Government spending as share of GDP vs. GDP per capita in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Government spending as share of GDP vs. GDP per capita was 20.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Government spending as share of GDP vs. GDP per capita in Papua New Guinea, 1992–2024
Source: International Monetary Fund (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2024, government spending as share of gdp vs. gdp per capita in Papua New Guinea stood at 20.4%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 8.5% on the previous year and down 24.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government spending as share of gdp vs. gdp per capita in Papua New Guinea peaked at 27.6% in 2013 and was at its lowest, 17.1%, in 1995.
That places Papua New Guinea 121st out of 151 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 33 years of available data.
Government spending as share of GDP vs. GDP per capita in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 22.8% | — |
| 1993 | 23.5% | +3.3% |
| 1994 | 19.3% | -18.1% |
| 1995 | 17.1% | -11.4% |
| 1996 | 17.6% | +2.8% |
| 1997 | 20.6% | +17.1% |
| 1998 | 20.0% | -2.6% |
| 1999 | 21.4% | +7.1% |
| 2000 | 20.5% | -4.6% |
| 2001 | 21.6% | +5.4% |
| 2002 | 20.8% | -3.5% |
| 2003 | 18.7% | -10.3% |
| 2004 | 19.4% | +4.1% |
| 2005 | 20.6% | +6.0% |
| 2006 | 19.4% | -5.7% |
| 2007 | 18.0% | -7.3% |
| 2008 | 19.8% | +9.6% |
| 2009 | 24.7% | +24.8% |
| 2010 | 18.4% | -25.4% |
| 2011 | 19.7% | +7.0% |
| 2012 | 22.4% | +13.9% |
| 2013 | 27.6% | +23.2% |
| 2014 | 27.1% | -2.0% |
| 2015 | 22.8% | -15.5% |
| 2016 | 20.9% | -8.7% |
| 2017 | 18.4% | -12.0% |
| 2018 | 20.3% | +10.6% |
| 2019 | 21.3% | +4.8% |
| 2020 | 23.5% | +10.4% |
| 2021 | 22.0% | -6.5% |
| 2022 | 21.9% | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 22.3% | +1.6% |
| 2024 | 20.4% | -8.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 20.3% | 17.1% | 23.5% | 8 |
| 2000s | 20.3% | 18.0% | 24.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.9% | 18.4% | 27.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 22.0% | 20.4% | 23.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
- 118 Djibouti 20.6% compare
- 119 Guinea 20.6% compare
- 120 Cote d'Ivoire 20.4% compare
- 122 Guinea-Bissau 20.4% compare
- 123 Antigua and Barbuda 19.8% compare
- 124 Central African Republic 19.5% compare
More economy & growth data for Papua New Guinea
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 1.47 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 3.11 Percent per annum (2029)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant 2015 US$) 3.66 % change on previous year (2024)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant 2015 US$) 0.2738 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant 2015 US$) 797.48 constant 2015 US$ per person (2024)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant LCU), annual 3.66 % change on previous year (2024)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant LCU), per 0.8065 constant LCU per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant LCU), per 2,349 constant LCU per person (2024)
- Services, value added (current US$), annual growth rate -0.1907 % change on previous year (2024)
- Services, value added (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.4196 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government spending as share of gdp vs. gdp per capita in Papua New Guinea?
- Government spending as share of gdp vs. gdp per capita in Papua New Guinea was 20.4% in 2024, according to International Monetary Fund (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest government spending as share of gdp vs. gdp per capita recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 27.6% in 2013.
- What is the lowest government spending as share of gdp vs. gdp per capita recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.1% in 1995.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for government spending as share of gdp vs. gdp per capita?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 121st out of 151 countries with data for 2024.
- Is government spending as share of gdp vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 24.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea data come from?
- The figures come from International Monetary Fund (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Government spending as share of GDP vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Sum of all the money spent by the government on goods and services, as a percentage of GDP. It includes interest paid on government debt.