Military spending as a share of GDP in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Military spending as a share of GDP was 0.4% in 2019. ▼ Falling
Latest (2019)
0.4%
Change on year
up 12.2%
World rank
166th
of 172 countries
All-time high
1.1%
in 1994
All-time low
0.2%
in 2003
Years of data
45
1975–2019
Military spending as a share of GDP in Papua New Guinea, 1975–2019
Source: Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Papua New Guinea recorded 0.4% for military spending as a share of gdp in 2019.
The figure is up 12.2% on the previous year and up 16.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military spending as a share of gdp in Papua New Guinea peaked at 1.1% in 1994 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 2003.
Papua New Guinea ranks 166th of 172 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 45 years of available data.
Military spending as a share of GDP in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 0.6% | — |
| 1976 | 1.0% | +68.6% |
| 1977 | 0.9% | -4.5% |
| 1978 | 1.0% | +1.6% |
| 1979 | 1.0% | +0.5% |
| 1980 | 1.0% | -0.7% |
| 1981 | 1.0% | +0.6% |
| 1982 | 0.9% | -1.9% |
| 1983 | 0.9% | -6.5% |
| 1984 | 0.9% | +6.1% |
| 1985 | 0.9% | -2.8% |
| 1986 | 0.9% | +3.8% |
| 1987 | 0.9% | -2.8% |
| 1988 | 0.9% | -5.5% |
| 1989 | 0.9% | +9.0% |
| 1990 | 1.1% | +11.5% |
| 1991 | 1.0% | -9.5% |
| 1992 | 1.1% | +10.6% |
| 1993 | 1.1% | +0.9% |
| 1994 | 1.1% | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 1.0% | -9.0% |
| 1996 | 0.9% | -8.2% |
| 1997 | 0.8% | -5.9% |
| 1998 | 0.7% | -18.3% |
| 1999 | 0.6% | -17.2% |
| 2000 | 0.5% | -19.1% |
| 2001 | 0.4% | -19.1% |
| 2002 | 0.3% | -29.8% |
| 2003 | 0.2% | -4.3% |
| 2004 | 0.3% | +11.2% |
| 2005 | 0.3% | +2.7% |
| 2006 | 0.3% | +3.0% |
| 2007 | 0.3% | +2.0% |
| 2008 | 0.3% | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 0.3% | +5.3% |
| 2010 | 0.3% | -0.4% |
| 2011 | 0.4% | +32.5% |
| 2012 | 0.5% | +13.9% |
| 2013 | 0.5% | -5.0% |
| 2014 | 0.5% | +5.0% |
| 2015 | 0.4% | -6.8% |
| 2016 | 0.4% | -14.9% |
| 2017 | 0.4% | -5.0% |
| 2018 | 0.3% | -8.2% |
| 2019 | 0.4% | +12.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.9% | 0.6% | 1.0% | 5 |
| 1980s | 0.9% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.9% | 0.6% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
- 163 Comoros 0.4% compare
- 164 Luxembourg 0.4% compare
- 165 Sierra Leone 0.4% compare
- 167 Ireland 0.2% compare
- 168 Iceland 0.2% compare
- 169 Lao People's Democratic Republic 0.2% 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)
- Exports of goods and services (current LCU), annual growth rate 4.66 % change on previous year (2004)
- Exports of goods and services (current LCU), per unit of GDP 2.32 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2004)
- Exports of goods and services (current LCU), per capita 1,443 current LCU per person (2004)
- Gross fixed capital formation (current US$), annual growth rate 10.94 % change on previous year (2004)
- Gross fixed capital formation (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1813 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2004)
- Gross fixed capital formation (current US$), per capita 112.54 current US$ per person (2004)
- Gross fixed capital formation (current LCU), per unit of GDP 0.5842 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2004)
- Gross fixed capital formation (current LCU), per capita 362.56 current LCU per person (2004)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military spending as a share of gdp in Papua New Guinea?
- Military spending as a share of gdp in Papua New Guinea was 0.4% in 2019, according to Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 1.1% in 1994.
- What is the lowest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 2003.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 166th out of 172 countries with data for 2019.
- Is military spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea data come from?
- The figures come from Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Military spending as a share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Military spending measured as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).