PG
East Asia & Pacific · Lower-middle income
Papua New Guinea: key statistics
Papua New Guinea has 10.8m people (2025) and a GDP per person of $3,020. Below: 80 indicators with the latest year, world rank and change over ten years.
- Capital
- Port Moresby
- Region
- East Asia & Pacific
- Income group
- Lower-middle income
- Currency
- kina PGK
- Languages
- English, Tok Pisin, Hiri Motu, Papua New Guinean Sign Language
- ISO codes
- PGPNG
- Land neighbours
- Australia, Micronesia, Indonesia, Solomon Islands
Population10.8m2025 · rank 91 of 217GDP$32.5bn2025 · rank 112 of 211GDP per capita$3,0202025 · rank 165 of 211Life expectancy66.3 yrs2024 · rank 185 of 217Internet users18.8%2024 · rank 179 of 188Fertility3.072024 · rank 55 of 217CO₂ per person0.52 t2024 · rank 161 of 203Inflation4.4%2025 · rank 48 of 180
topic profiles
Papua New Guinea, topic by topic
Each profile brings together the indicators of one topic with world and regional rank, values since 2000, group averages and a comparison with neighbours.
Population
Papua New Guinea
GDP per capita
Papua New GuineaEast Asia & PacificWorld
Life expectancy
Papua New GuineaEast Asia & PacificWorld
Internet users
Papua New GuineaEast Asia & PacificWorld
all indicators
Papua New Guinea by topic
World rank counts countries with a value in the recent window; regional rank is within East Asia & Pacific.
PopulationFull population profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 10.8m | 2025 | 91/217 | 13/37 | +23% | 8.2bn | |
| Population growth | 1.75% | 2025 | 60/217 | 3/37 | −0.8 pp | 0.91% | |
| Urban share | 15.8% | 2025 | 216/217 | 37/37 | +2.5 pp | 57.8% | |
| Fertility | 3.07 | 2024 | 55/217 | 8/37 | −15% | 2.19 | |
| Aged 65+ | 3.6% | 2025 | 176/217 | 36/37 | +0.7 pp | 10.4% | |
| Aged 0–14 | 33.1% | 2025 | 56/217 | 8/37 | −3.0 pp | 24.4% | |
| Density | 23.4 | 2024 | 182/216 | 33/37 | +24% | 62.1 | |
| Birth rate | 24.3 | 2024 | 55/217 | 6/37 | −16% | 16.3 | |
| Area | 462,840 km² | 2024 | 56/216 | 7/37 | ±0.0% | 140,539,257 km² |
EconomyFull economy profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $32.5bn | 2025 | 112/211 | 16/36 | +50% | $118tn | |
| GDP per capita | $3,020 | 2025 | 165/211 | 30/36 | +22% | $14,406 | |
| GDP per capita, PPP | $5,215 | 2025 | 164/199 | 26/31 | +42% | $25,704 | |
| GNI per capita | $2,890 | 2025 | 150/201 | 28/33 | +15% | $14,244 | |
| GDP growth | 5.6% | 2025 | 40/210 | 6/36 | −0.9 pp | 2.9% | |
| GDP per capita growth | 3.8% | 2025 | 56/210 | 14/36 | −0.1 pp | 2.0% | |
| Agriculture share | 17.0% | 2024 | 42/198 | 9/29 | −0.7 pp | 4.0% | |
| Industry share | 36.5% | 2024 | 24/201 | 6/30 | +3.7 pp | 25.0% | |
| Services share | 42.0% | 2024 | 182/201 | 27/30 | −2.5 pp | 63.3% | |
| Investment | 20.0% | 2004 | — | — | −1.4 pp | 26.3% | |
| Savings | 30.4% | 2004 | — | — | +2.4 pp | 26.0% |
Prices & public financeFull prices & public finance profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inflation | 4.4% | 2025 | 48/180 | 6/27 | −1.6 pp | 3.0% | |
| Real interest rate | 4.9% | 2024 | 71/136 | 14/24 | +1.1 pp | — | |
| Lending rate | 8.3% | 2024 | 74/136 | 9/24 | −1.1 pp | — | |
| Exchange rate | 4.12 | 2025 | 123/210 | 19/36 | +49% | — | |
| Government debt | 52.0% | 2024 | 37/78 | 7/17 | +25.1 pp | — | |
| Tax revenue | 15.5% | 2024 | 79/142 | 15/25 | −2.4 pp | 13.9% | |
| Government expense | 20.3% | 2023 | 98/142 | 17/25 | −1.8 pp | 28.5% | |
| External debt | 41.9% | 2024 | 63/119 | 5/16 | −47.7 pp | — | |
| Military spending | 0.35% | 2025 | 150/156 | 18/18 | −0.1 pp | 2.48% |
Trade & investmentFull trade & investment profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exports | 72.2% | 2004 | — | — | +18.6 pp | 29.5% | |
| Imports | 58.9% | 2004 | — | — | +19.2 pp | 28.5% | |
| Trade openness | 131.1% | 2004 | — | — | +37.8 pp | 68.5% | |
| Current account | 15.5% | 2024 | 12/185 | 6/29 | +3.3 pp | — | |
| FDI inflows | -3.6% | 2025 | 194/197 | 32/32 | −3.8 pp | 1.4% | |
| Remittances | 0.0% | 2024 | 178/178 | 26/26 | ±0.0 pp | 0.8% | |
| Tourist arrivals | 39,000 | 2020 | 182/196 | 26/35 | −73% | 2.4bn |
LabourFull labour profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment | 2.6% | 2025 | 163/187 | 19/29 | +0.1 pp | 4.8% | |
| Youth unemployment | 3.8% | 2025 | 172/187 | 25/29 | −0.5 pp | 13.4% | |
| Participation rate | 52.1% | 2025 | 152/187 | 27/29 | +2.3 pp | 61.0% | |
| Women's participation | 50.8% | 2025 | 115/187 | 23/29 | +2.0 pp | 48.9% |
Aid, poverty & equalityFull aid, poverty & equality profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net ODA received | $691m | 2023 | 54/145 | 6/24 | +5.1% | $259bn | |
| ODA, % of GNI | 2.4% | 2023 | 72/139 | 15/23 | −0.9 pp | 0.2% | |
| ODA per person | $66.5 | 2023 | 72/145 | 16/24 | −16% | $32.2 | |
| Extreme poverty | 52.2% | 2009 | — | — | −10.6 pp | 10.1% | |
| Poverty, $4.20/day | 69.4% | 2009 | — | — | −7.5 pp | 18.2% | |
| National poverty rate | 39.9% | 2009 | — | — | +2.4 pp | — | |
| Gini index | 41.9 | 2009 | — | — | −8.5% | — | |
| Undernourishment | 30.5% | 2024 | 10/167 | 1/23 | +3.0 pp | 8.1% | |
| Women in parliament | 2.7% | 2025 | 186/190 | 28/30 | ±0.0 pp | 27.2% |
EducationFull education profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 87.0% | 2022 | 94/141 | 20/23 | +18.0 pp | 87.7% | |
| Female literacy | 61.5% | 2017 | 122/147 | 24/24 | +10.6 pp | 84.6% | |
| Primary enrolment | 121.1% | 2023 | 9/191 | 1/30 | +20.2 pp | 102.2% | |
| Secondary enrolment | 52.1% | 2023 | 153/176 | 25/26 | +15.0 pp | 77.3% | |
| Tertiary enrolment | 1.9% | 1999 | — | — | — | 43.6% | |
| Primary completion | 82.7% | 2023 | 130/168 | 24/26 | +28.2 pp | 88.0% | |
| Pupils per teacher | 35.5 | 2016 | 28/173 | 3/27 | −1.9% | 23.4 | |
| Education spending | 0.8% | 2023 | 181/184 | 29/29 | — | 3.6% |
HealthFull health profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy | 66.3 yrs | 2024 | 185/217 | 36/37 | +3.2% | 73.5 yrs | |
| Infant mortality | 31.3 | 2024 | 44/196 | 4/30 | −25% | 27.7 | |
| Under-5 mortality | 39.4 | 2024 | 39/196 | 3/30 | −26% | 37.4 | |
| Maternal mortality | 189 | 2023 | 39/194 | 3/30 | −22% | 197 | |
| Health spending | 2.9% | 2023 | 181/193 | 26/29 | −0.1 pp | 10.1% | |
| Health spending per person | $85.2 | 2023 | 148/193 | 27/29 | +11% | $1,317 | |
| Physicians | 0.06 | 2023 | 177/180 | 25/25 | +24% | 1.86 | |
| Measles vaccination | 44% | 2024 | 190/193 | 30/30 | −21.0 pp | 84% | |
| HIV prevalence | 1.5% | 2024 | 26/153 | 1/18 | +0.4 pp | 0.7% | |
| Child stunting | 49.5% | 2010 | 3/154 | 1/25 | — | — | |
| Basic water | 53.3% | 2024 | 201/206 | 37/37 | +10.5 pp | 91.5% | |
| Basic sanitation | 23.6% | 2024 | 193/203 | 37/37 | +3.5 pp | 82.2% |
Digital & energy accessFull digital & energy access profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internet users | 18.8% | 2024 | 179/188 | 28/28 | +12.3 pp | 73.6% | |
| Mobile subscriptions | 38.8 | 2024 | 206/210 | 32/34 | −1.6% | 111.5 | |
| Fixed broadband | 0.2 | 2024 | 188/208 | 31/34 | +50% | 20.1 | |
| Electricity access | 43.3% | 2024 | 203/215 | 36/36 | +25.2 pp | 91.9% | |
| Clean cooking | 12.0% | 2024 | 166/192 | 29/30 | +3.0 pp | 75.4% |
EnvironmentFull environment profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CO₂ per person | 0.52 t | 2024 | 161/203 | 28/37 | −20% | 4.69 t | |
| Renewable energy | 54.6% | 2022 | 43/212 | 2/37 | −0.9 pp | 19.7% | |
| Renewable power | 40.0% | 2021 | 73/206 | 9/35 | +2.9 pp | 27.8% | |
| Forest cover | 75.2% | 2024 | 10/214 | 5/35 | −0.3 pp | 31.1% | |
| Arable land | 0.7% | 2024 | 190/206 | 29/34 | ±0.0 pp | 10.7% | |
| Water withdrawals | 0.0% | 2022 | 176/177 | 20/20 | ±0.0 pp | 9.0% |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
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