ECONDEX

Economic and development data for every country, explained with the numbers checked.

Papua New Guinea

East Asia & Pacific. Lower middle income. Capital: Port Moresby. Population 10,762,817 (2025).

Key trends

GDP per person (PPP) (constant international $)
3,075 3,752 4,428 1995 2025 4,456
GDP growth (%)
−3.6 4.8 13.2 1995 2025 5.6
Inflation, consumer prices (% annual)
1.9 9.5 17.1 1995 2025 4.4
Life expectancy at birth (years)
60.6 63.3 66.1 1995 2024 66.3

Indicators

Each country reports for different years, so check the year beside every figure. Rank 1 is the highest value among countries with recent data.

Economy

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
GDP per person (PPP)constant international $ 4,456 2025 +378 +301 165 of 199
GDP growth% 5.6% 2025 +8.8 pp −0.9 pp 40 of 209
GDP per person growth% 3.8% 2025 +9.0 pp −0.1 pp 55 of 209
GNI per person (Atlas method)current US$ 2,890 2025 +480 +370 150 of 201
Trade% of GDP 131.1% 2004 * +15.1 pp +26.3 pp –
Foreign direct investment, net inflows% of GDP −3.6% 2025 −4.1 pp −3.8 pp 192 of 195
Central government debt% of GDP 52.0% 2024 +11.9 pp +25.1 pp 25 of 48

Prices and jobs

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Inflation, consumer prices% annual 4.4% 2025 −0.5 pp −1.6 pp 48 of 180
Unemployment (modelled ILO estimate)% of labour force 2.6% 2025 −0.3 pp +0.1 pp 162 of 186

People and health

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Populationpeople 10,762,817 2025 +947,071 +2,019,571 91 of 217
Population growth% annual 1.7% 2025 −0.4 pp −0.8 pp 60 of 217
Urban population% of total 15.8% 2025 +1.6 pp +2.5 pp 216 of 217
Life expectancy at birthyears 66.3 2024 +0.9 +2.1 185 of 217
Infant mortalityper 1,000 live births 31.3 2024 −4.9 −10.3 44 of 196
Health spending% of GDP 2.9% 2023 +0.6 pp −0.1 pp 181 of 193

Education

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Adult literacy rate% of people aged 15+ 87.0% 2022 +16.9 pp +18.0 pp 52 of 86
Government spending on education% of GDP 0.8% 2023 −1.1 pp −0.8 pp 168 of 171

Access and infrastructure

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Internet users% of population 18.8% 2024 +5.2 pp +12.3 pp 177 of 185
Access to electricity% of population 43.3% 2024 +19.7 pp +25.2 pp 203 of 215

Inequality and poverty

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Gini index (inequality)index, 0 to 100 41.9 2009 * – – –
Poverty headcount ratio% of population, at the World Bank international poverty line 52.2% 2009 * – – –

Environment and energy

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Renewable energy% of final energy consumption 54.6% 2022 −0.1 pp −0.9 pp 43 of 212

* Latest figure is too old to be included in rankings or peer medians.

Advanced metrics

Indicator Own history Versus peers (latest) Growth and catch-up
10-yr meanZ-score Income group medianRegion medianVolatility (σ) 10-yr CAGR% of high-income median10 yrs earlier
GDP per person (PPP) 4,195 +2.4 6,095 13,961 111 +0.7% 9% 9%
GDP growth 3.0% +0.8 4.3% 3.6% 3.2 – – –
GDP per person growth 0.8% +1.0 2.7% 3.4% 3.1 – – –
GNI per person (Atlas method) 2,510 +1.9 2,750 7,690 202 +1.4% 8% 9%
Trade 111.8% +2.3 – – 8.3 – – –
Foreign direct investment, net inflows 0.5% −3.1 1.9% 2.1% 1.3 – – –
Central government debt 40.2% +1.2 45.1% 52.0% 9.6 – – –
Inflation, consumer prices 4.4% 0.0 3.6% 2.1% 1.8 – – –
Unemployment (modelled ILO estimate) 2.7% −0.6 5.1% 3.0% 0.2 – – –
Population 9,688,515 +1.7 12,348,573 1,418,517 618,312 +2.1% 367% 333%
Population growth 2.2% −1.5 1.7% 0.6% 0.3 – – –
Urban population 14.2% +2.2 50.9% 65.4% 0.7 – – –
Life expectancy at birth 65.0 +2.3 67.9 73.0 0.6 – – –
Infant mortality 37.1 −1.6 28.7 13.9 3.7 – – –
Health spending 2.5% +1.0 4.5% 5.9% 0.4 – – –
Government spending on education 1.2% −0.7 4.0% 4.2% 0.6 – – –
Internet users 13.0% +1.4 57.9% 84.6% 4.2 – – –
Access to electricity 19.0% +8.9 88.7% 100.0% 2.7 – – –
Renewable energy 55.0% −0.3 42.5% 11.4% 1.6 – – –

Compare Papua New Guinea with other countries