Country explorer: Papua New Guinea
EXPERIMENTAL
2024
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Overview
Papua New Guinea is a biodiverse, lower-middle-income country in the Pacific with a small population. Its economy has been volatile in recent decades, and is based on agriculture, mining and energy resources.
Papua New Guinea is home to the third largest rainforest in the world.
Economy
Papua New Guinea has experienced moderate economic growth, characterized by fluctuations in GDP per capita and inflation rates, alongside a gradual decrease in unemployment but persisting challenges in poverty reduction, echoing development patterns seen in many lower-middle-income countries.
Demographics
Papua New Guinea has experienced substantial demographic transformations characterized by a significant population growth, consistent fertility rates above regional averages, marginally positive net migration, and gradual improvements in life expectancy, revealing patterns of development and challenges commensurate with lower-middle-income countries.
Basic needs
Papua New Guinea has seen modest improvements in access to clean cooking fuels, indicative of gradual progress in meeting basic needs, yet remains significantly behind its regional peers, reflecting persistent challenges in addressing indoor air pollution and enhancing living standards.
Human development
Papua New Guinea has shown moderate improvement in human development indicators such as the Human Development Index, literacy rate, and reduced child mortality rate, reflecting gradual progress in education, health, and living standards, albeit more slowly compared to regional peers like Indonesia and Malaysia.
Environment & energy
In the past two decades, Papua New Guinea has experienced notable stability in its forest area, contrasting with global trends of deforestation, while also grappling with fluctuating per capita CO₂ emissions and renewable freshwater resources, reflecting a unique blend of environmental preservation and challenges.
Technology & innovation
Papua New Guinea has experienced modest but steady progress in technology and innovation, marked by gradual increases in internet usage, mobile phone subscriptions, and published scientific articles, although it remains behind higher-income peers on research and development spending as a share of GDP.
Culture & society
Papua New Guinea has maintained a relatively low share of the population born abroad, endured high gender inequalities, and faced a significant age dependency ratio, underscoring its struggles with societal transformations amidst maintaining cultural continuity in a rapidly globalizing region.
Governance
Papua New Guinea has experienced gradual improvements in political and civil liberties, reflecting underlying societal shifts towards more freedom of expression and association, a distinctive trend that contrasts with the static or declining scores in governance and rule of law seen in many of its peers.