Polity · 1946 CE – present
Papua New Guinea
Independent State of Papua New Guinea · Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini · Papuaniugini
Also recorded as PNG, Independent State of Papua New Guinea
- Peak recorded area
- 461,689 km²
- 1949 CE
- Rulers on record
- 18
- from 1975 CE
- Data series
- 366
- 1946 CE–2025 CE
Overview
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.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
12 dated territorial extents on record from CShapes 2.0. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. Cliopatria holds 3 further extents, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 58 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Life Expectancy165 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 66.39years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population143 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 10.8Mpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | -284persons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 1.73% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 69.34years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 63.94years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 146 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP220 obs · 1800 CE–2019 CE | 3,092int'l $ (inflation adj.)2019 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP Current Usd111 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 32.5Bcurrent US$2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Fao Cattle Stocks64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 90.9Khead2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Cereals Area Harvested64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 3,929ha2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Cereals Production64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 18.8Ktonnes2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Cereals Yield64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 4,787.2hg_per_ha2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
Military
6 of 17 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Military Expenditure % GDP48 obs · 1975 CE–2024 CE | 0.308% of GDP2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Military Expenditure Usd47 obs · 1975 CE–2024 CE | 91Mcurrent US$2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| CINC Score42 obs · 1975 CE–2016 CE | 0.0003CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption42 obs · 1975 CE–2016 CE | 5.4Mcoal-ton equivalents2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production42 obs · 1975 CE–2016 CE | 0tons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure42 obs · 1975 CE–2016 CE | 83Mcurrent USD2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
Territory & resources
6 of 63 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Arable Land %126 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.7287% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Forest Area %68 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 78.95% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural Land %63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 3.1%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Arable Land per capita Ha63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.0318hectares per person2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Fao Agricultural Land63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 1.4Mha2023 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Arable Land63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 330Kha2023 CE · FAOSTAT |
Governance
6 of 31 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.461index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.384index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.278index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 1RoW index (0-3)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.429index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Executive Years In Office49 obs · 1975 CE–2023 CE | 4years2023 CE · Database of Political Institutions (DPI) 2023 |
Development
6 of 51 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.789index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Mobile Subscriptions Per 10052 obs · 1960 CE–2023 CE | 34.06per_1002023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Tech Electricity Production46 obs · 1950 CE–1995 CE | 1.8BGWh1995 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Dpt Immunization %45 obs · 1980 CE–2024 CE | 42%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Primary Enrollment Gross %44 obs · 1970 CE–2023 CE | 121.09%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Measles Immunization %42 obs · 1983 CE–2024 CE | 44%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Rulers
18 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Albert Maori KikiDeputy Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea1975 CE – 1977 CE
- Elizabeth IImonarch of Papua New Guinea1975 CE – 2022 CE
- Julius ChanDeputy Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea1976 CE –
- Julius ChanPrime Minister of Papua New Guinea1980 CE – 1982 CE
- Bill SkatePrime Minister of Papua New Guinea1997 CE – 1999 CE
- John GihenoPrime Minister of Papua New Guinea1997 CE
- John PundariDeputy Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea1999 CE
- Mao ZemingDeputy Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea1999 CE – 2000 CE
- Mekere MorautaPrime Minister of Papua New Guinea1999 CE – 2002 CE
- Moi AveiDeputy Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea2004 CE – 2006 CE
- Puka TemuDeputy Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea2007 CE – 2010 CE
- Sam AbalPrime Minister of Papua New Guinea2010 CE – 2011 CE
- Peter O'NeillHead of Government2011 CE – 2019 CE
- Leo DionDeputy Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea2012 CE – 2017 CE
- James MarapeHead of Government2019 CE –
- Samuel BasilDeputy Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea2020 CE – 2021 CE
- Charles IIIHead of State2022 CE –
- John RossoDeputy Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea2022 CE –
Country profile
From the CIA World Factbook 2024. Long entries are trimmed at a sentence boundary.
- Location
- Oceania, group of islands including the eastern half of the island of New Guinea between the Coral Sea and the South Pacific Ocean, east of Indonesia
- Government type
- parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm
- Executive branch
- chief of state: King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor General Grand Chief Sir Bob DADAE (since 28 February 2017); head of government: Prime Minister James MARAPE (since 30 May 2019); cabinet: National Executive Council appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister;
- Ethnic groups
- Melanesian, Papuan, Negrito, Micronesian, Polynesian
- Natural resources
- gold, copper, silver, natural gas, timber, oil, fisheries
- Economy
- lower-middle-income Pacific island economy; primarily informal agrarian sector; natural-resource-rich and key exporter of liquified natural gas; collapse in betel nut prices, tighter monetary policy, and improved foreign-exchange availability contributing to declining inflation;
Language & currency
- Currency
- kina (PGK)
Memberships
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · member1975 CE –
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
CIA World Factbook 2024
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
CShapes 2.02.0
Schvitz, G. et al. (2022). Mapping the International System, 1886-2019: The CShapes 2.0 Dataset. Journal of Conflict Resolution 66(1).
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Database of Political Institutions (DPI) 2023DPI 2023
Cruz, C., Keefer, P. & Scartascini, C. (2023). Database of Political Institutions 2023. Inter-American Development Bank.
IDB open data, attribution
FAOSTAT2024 release
FAO (2024). FAOSTAT Statistical Database. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
CC BY 4.0
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
Papua New Guinea is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.