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Papua New Guinea

Independent State of Papua New Guinea · Melanesia

Position of Papua New Guinea on a world map

At a glance

CapitalPort Moresby
Official languagesTok Pisin, English, Hiri Motu
Currencykina
Drives on theleft
Highest pointMount Wilhelm4,509 m
Biggest category of goods exportedfuel43% of goods exports, 2023
Services share of exports0.6%of everything sold abroad, 2024
TerritoryEntirely islandsno part on a continental mainland · archipelago
Internet domain.pg

Papua New Guinea by the numbers

Rank is out of the countries with data for that measure. Every figure is the latest year the source publishes.

MeasureValueRank
PopulationEveryone living in the country, all ages, counted mid-year.10.8m (2025)91st
of 209
GDPThe total value of everything the country produces in a year, at current prices.$32.5bn (2025)111th
of 203
Land areaTotal land area, excluding inland water and offshore territory.453k km² (2023)54th
of 209
Military spending, totalWhat the government spends on its armed forces in a year — pay, equipment and operations.$91.0m (2024)137th
of 151
Mobile subscriptionsActive mobile phone subscriptions — NOT the same as people. Many people hold two, so a country can have more subscriptions than residents.4.10m (2024)133rd
of 205
Forest areaLand under natural or planted trees, whether or not it is productive.358k km² (2023)19th
of 203
Agricultural landCropland, land under permanent crops, and permanent pasture.14.1k km² (2023)132nd
of 206
COâ‚‚ emissionsCarbon dioxide released in a year, in millions of tonnes.5 Mt (2024)132nd
of 198
Urban populationThe number of people living in urban areas, as each country defines them.1.70m (2025)139th
of 209
Life expectancyHow long a baby born today would live if death rates never changed.66.3 years (2024)177th
of 209
GDP per personEverything the country produces in a year, divided by its population.$3,020 (2025)158th
of 205
Internet useThe share of people who have used the internet in the last three months.18.8% (2024)180th
of 191
InflationHow much prices rose over the year, measured on a basket of consumer goods.4.4% (2025)50th
of 182
UnemploymentThe share of people who want a job and are looking for one but do not have one.2.6% (2025)161st
of 185
Urban shareThe share of the population living in urban areas.15.8% (2025)208th
of 209
Births per womanHow many children a woman would have across her life at current birth rates.3.07 (2024)55th
of 209
Military spending, share of GDPWhat the country spends on its armed forces, as a share of everything it produces.0.31% of GDP (2024)152nd
of 155
COâ‚‚ per personCarbon dioxide from fuel and industry, divided by the population.0.51 t (2024)159th
of 198
Human Development IndexThe UN’s combined measure of health, education and income, on a scale from 0 to 1.0.576 (2023)160th
of 193

Land borders

🇮🇩 Indonesia

Across the water

Close by sea, with no shared land border.

🇦🇺 Australia🇫🇲 Federated States of Micronesia🇸🇧 Solomon Islands

Papua New Guinea shares these with other countries

Drives on the left 60Is made up entirely of islands 58Is an archipelago 39Has a coast and land neighbours 115Has english as an official language 63Is a constitutional monarchy 40Is a member of the commonwealth 55Mainly exports fuel 27Sells almost only goods 34Is in melanesia 5

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Country data from the World Bank (CC BY 4.0) and the UNDP Human Development Report (CC BY 3.0 IGO)
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