Laos vs Papua New Guinea

Laos and Papua New Guinea compared on 10 key figures from official sources. Each value is the latest one published for that country, so the year is shown with it.

• Papua New Guinea has about 1.4 times as many people as Laos: 10.8 million against 7.9 million in 2025.
• GDP per person in Papua New Guinea ($3,020) is 30% higher than in Laos ($2,325) in 2025.
• The economy grew faster in Papua New Guinea (5.6%) than in Laos (4.5%), a difference of 1.1 percentage points in 2025.
• Consumer prices rose faster in Laos (7.7%) than in Papua New Guinea (4.4%), a difference of 3.3 percentage points in 2025.
• The unemployment rate was higher in Papua New Guinea (2.6%) than in Laos (1.2%), a difference of 1.4 percentage points in 2025.
• A baby born in Laos can expect to live 2.9 years longer than one born in Papua New Guinea: 69.2 years against 66.3 years in 2024.
• The population of Laos is older: half of its people are over 24.3 years, against 22.3 years in Papua New Guinea in 2023.
• A larger share of people used the internet in Laos (65.6%) than in Papua New Guinea (18.8%), a difference of 46.8 percentage points in 2024.
• CO2 emissions per person in Laos (3.4 tonnes) are about 6.5 times as high as in Papua New Guinea (0.52 tonnes) in 2024.
• Forest covers a larger share of the land in Papua New Guinea (75.2%) than in Laos (56.6%), a difference of 18.6 percentage points in 2024.