Papua New Guinea Capital Port Moresby
Currency PGK · kina
Language English, Hiri Motu, Papua New Guinean Sign Language, Tok Pisin
Area 462,840 km²
Since 1975
ISO PNG · PG
Population 10.8M as of 2025
UNITY IN DIVERSITY · UNITY IN DIVERSITY · UNITY IN DIVERSITY · UNITY IN DIVERSITY · UNITY IN DIVERSITY · UNITY IN DIVERSITY
Watermark portrait: Michael Somare — THE COUNTRY —
Country in Oceania
Papua New Guinea (PNG), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia. It has a land border with Indonesia to the west and maritime borders with Australia to the south and the Solomon Islands to the east. Its capital is Port Moresby. The country's 462,840 km2 (178,700 mi2) includes a large mainland and hundreds of islands.
Text: Wikipedia — Papua New Guinea CC BY-SA 4.0 · revised 2026-07-29
Motto Unity in Diversity
Capital Port Moresby
Currency kina (PGK)
Official language English, Hiri Motu, Papua New Guinean Sign Language, Tok Pisin
Drives on the Left
Calling code +675
Licence plate code PNG
Top-level domain .pg
Independence / founding 1975
Highest point Mount Wilhelm (4,509 m)
Lowest point Pacific Ocean (0 m)
Anthem O Arise, All You Sons Facts: Wikidata (CC0) · as of 2026-08-02 — LAND —
Land covered by forest
% of land area
2023
Forest area
357,552 km²
#19 of 213 2023
Agricultural land
% of land area
2023
Farmable (arable) land
0.7% % of land area
#191 of 206 2023
Land area
462,840 km²
#56 of 215 2023
— PEOPLE —
Population
10.8M people
#91 of 216 2025
Population growth
1.7% % per year
#60 of 216 2025
Population density
23 people per km²
#181 of 215 2023
People living in cities
% of population
2025
Urban population growth
4.1% % per year
#18 of 216 2025
People living rurally
% of population
2025
Population aged 0-14
33.1% % of population
#56 of 216 2025
Population aged 15-64
63.3% % of population
#133 of 216 2025
Population aged 65+
3.6% % of population
#175 of 216 2025
▸ ISSUE 7 MORE Age dependency ratio
58.1% % of working-age population
#84 of 216 2025
Female population
48.6% % of population
#196 of 216 2025
Births per woman
3 births per woman
#55 of 216 2024
Birth rate
24.3 /1,000 per 1,000 people
#55 of 216 2024
Death rate
6.6 /1,000 per 1,000 people
#137 of 216 2024
Net migration
-284 people (5-year total)
#98 of 216 2025
Migrants living in the country
0.3% % of population
#202 of 215 2024
— MONEY —
39 of 39 figures unavailable for Papua New Guinea.
— TRADE —
Terms of trade
131 index
#23 of 206 2024
11 of 12 figures unavailable for Papua New Guinea.
— HEALTH —
Life expectancy
66.3 yrs years
#184 of 216 2024
Life expectancy, women
69.2 yrs years
#180 of 216 2024
Life expectancy, men
63.8 yrs years
#182 of 216 2024
Infant deaths
31.3 /1,000 per 1,000 live births
#153 of 196 2024
Deaths under age 5
39.4 /1,000 per 1,000 live births
#158 of 196 2024
Maternal deaths
189 per 100,000 live births
#156 of 194 2023
Health spending
2.9% % of GDP
#181 of 193 2023
Health spending per person
$85 current US$
#148 of 193 2023
Physicians
per 1,000 people
2023
▸ ISSUE 10 MORE Nurses and midwives
0.5 /1,000 per 1,000 people
#186 of 196 2021
Hospital beds
0.6 /1,000 per 1,000 people
#144 of 157 2023
Access to clean drinking water
% of population
2024
Access to basic sanitation
23.6% % of population
#202 of 213 2024
Suicide rate
2 per 100,000 people
#18 of 185 2021
Adults who smoke
% of adults
2024
HIV prevalence
1.5% % aged 15-49
#128 of 153 2024
Tuberculosis cases
per 100,000 people
2024
Undernourishment
28.7% % of population
#157 of 168 2023
Children vaccinated against measles
% of children 12-23 months
2024
— LEARNING —
Education spending
% of GDP
2023
Education spending
% of government spending
2023
Adult literacy
87.0% % aged 15+
#74 of 119 2022
Youth literacy
91.9% % aged 15-24
#87 of 126 2022
Primary school enrolment
% gross
2023
Secondary school enrolment
52.1% % gross
#161 of 188 2023
University enrolment
1.9% % gross
not enough data to rank 1999
Primary school completion
82.7% % of relevant age group
#138 of 180 2023
Pupils per teacher, primary school
36 pupils per teacher
#135 of 160 2016
1 of 10 figures unavailable for Papua New Guinea.
— WORK —
Unemployment
2.6% % of labour force
#25 of 186 2025
Youth unemployment
3.8% % of labour force aged 15-24
#16 of 186 2025
Labour force participation
52.1% % aged 15+
#151 of 186 2025
Women in the labour force
50.8% % of women aged 15+
#115 of 186 2025
8 of 12 figures unavailable for Papua New Guinea.
— CONNECTED —
Money earned from tourism
current US$
2018
17 of 18 figures unavailable for Papua New Guinea.
— NATURE —
Carbon emissions per person
1 tonnes per person
#43 of 203 2024
Carbon emissions
5 Mt CO2
#72 of 203 2024
Greenhouse gas emissions
11 Mt CO2-equivalent
#64 of 203 2024
Protected land
3.7% % of land area
#191 of 213 2025
Protected coastal waters
0.1% % of territorial waters
#146 of 174 2025
Freshwater withdrawn
% of internal resources
2022
Renewable water available per person
m³ per person
2022
Renewable energy use
54.6% % of final energy consumption
#43 of 212 2022
Electricity from renewables
40.0% % of total
#73 of 206 2021
▸ ISSUE 2 MORE Electricity from fossil fuels
60.0% % of total
#95 of 209 2021
Electricity from nuclear power
0.0% % of total
#157 of 208 2021
1 of 12 figures unavailable for Papua New Guinea.
— STATE —
Military spending
% of GDP
2024
Military spending
$91.0M current US$
#142 of 160 2024
Military spending
% of government spending
2024
Armed forces personnel
4,000 people
#151 of 170 2020
Armed forces
0.1% % of labour force
#158 of 168 2020
Tax revenue
15.5% % of GDP
#83 of 149 2024
Homicides
9 per 100,000 people
not enough data to rank 2010