Economy of Papua New Guinea

Economy of Papua New Guinea
Port Moresby
Currencykina (PGK)
calendar year
Trade organisations
APEC and WTO
Country group
Statistics
PopulationIncrease 9,949,437 (2021)[3]
GDP
  • Increase $32.860 billion (nominal, 2023 est.)[4]
  • Increase $42.183 billion (PPP, 2023 est.)[4]
GDP rank
GDP growth
  • −0.8% (2018) 6.0% (2019e)
  • −1.3% (2020f) 3.4% (2021f)[5]
GDP per capita
  • Increase $3,518 (nominal, 2023 est.)[4]
  • Increase $4,516 (PPP, 2023 est.)[4]
GDP per capita rank
GDP by sector
4.4% (2020 est.)[4]
Population below poverty line
  • 39.9% below poverty line (2009 est.)[7]
  • 65.6% on less than $3.20/day (2009)[8]
41.9 medium (2009, World Bank)[9]
Labour force
  • Increase 2,640,304 (2019)[12]
  • 47.4% employment rate (2010)[13]
Labour force by occupation
UnemploymentSteady 2.5% (2017 est.)[6]
Main industries
Natural Gas extraction, palm oil processing, plywood production, mining (gold, silver, copper); wood chip production; crude oil and petroleum products; construction, tourism, livestock (pork, poultry, cattle), dairy products, spice products (turmeric, vanilla, ginger, cardamom, chili, pepper, citronella, and nutmeg), fisheries products
External
ExportsIncrease $11 billion (2021 est.)[14]
Export goods
Natural gas, Gold, Copper ore, Crude petroleum, Nickel, Palm oil, Lumber, Fish, Coffee
Main export partners
ImportsIncrease $4.25 billion (2021 est.)[14]
Import goods
Refined Petroleum, Rice, Delivery trucks, Excavation Machinery, Motor vehicles; parts and accessories, foodstuffs
Main import partners
FDI stock
  • Increase $4,194 Million (31 December 2017 est.)[17]
  • Increase Abroad: $473 Million (31 December 2017 est.)[17]
Increase $4.859 billion (2017 est.)[6]
Positive decrease $17.94 billion (31 December 2017 est.)[6]
Public finances
Steady 36.9% of GDP (2017 est.)[6]
−4.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)[6]
Revenues3.638 billion (2017 est.)[6]
Expenses4.591 billion (2017 est.)[6]
Economic aidno data
Standard & Poor's:[18]
BB- (Domestic)
B+ (Foreign)
BB (T&C Assessment)
Outlook: Stable[19]
Moody's:[19]
B2
Outlook: Stable
Increase $1.735 billion (31 December 2017 est.)[6]
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.


The economy of Papua New Guinea (PNG) is largely underdeveloped with the vast majority of the population living below the poverty line.[20] However, according to the Asian Development Bank its GDP is expected to grow 3.4% in 2022 and 4.6% in 2023.[21] It is dominated by the agricultural, forestry, and fishing sector and the minerals and energy extraction sector. The agricultural, forestry, and fishing sector accounts for most of the labour force of PNG while the minerals and energy extraction sector, including gold, copper, oil and natural gas is responsible for most of the export earnings.[22][20]

Main market in Goroka

PNG's GDP growth has been driven by the extraction industries and real GDP growth per capita has averaged 4% since mid-2000.[23] The GDP Growth rate for PNG in 2021 was at 1.3%.[24] The country has made significant progress investing proceeds from oil and gas in infrastructure building. As a result, its major cities like Port Moresby and Lae have received increased international investor attention, giving rise to an unprecedented building boom [25] to exploit the opportunities presented by the country's rise as a regional economic leader in the South Pacific region. This is well supported by its strategic location as a gateway from the Pacific to Asia, as well as its comparatively huge landmass and demographic profile (almost 7 times that of the rest of the smaller Pacific Island nations)

The International Monetary Fund has reported[26] that despite PNG's poverty, it is richly endowed with natural resources, but exploitation has been hampered by the rugged terrain and the high cost of developing infrastructure.[27] Agriculture provides a subsistence livelihood for the bulk of the population. Mineral deposits, including oil, copper, and gold, account for 72% of export earnings.

Budgetary support from Australia and development aid under World Bank auspices continue to sustain the economy.[28] Australia is PNG's largest aid donor, and will provide $479.2 million of aid in 2023.[29] In June 2021 the World Bank approved a US$100 million (PGK 352 million equivalent) operation to support Papua New Guinea in its response to COVID-19, and to lay important foundations for a sustainable recovery.[30]

  1. ^ "World Economic Outlook Database, April 2019". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  2. ^ "World Bank Country and Lending Groups". datahelpdesk.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  3. ^ "Population, total". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e "World Economic Outlook Database, April 2023". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  5. ^ Global Economic Prospects, June 2020. World Bank. 8 June 2020. p. 74. doi:10.1596/978-1-4648-1553-9. ISBN 978-1-4648-1553-9. Retrieved 10 June 2020. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "The World Factbook". CIA.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  7. ^ "Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population)". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  8. ^ "Poverty headcount ratio at $3.20 a day (2011 PPP) (% of population)". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  9. ^ "GINI index (World Bank estimate)". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  10. ^ "Human Development Index (HDI)". hdr.undp.org. HDRO (Human Development Report Office) United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  11. ^ "Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI)". hdr.undp.org. HDRO (Human Development Report Office) United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  12. ^ "Labor force, total - Papua New Guinea". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  13. ^ "Employment to population ratio, 15+, total (%) (national estimate)". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  14. ^ a b "Papua New Guinea (PNG) Exports, Imports, and Trade Partners". The Observatory of Economic Complexity. 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  15. ^ "Export Partners of Papua New Guinea". The Observatory of Economic Complexity. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  16. ^ "Import Partners of Papua New Guinea". The Observatory of Economic Complexity. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  17. ^ a b "World Investment Report 2017 Country Fact Sheet: Papua New Guinea" (PDF). UNCTAD. 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  18. ^ "Sovereigns rating list". Standard & Poor's. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
  19. ^ a b Rogers, Simon; Sedghi, Ami (15 April 2011). "How Fitch, Moody's and S&P rate each country's credit rating". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  20. ^ a b "Papua New Guinea Economy: Population, GDP, Inflation, Business, Trade, FDI, Corruption". www.heritage.org. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  21. ^ van (6 April 2022). "Papua New Guinea: Economy". Asian Development Bank. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  22. ^ "Papua New Guinea Overview". The World Bank. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  23. ^ "Papua New Guinea Country at a Glance". The World Bank. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  24. ^ "Economic Profile | Investment Promotion Authority". www.ipa.gov.pg. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  25. ^ Pilotti, Carmel (8 June 2022). "New housing developments in Port Moresby". Business Advantage PNG. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  26. ^ World Economic Outlook Database, October 2015, International Monetary Fund. Database updated on 6 October 2015. Accessed on 6 October 2015.
  27. ^ The Case for a Parliamentary Budget Office in Papua New Guinea. Social Science Research Network (SSRN). Accessed 18 July 2017.
  28. ^ Australian Government, Department of Foreign affairs and trade (2022). "Australia's development partnership with Papua New Guinea".
  29. ^ Australian Government, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade3 (2022). "Australia's development partnership with Papua New Guinea".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  30. ^ "Sustainable Economic Recovery the focus for World Bank support to Papua New Guinea". World Bank. Retrieved 20 July 2022.