Perhaps, it’s difficult to argue that it’s better to live in a rich country than in a poor one. As of 2024 year data, the basic indicator of the economic development - GDP by purchasing power parity per capita - was:

● In Papua New Guinea - 4,16 thousand dollars,

● In India - 11,1 thousand dollars.

Thus, according to the gross production per one person, India leaves Papua New Guinea behind by %.

Where do they earn more?

Let’s compare the data about minimum labor level pay in both countries.

● The minimum wage in Papua New Guinea set at 140 kina (approximately US$ 43);

● The minimum wage in India varies from 160 to 423 rupees per day (US$ 53-141 per month for a five-day week).

Where are the prices lower?     up↑

The average GDP gap gets worse by the difference of the life price. According to the statistics of the data base Numbeo, at the beginning of 2025 year, Papua New Guinea is a more expensive country.

The price level in Papua New Guinea for basic goods and services (including food, consumer goods, transport, mobile connection and utility bills) is on average % higher than in India. In other words, at the current exchange rate 1000 dollars in India will have the same purchasing power as dollars in Papua New Guinea.

Where is the crime rate lower?     up↑

One can evaluate the general level of criminal situation with the help of “crime rate”. This indicator is calculated by the portal Numbeo, which specializes in rating scores of different life aspects in all the world regions and shows how safe it is to live in the country from a risk of becoming a victim of lawbreakers (the higher the crime rate is, the higher the risk is). As of 2025 year, the crime rate is:

● in Papua New Guinea - 80.3;

● in India - 44.3

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To estimate the population law-abidingness and law enforcement activity, let’s pay attention to the statics of premeditated murders and to the data about the number of Papuans and Indians, being imprisoned.

Yearly out of 100 thousand people, murders kill:

● in Papua New Guinea - 7.85 people;

● in India - 2.94 people

As of 2023 year, in prisons and criminal camps the number of inmates is:

● in Papua New Guinea - 5.09 thousand, or 62 prisoners per 100,000 people;

● in India - 488.5 thousand, or 35 prisoners per 100,000 people

So, if we consider the risks connected with the crimes, the safer country is definitely India.

Where do people get sick less and live longer?     up↑

The life quality is greatly defined by how long the people live. According to the latest data, the life expectancy is:

According to the data of the World Health Organization (WHO), the spread of HIV-infections is:

● in Papua New Guinea - 72000 of the infected (0.70% of population)

● in India - 2500000 of the infected (0.17% of population)

The number of people infected by tuberculosis is:

● in Papua New Guinea - 38000 people (432 per 100,000 people);

● in India - 2640000 people (193 per 100,000 people)

The cancer situation is the following:

● in Papua New Guinea per 100 000 people yearly one finds 199.4 new cases of the disease and registers 130.1 lethal cases;

● in India per 100k people every year one fixes 97.1 of newly infected people and 63.1 lethal cases from cancer.

We should not judge about the quality of medicine only by the number of cancer cases, we should look at the ratio between the number of new cases and the number of cancer deaths (the lower it is, the higher the rate of the cured ones is; consequently, the better the health care system works). In the countries under consideration, we see the following ratio between the newly-infected and the dead:

● in Papua New Guinea - ;

● in India -

Where do people drink and smoke less?     up↑

It’s considered that It’s more comfortable to live in that country where people are less exposed to bad habits. The following WHO data show that the situation with the alcohol consumption (pure alcohol) runs as this:

● in Papua New Guinea - 1.4 liters per every person older 15 years old (about 2.3 litres per every man and 0.5 litres per every woman);

● in India - 5.5 liters per every person older 15 years old (about 9 litres per every man and 1.9 litres per every woman)

How noticeable are the differences in alcoholic beverages of the Papuans and the Indians?

● in Papua New Guinea, in terms of pure alcohol, beer accounts for 51.3% % of consumption, wine accounts for 0.9% of consumption, strong drinks (vodka and cognac, etc.) account for 47.7%;

● in India beer accounts for 6.8% from the total amount of alcohol consumption, strong drinks - 93.1%

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Addiction to smoking in the countries under consideration is seen like that:

● in Papua New Guinea there are 39,6 % of active smokers among the adults (54,3 % of adult males and 24,9 % of adult females smoke there);

● in India 24,3 % of adult population smoke on a constant base (37,8 % of men and 10,8 % of women)

By unit tobacco consumption per capita the leader is Papua New Guinea - here on average every adult smokes 1689 cigarettes per year, against 89 cigarettes per capita in India.

Where do people have more reasons to be satisfied with their lives?     up↑

Perhaps, it’s very difficult to make up an indicator, with the help of which one can define how much the people of this or that country are satisfied by their lives. Nevertheless, there have been a couple of researches.

There is an overall index, is used by UNO - Human Development Index (HDI). This index considers various reasons why citizens feel comfortable. According to 2022 data, HDI in Papua New Guinea is 0.558; in India - 0.633.

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To indirectly evaluate how much the people are satisfied with their lives, one can consider the number of suicides. It comes logically that the better the lives of the people are arranged, the fewer reasons for the suicides there are. In the countries under consideration, per 100 000 people there are:

● in Papua New Guinea - 3,6 suicides (5,2 among men and 1,9 among women) ;

● in India - 12,9 suicides (14,7 among men and 11,1 among women)