Papua New Guinea vs South Africa: Sovereign state

Papua New Guinea
1
in 2025
South Africa
1
in 2025
Papua New Guinea rank
1st
South Africa rank
1st

Sovereign state over time

  • Papua New Guinea
  • South Africa
00.20.40.60.81181619202025

How they compare

Papua New Guinea currently reports 1 against 1 in South Africa, a difference of 0.

Across all 210 years both countries report, South Africa has been ahead every year.

Papua New Guinea ranks 1st and South Africa ranks 1st of 194 countries.

South Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 22 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Papua New Guinea South Africa Difference Ahead
1810s 0 0 0
1820s 0 0 0
1830s 0 0 0
1840s 0 0 0
1850s 0 0 0
1860s 0 0 0
1870s 0 0 0
1880s 0 0 0
1890s 0 0 0
1900s 0 0 0
1910s 0 1 1 South Africa
1920s 0 1 1 South Africa
1930s 0 1 1 South Africa
1940s 0 1 1 South Africa
1950s 0 1 1 South Africa
1960s 0 1 1 South Africa
1970s 0.5 1 0.5 South Africa
1980s 1 1 0
1990s 1 1 0
2000s 1 1 0
2010s 1 1 0
2020s 1 1 0

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher sovereign state, Papua New Guinea or South Africa?
Papua New Guinea, at 1 against 1 in South Africa as of 2025.
What is the difference in sovereign state between Papua New Guinea and South Africa?
0, with Papua New Guinea ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Papua New Guinea and South Africa?
210 years are reported by both, from 1816 to 2025.
How do Papua New Guinea and South Africa rank globally for sovereign state?
Papua New Guinea ranks 1st and South Africa ranks 1st of 194 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Gleditsch and Ward (2007) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Sovereign state. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Papua New Guinea vs South Africa: Sovereign state. Statizoid, drawing on Gleditsch and Ward (2007) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 02 September 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/compare/sovereign-state-gleditsch-ward/papua-new-guinea/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Sovereign state
Source
Gleditsch and Ward (2007) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
194 places, 40,740 data points, 1816–2025
Last refreshed

The country is identified as a sovereign state by Gleditsch and Ward dataset.