01
Physical geography
Mostly mountains with coastal lowlands and rolling foothills.
Local timePort Moresby ·
Oceania / Melanesia · Card 020
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea is a country in Melanesia. Its capital is Port Moresby.
Find Papua New Guinea
● Capital · Gold highlights this card’s area.
Map: Natural Earth. Boundaries show geographic context, not a position on sovereignty. Small islands may use enlarged markers.
Map: Natural Earth. Boundaries show geographic context, not a position on sovereignty. Small islands may use enlarged markers.
At a glance
- Capital
- Port Moresby
- Languages
- Tok Pisin, English, Hiri Motu & PNG Sign Language
- Currency
- Papua New Guinean kina (PGK)
- Population
- 10.8 million2025 · World Bank
- Area
- 462,840 km²178,703.45 square miles
- Independence
- 1975
Papua New Guinea in context
Oceania and its surrounding regions. The dot marks Port Moresby; the mapped territory is highlighted in gold.
Natural Earth · locator mapGeography & languages
02
Languages
Tok Pisin, English, Hiri Motu and Papua New Guinean Sign Language have official recognition. Hundreds of Indigenous languages are spoken.
03
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.
Flag
Divided diagonally from upper-left corner; the upper triangle is red and has a soaring yellow bird of paradise in the center; the lower triangle is black with five five-pointed white stars of the Southern Cross constellation
Sources: CIA World Factbook · archived profile · UNCTAD · Papua New Guinea profile
History & independence
Papua New Guinea is home to hundreds of Indigenous societies and languages. European colonial boundaries divided the eastern part of New Guinea into separate territories, later administered by Australia. Papua New Guinea became independent in 1975. Conflict on Bougainville led to a peace agreement in 2001 and a 2019 referendum favouring independence; the referendum itself did not create a separate state.
-
Papua New Guinea becomes independent from Australia
-
The Bougainville Peace Agreement is signed
-
Bougainville’s autonomous government is established
-
Bougainville holds a non-binding independence referendum
Sources: CIA World Factbook · archived profile · UNCTAD · Papua New Guinea profile
Economy
Main activities
Mining and natural gas are major export industries. Gold, copper and liquefied natural gas generate earnings, while agriculture provides livelihoods for much of the population. Coffee, cocoa and palm oil are important commercial crops. Difficult terrain, infrastructure gaps and exposure to commodity prices complicate development.
Industry and production
Gold and copper mining, liquefied natural gas, agricultural processing, forestry and fisheries.
Sources: CIA World Factbook · archived profile · UNCTAD · Papua New Guinea profile
Population & economic trends
Dated World Bank observations. Population uses selected years; real GDP uses all available annual observations.
Population, 1970–2025
Millions of people10.82025 · millions of people
Population estimates may be revised. Selected years are shown.
Sources: World Bank · Population
View data table
| Year | People | Millions of people |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 2,505,628 | 2.506 |
| 1980 | 3,131,512 | 3.132 |
| 1990 | 3,896,481 | 3.896 |
| 2000 | 5,537,064 | 5.537 |
| 2010 | 7,633,523 | 7.634 |
| 2020 | 9,815,746 | 9.816 |
| 2025 | 10,762,817 | 10.763 |
Real GDP, 1990–2025
Billions of constant 2015 US dollars28.72025 · billions of constant 2015 US dollars
Constant prices adjust for inflation. This is total economic output, not current-dollar GDP or income per person. Missing years are left as gaps.
Sources: World Bank · Real GDP
View data table
| Year | Constant 2015 US$ | Billions of constant 2015 US dollars |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 7,373,337,464 | 7.373 |
| 1991 | 8,077,262,450 | 8.077 |
| 1992 | 9,195,889,414 | 9.196 |
| 1993 | 10,869,751,501 | 10.870 |
| 1994 | 11,515,643,990 | 11.516 |
| 1995 | 11,134,194,181 | 11.134 |
| 1996 | 11,995,278,889 | 11.995 |
| 1997 | 11,526,936,460 | 11.527 |
| 1998 | 11,092,473,175 | 11.092 |
| 1999 | 11,298,300,004 | 11.298 |
| 2000 | 11,016,425,271 | 11.016 |
| 2001 | 11,003,063,602 | 11.003 |
| 2002 | 10,985,579,675 | 10.986 |
| 2003 | 11,223,318,880 | 11.223 |
| 2004 | 11,528,725,111 | 11.529 |
| 2005 | 12,260,199,192 | 12.260 |
| 2006 | 12,923,469,113 | 12.923 |
| 2007 | 13,933,462,679 | 13.933 |
| 2008 | 13,892,155,836 | 13.892 |
| 2009 | 14,836,880,986 | 14.837 |
| 2010 | 16,339,627,662 | 16.340 |
| 2011 | 16,520,596,167 | 16.521 |
| 2012 | 17,289,980,089 | 17.290 |
| 2013 | 17,951,312,547 | 17.951 |
| 2014 | 20,382,597,142 | 20.383 |
| 2015 | 21,723,437,010 | 21.723 |
| 2016 | 22,915,960,976 | 22.916 |
| 2017 | 23,725,951,012 | 23.726 |
| 2018 | 23,659,695,751 | 23.660 |
| 2019 | 24,719,771,867 | 24.720 |
| 2020 | 23,936,789,891 | 23.937 |
| 2021 | 23,814,565,624 | 23.815 |
| 2022 | 25,173,667,564 | 25.174 |
| 2023 | 26,132,900,873 | 26.133 |
| 2024 | 27,148,935,841 | 27.149 |
| 2025 | 28,679,571,267 | 28.680 |
Human development
The Human Development Index combines health, education and income. Scores range from 0 to 1.
HDI · 20230.576Medium human developmentRank 160 of 193 · 2025 report
Human Development Index over time
19900.403
20000.456
20100.503
20200.567
20230.576
66.1 yearsLife expectancy at birth
5.0 yearsMean schooling, adults aged 25+
The latest values refer to 2023. All historical scores use the same report edition. HDI does not describe every aspect of inequality or quality of life.
Sources: UNDP · Human Development Report 2025
Government
A parliamentary constitutional monarchy. A Governor-General represents the monarch, a Prime Minister leads the government, and the National Parliament has one chamber. Provincial governments and the Autonomous Bougainville Government have subnational responsibilities.
Sources: CIA World Factbook · archived profile · UNCTAD · Papua New Guinea profile
Knowledge check
Three questions about Papua New Guinea.
QUESTION 1 OF 3
Which pair includes major Papua New Guinean export industries?
Sources & notes
Sources: CIA World Factbook · archived profile · UNCTAD · Papua New Guinea profile
Prepared 24 September 2026. World Bank series: SP.POP.TOTL (persons) and NY.GDP.MKTP.KD (constant 2015 US dollars); downloaded 24 September 2026, provider update 13 July 2026. UNDP values use the 2025 report and 2023 observation year. These are dated statistical snapshots, not live population or economic counters.
Maps use Natural Earth geographic data. Background geography, flag descriptions and selected historical facts use archived public-domain CIA World Factbook profiles, supplemented by the sources linked above. The Factbook is no longer updated; dated statistics here come from the separately named providers.