
| Calling code | +675 | +993 |
| Region | Melanesia, Oceania | Central 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; Turkmenistan at 39° N is stretched to 1.66×. That difference is why Turkmenistan 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 Turkmenistan?
- No. Papua New Guinea is 6% smaller than Turkmenistan. Papua New Guinea covers 462,840 km² and Turkmenistan covers 491,210 km².
- How many times does Papua New Guinea fit into Turkmenistan?
- About 1.1 times: Turkmenistan has 1.06× the area of Papua New Guinea.
- Why do Papua New Guinea and Turkmenistan 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 Turkmenistan about 1.66×. That is why Turkmenistan 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 Turkmenistan?
- Papua New Guinea: 10,762,817 people against 7,618,847. Density: Papua New Guinea 23 per km², Turkmenistan 16 per km².
- Which is richer, Papua New Guinea or Turkmenistan?
- By gross national income per person, Turkmenistan: $6,340 against $2,890 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 2.19× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Papua New Guinea or Turkmenistan?
- In Turkmenistan: life expectancy at birth is 70.2 years, against 66.3 — 3.9 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Papua New Guinea and Turkmenistan have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Papua New Guinea: constitutional monarchy; Turkmenistan: presidential republic.