I am currently in Port Moresby on an assignment. It is a three hour flight from Brisbane but a world away in many other respects. The UN releases reports on human development. Some contrasts are quite stark.
PNG Australia Measure
0.411 0.933 Human Development Index
157th 2nd Human Development Index rank
7.25 23.3 Population (million)
17.07 950.65 GDP (US$billion 2011)
2,381 42,278 GDP per capital (US$ 2011)
0.617 0.113 Gender inequality (lower is better)
62.42 82.5 Life expectancy at birth
When we look at infrastructure it makes you think vey hard about what is important. It really is all about context.
Sources:
http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/AUS
http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/PNG