Papua New Guinea vs United States
United States is 21.2 times larger than Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea would fit into United States about 21 times.
Papua New GuineaUnited StatesPapua New Guinea moved onto United States · Equal-area projection
Remote islands and overseas parts not drawn; the figures include them
0.05×
Papua New Guinea is 0.05× the area of United States. Put the other way, United States is 21.2× the size of Papua New Guinea.
 Papua New Guinea |  United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaUnited States: 21.2× the area | 462,840 km²#53 of 194 | 9,826,675 km²#3 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 1 | 2 |
| People | ||
| PopulationUnited States: 31.8× the population | 10,762,817#92 of 194 · 2025 | 341,784,857#3 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityUnited States: 1.5× the density | 23 / km²#162 of 194 | 35 / km²#145 of 194 |
| Urban populationUnited States: 5.08× the urban share | 16%#191 of 192 · 2025 | 80%#41 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility ratePapua New Guinea: 1.88× the births per woman | 3.07 per woman#53 of 192 · 2024 | 1.63 per woman#121 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthPapua New Guinea: 1.23 points higher | +1.75%#57 of 192 · 2025 | +0.52%#125 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth ratePapua New Guinea: 2.29× the birth rate | 24.3 per 1,000#54 of 192 · 2024 | 10.6 per 1,000#132 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateUnited States: 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: 16.0 points higher | 33.1%#55 of 192 · 2025 | 17.1%#140 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65United States: 14.8 points higher | 3.6%#150 of 192 · 2025 | 18.4%#38 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationUnited States: 3.6 per 1,000 higher | 0.0 per 1,000#73 of 192 · 2025 | +3.6 per 1,000#26 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 expectancyUnited States: 12.6 years longer | 66.3 years#158 of 192 · 2024 | 78.9 years#46 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityPapua New Guinea: 5.69× the infant mortality | 31.3 per 1,000 births#44 of 191 · 2024 | 5.5 per 1,000 births#139 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsUnited States: 61.3× the doctors per person | 0.06 per 1,000#175 of 178 · 2023 | 3.68 per 1,000#39 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolment | — | 79.4%#27 of 145 · 2022 |
| Human Development IndexUnited States: 0.362 higher | 0.576#157 of 190 · 2023 | 0.938#16 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaUnited States: 30.7× the income per person | $2,890#134 of 185 · 2025 | $88,810#5 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPUnited States: 947× the economy | $32.5B2025 | $30.77T2025 |
| Income group | Lower-middle income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)United States: 17.3× the output per person | $5,215#150 of 184 · 2025 | $90,027#9 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthPapua New Guinea: 3.4 points higher | +5.6%#38 of 187 · 2025 | +2.2%#126 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationPapua New Guinea: 1.5 points higher | +4.4%#47 of 176 · 2025 | +2.9%#92 of 176 · 2024 |
| UnemploymentUnited States: 1.62× the unemployment | 2.6%#154 of 178 · 2025 | 4.2%#110 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | — | 1.1%#82 of 149 · 2024 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | — | 41.8#30 of 149 · 2024 |
| Jobs in agriculturePapua New Guinea: 35.4 points higher | 36.9% of jobs#43 of 178 · 2025 | 1.5% of jobs#164 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryUnited States: 11.0 points higher | 7.9% of jobs#166 of 178 · 2025 | 18.9% of jobs#90 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesUnited States: 24.3 points higher | 55.3% of jobs#98 of 178 · 2025 | 79.6% of jobs#16 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentUnited States: 4.6 points higher | -3.6% of GDP#181 of 184 · 2025 | 1.0% of GDP#126 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | — | 11.0% of GDP#159 of 168 · 2024 |
| Military spendingUnited States: 8.91× the military spending | 0.3% of GDP#149 of 155 · 2025 | 3.1% of GDP#27 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersUnited States: 5.04× the share online | 19%#175 of 184 · 2024 | 95%#27 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsUnited States: 2.9× the mobile subscriptions | 39 per 100#187 of 191 · 2024 | 113 per 100#102 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaPapua New Guinea: 2.22× the forest share | 75% of land#9 of 192 · 2024 | 34% of land#92 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personUnited States: 26.2× the CO₂ per person | 0.52 t a year#149 of 185 · 2024 | 13.6 t a year#13 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyPapua New Guinea: 43.7 points higher | 54.6%#43 of 190 · 2022 | 10.9%#139 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityUnited States: 56.7 points higher | 43.3%#180 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Papua New Guinea: 2.01× the air pollution | 14.1 µg/m³#124 of 191 · 2023 | 7.0 µg/m³#173 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landUnited States: 9.2 points higher | 3.7% of land#173 of 191 · 2025 | 12.9% of land#131 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landUnited States: 15.9 points higher | 0.7% of land#178 of 190 · 2024 | 16.6% of land#64 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressUnited States: 282× the water stress | 0.1%#175 of 176 · 2022 | 28.2%#57 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationPapua New Guinea: 4.39× the rain and snow | 3,142 mm#3 of 180 · 2022 | 715 mm#111 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityUnited States: 0.25 higher | −0.55#145 of 193 · 2025 | −0.30#122 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionUnited States: 1.65 higher | −0.78#140 of 193 · 2025 | +0.87#39 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | — | 5.8 per 100,000#46 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Constitutional monarchyparliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm | Presidential republicconstitutional federal republic |
| Member of | — | NATO, OECD, G7, G20 |
| Capital | Port Moresby | Washington D.C. |
| Currency | Kina (PGK) | United States dollar (USD) |
| Official languages | English, Tok Pisin, Hiri Motu, Papua New Guinean Sign Language | English |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+10 · UTC+10 to UTC+11, 2 time zones | UTC−5, summer time UTC−4 · UTC−10 to UTC−5, 6 time zones |
| Calling code | +675 | +1 |
| Region | Melanesia, Oceania | Northern America, North America |
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; United States at 45° N is stretched to 1.98×. That difference is why United States 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 United States?
- No. Papua New Guinea is 21.2 times smaller than United States. Papua New Guinea covers 462,840 km² and United States covers 9,826,675 km².
- How many times does Papua New Guinea fit into United States?
- About 21 times: United States has 21.2× the area of Papua New Guinea.
- Why do Papua New Guinea and United States 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 United States about 1.98×. That is why United States 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 United States?
- United States: 341,784,857 people against 10,762,817. Density: Papua New Guinea 23 per km², United States 35 per km².
- Which is richer, Papua New Guinea or United States?
- By gross national income per person, United States: $88,810 against $2,890 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 30.7× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Papua New Guinea or United States?
- In United States: life expectancy at birth is 78.9 years, against 66.3 — 12.6 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Papua New Guinea and United States have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Papua New Guinea: constitutional monarchy; United States: presidential republic.