# Papua New Guinea — national dossier Papua New Guinea — economy, society, governance, health, education, technology, geography, resources and military in one sourced dossier: 43 indicators… Canonical: https://terralore.co/country/PNG Updated: 2026-08-14 (latest domain refresh; each figure carries its own observation year) ## Overview - Official name: Independent State of Papua New Guinea - Capital: Port Moresby - Region: Melanesia, Oceania - Population: 6.9 m - Area: 462,840 km² - Languages: English, Hiri Motu, Tok Pisin - Currency: Papua New Guinean kina (PGK) A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero. Each figure shows the year it was observed — vintages differ by indicator and nation. ## Economy | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | GDP | $32 B | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | GDP per capita | $3,020 | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | GDP growth | 5.6% | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | Inflation | 4.4% | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | Trade openness | 131.1% | 2004 | World Development Indicators | ## Society | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Population | 11 m | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | Life expectancy | 66.3 yrs | 2024 | World Development Indicators | | Urban population | 15.8% | 2025 | World Development Indicators | | Fertility rate | 3.1 | 2024 | World Development Indicators | | Literacy rate | 87.0% | 2022 | World Development Indicators | ## Governance | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 51.1 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | | Political stability | 54.7 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | | Government effectiveness | 33.8 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | | Regulatory quality | 45.4 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | | Rule of law | 47.1 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | | Control of corruption | 31.7 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) | ## Health | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 2.9% | 2023 | Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) | | Physicians | 0.06 | 2023 | Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) | | Under-5 mortality | 39.4 | 2024 | Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) | | Measles immunisation | 44.0% | 2024 | Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) | ## Education | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Adult literacy | 87.0% | 2022 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | | Education spending | 0.8% | 2023 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | | Primary enrolment | 121.1% | 2023 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | | Secondary enrolment | 52.1% | 2023 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | ## Technology | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | R&D spending | 0.0% | 2016 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | | Researchers (per million) | 33 | 2016 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) | | Internet users | 18.8% | 2024 | ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) | | Mobile subscriptions | 39 | 2024 | ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) | | High-tech exports | 10.2% | 2023 | World Development Indicators | ## Geography | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Land area | 452,860 km² | 2023 | World Development Indicators | | Forest area | 79.0% | 2023 | World Development Indicators | | Agricultural land | 3.1% | 2023 | World Development Indicators | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 0.5 | 2024 | World Development Indicators | | Renewable energy | 54.6% | 2022 | World Development Indicators | ## Resources | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 27.4% | 2021 | World Development Indicators | | Oil rents | 1.9% | 2021 | World Development Indicators | | Mineral rents | 14.4% | 2021 | World Development Indicators | | Forest rents | 2.0% | 2021 | World Development Indicators | | Electricity access | 43.3% | 2024 | World Development Indicators | | Cobalt (mined) | 2,800 t | 2025 | Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 | ## Military | Metric | Value | Observed | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 0.3% | 2024 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) | | Defense spending | $91 M | 2024 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) | | Armed forces | 4,000 | 2020 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) | Every metric above is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Machine-readable claims — every figure above as an addressable claim ID (TL:PNG::) with value, source, license and a ready citation string: https://terralore.co/country/PNG.claims.json History: "From the world's first farmers and 800 languages to a young Pacific nation." — the sourced chronicle is at https://terralore.co/country/PNG/chronicle.md (6 eras, 28 events). ## Sources - World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://data.worldbank.org - Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators - Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.who.int/data/gho - Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://childmortality.org - R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://uis.unesco.org - ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics - Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center - Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex Citation template: Terralore, "Papua New Guinea — national dossier", terralore.co/country/PNG, retrieved .