Foreign direct investment, net outflows in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea: Foreign direct investment, net outflows was 2.5% in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
2.5%
Change on year
up 133.3%
World rank
17th
of 191 countries
All-time high
7.8%
in 2022
All-time low
-0.7%
in 1995
Years of data
49
1976–2024

Foreign direct investment, net outflows in Papua New Guinea, 1976–2024

02468197620002024

Source: Balance of Payments database, International Monetary Fund (IMF), note: International Monetary Fund, Balance of Payments database, supplemented by data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and D. Measured in % of GDP.

Analysis

In 2024, foreign direct investment, net outflows in Papua New Guinea stood at 2.5%.

That represents a change of up 133.3% on the previous year and up 879.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, foreign direct investment, net outflows in Papua New Guinea peaked at 7.8% in 2022 and was at its lowest, -0.7%, in 1995.

That places Papua New Guinea 17th out of 191 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Foreign direct investment, net outflows in Papua New Guinea, year by year

Annual values for Foreign direct investment, net outflows (% of GDP) in Papua New Guinea, 1976 to 2024.
Year % of GDP Change
1976 -0.1%
1977 0.1% -186.7%
1978 0.2% +131.0%
1979 0.1% -43.6%
1980 0.6% +339.3%
1981 0.0% -96.0%
1982 0.1% +203.0%
1983 0.0% -41.4%
1984 0.1% +102.8%
1985 0.0% -57.4%
1986 -0.3% -968.6%
1987 -0.7% +114.9%
1988 0.9% -230.9%
1989 -0.5% -154.4%
1990 0.0% -100.2%
1991 0.1% +12203.9%
1992 0.0% -54.4%
1993 0.0% -95.6%
1994 0.1% +2353.8%
1995 -0.7% -1532.3%
1996 -0.0% -96.1%
1997 -0.0% -81.2%
1998 -0.0% -6.9%
1999 0.0% -990.0%
2000 0.0% -63.6%
2001 0.0% +30.2%
2002 0.0% +60.2%
2003 1.4% +4086.7%
2004 0.1% -95.8%
2005 0.2% +186.4%
2006 1.4% +733.9%
2007 0.4% -71.8%
2008 0.7% +68.4%
2009 0.1% -91.6%
2010 0.0% -11.4%
2011 1.7% +3425.8%
2012 0.4% -75.1%
2013 0.0% -90.3%
2014 0.3% +501.4%
2015 -0.0% -115.6%
2016 1.4% -3646.2%
2017 1.6% +15.1%
2018 2.4% +47.2%
2019 4.9% +105.7%
2020 4.2% -14.9%
2021 6.2% +47.6%
2022 7.8% +25.8%
2023 1.1% -86.2%
2024 2.5% +133.3%

Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries

  • Papua New Guinea's 2.5% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.2%, 11.6× the median. (45 countries reporting)
  • Papua New Guinea's 2.5% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.3%, 9.2× the median. (29 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Foreign direct investment, net outflows in Papua New Guinea changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
1991 +12203.9% 0.0% 0.1%
2003 +4086.7% 0.0% 1.4%
2016 +3646.2% -0.0% 1.4%
2011 +3425.8% 0.0% 1.7%
1994 +2353.8% 0.0% 0.1%
1995 -1532.3% 0.1% -0.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 0.1% -0.1% 0.2% 4
1980s 0.0% -0.7% 0.9% 10
1990s -0.1% -0.7% 0.1% 10
2000s 0.4% 0.0% 1.4% 10
2010s 1.3% -0.0% 4.9% 10
2020s 4.3% 1.1% 7.8% 5

Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea

  1. 14 Croatia 3.0% compare
  2. 15 Andorra 2.9% compare
  3. 16 Macau, China 2.5% compare
  4. 18 Canada 2.5% compare
  5. 19 Spain 2.4% compare
  6. 20 Chile 2.4% compare

See the full ranking of 238 places →

More economy & growth data for Papua New Guinea

All data for Papua New Guinea →

Frequently asked questions

What is foreign direct investment, net outflows in Papua New Guinea?
Foreign direct investment, net outflows in Papua New Guinea was 2.5% in 2024, according to Balance of Payments database, International Monetary Fund (IMF), note: International Monetary Fund, Balance of Payments database, supplemented by data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and D.
What is the highest foreign direct investment, net outflows recorded in Papua New Guinea?
The highest recorded value was 7.8% in 2022.
What is the lowest foreign direct investment, net outflows recorded in Papua New Guinea?
The lowest recorded value was -0.7% in 1995.
How does Papua New Guinea rank for foreign direct investment, net outflows?
Papua New Guinea ranks 17th out of 191 countries with data for 2024.
Is foreign direct investment, net outflows rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
Over the last ten years it is up 879.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Papua New Guinea data come from?
The figures come from Balance of Payments database, International Monetary Fund (IMF), note: International Monetary Fund, Balance of Payments database, supplemented by data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and D, published as part of Foreign direct investment, net outflows (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Foreign direct investment, net outflows in Papua New Guinea. Statizoid, drawing on Balance of Payments database, International Monetary Fund (IMF), note: International Monetary Fund, Balance of Payments database, supplemented by data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and D. Retrieved 13 September 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/stat/foreign-direct-investment-net-outflows-percent-of-gdp/papua-new-guinea/

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About this data

Indicator
Foreign direct investment, net outflows (% of GDP)
Unit
% of GDP
Source
Balance of Payments database, International Monetary Fund (IMF), note: International Monetary Fund, Balance of Payments database, supplemented by data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and D
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
238 places, 9,462 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed

Foreign direct investment refers to direct investment equity flows in an economy. It is the sum of equity capital, reinvestment of earnings, and other capital. Direct investment is a category of cross-border investment associated with a resident in one economy having control or a significant degree of influence on the management of an enterprise that is resident in another economy. Ownership of 10 percent or more of the ordinary shares of voting stock is the criterion for determining the existence of a direct investment relationship. This series shows net outflows of investment from the reporting economy to the rest of the world, and is divided by GDP.