Which has higher share of land defined as natural habitat, Laos or Papua New Guinea?

Papua New Guinea, at 94.68 against 93.06 in Laos as of 2010.

What is the difference in share of land defined as natural habitat between Laos and Papua New Guinea?

1.62, with Papua New Guinea ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Laos and Papua New Guinea?

24 years are reported by both, from 1780 to 2010.

Where does this data come from?

Taylor and Rising, and United Nations (2021) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Share of land defined as natural habitat. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Laos vs Papua New Guinea: Share of land defined as natural habitat

Laos

93.06

in 2010

Papua New Guinea

94.68

in 2010

Laos rank

13th

Papua New Guinea rank

12th

Share of land defined as natural habitat over time

Laos
Papua New Guinea

How they compare

Papua New Guinea currently reports 94.68 against 93.06 in Laos, a difference of 1.62.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 24 shared years of data; in 1780 it was Laos ahead.

Laos ranks 13th and Papua New Guinea ranks 12th of 168 countries.

Across the 24 decades both report, Laos averaged higher in 8 and Papua New Guinea in 16.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Laos	Papua New Guinea	Difference	Ahead
1780s	97.02	95.73	1.29	Laos
1790s	97.01	95.73	1.29	Laos
1800s	97.01	95.72	1.28	Laos
1810s	96.76	95.72	1.04	Laos
1820s	96.5	95.71	0.7908	Laos
1830s	96.26	95.7	0.5573	Laos
1840s	96.03	95.7	0.327	Laos
1850s	95.78	95.69	0.0916	Laos
1860s	95.54	95.68	0.14	Papua New Guinea
1870s	95.34	95.68	0.3412	Papua New Guinea
1880s	95.13	95.67	0.5401	Papua New Guinea
1890s	94.92	95.66	0.739	Papua New Guinea
1900s	94.7	95.65	0.9479	Papua New Guinea
1910s	95.28	95.64	0.3648	Papua New Guinea
1920s	95.16	95.62	0.4627	Papua New Guinea
1930s	95.07	95.58	0.5093	Papua New Guinea
1940s	94.96	95.54	0.5772	Papua New Guinea
1950s	94.89	95.5	0.6051	Papua New Guinea
1960s	93.53	95.41	1.88	Papua New Guinea
1970s	93.78	95.27	1.49	Papua New Guinea
1980s	93.15	95.17	2.02	Papua New Guinea
1990s	93.9	95	1.1	Papua New Guinea
2000s	93.21	94.82	1.62	Papua New Guinea
2010s	93.06	94.68	1.62	Papua New Guinea

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher share of land defined as natural habitat, Laos or Papua New Guinea?: Papua New Guinea, at 94.68 against 93.06 in Laos as of 2010.
What is the difference in share of land defined as natural habitat between Laos and Papua New Guinea?: 1.62, with Papua New Guinea ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Laos and Papua New Guinea?: 24 years are reported by both, from 1780 to 2010.
How do Laos and Papua New Guinea rank globally for share of land defined as natural habitat?: Laos ranks 13th and Papua New Guinea ranks 12th of 168 countries.
Where does this data come from?: Taylor and Rising, and United Nations (2021) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Share of land defined as natural habitat. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator: Share of land defined as natural habitat
Source: Taylor and Rising, and United Nations (2021) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 168 places, 4,032 data points, 1780–2010
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Natural ecosystems include forest, grassland, savanna, and shrublands, and other classes such as peatlands and marshes. It is total land minus land that is used by humans for agriculture – either croplands or pasture – or for infrastructure and urban environments.