Population, GDP, natural resources, leaders and history of Papua New Guinea: the Magna Factbook country file, with its Magna Power score (38.41/100, ranked #125 of 195).
Papua New Guinea is a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm in 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. The country's capital is Port Moresby; it covers 462,840 sq km. Independence: 16 September 1975 (from the Australia-administered UN trusteeship). Terrain: mostly mountains with coastal lowlands and rolling foothills. Climate: tropical; northwest monsoon (December to March), southeast monsoon (May to October); slight seasonal temperature variation. Population: 10.3 million (2025 estimate). Population growth: +2.22% per year. Median age: 21.9 …
| Capital | Port Moresby |
|---|---|
| Population | 10,273,996 (2025 est.) |
| GDP (PPP) | $45.487 billion (2024 est.) |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $4,300 (2024 est.) |
| Real GDP growth | 4.1% (2024 est.) |
| Inflation | 0.6% |
| Unemployment | 2.8% |
| Public debt | 52.4% of GDP (2023 est.) |
| Exports | $12.93 billion (2023 est.) |
| Imports | $7.192 billion (2023 est.) |
| Life expectancy | 70.1 years (2024 est.) |
| Median age | 21.9 |
| Urbanization | 13.7% of total population (2023) |
| Government | parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm |
| Independence | 16 September 1975 (from the Australia-administered UN trusteeship) |
| Languages | Tok Pisin (official), English (official), Hiri Motu (official), some 839 living indigenous languages are spoken (about 12% of the world's total) |
POWER 38.41/100 — The Magna Power score is our 0–100 composite of structural national power — five dimensions, 100+ indicators. It is the Bureau's own assessment, not a mirror of World Bank or CIA figures.
Momentum 0 — Quarterly momentum: the Bureau's read on the country's trajectory over the last quarter, from −10 (deteriorating fast) to +10 (accelerating).
Nothing in Jul–Sep 2026 moved the needle. The institutions functioned, the economy ran its course, and the world looked elsewhere.
That is the honest note: a quarter of normalcy, scored as such.
Gold, Copper, Silver, Natural gas, Timber, Oil.
James Marape — Prime Minister. King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor General Grand Chief Sir Bob DADAE (since 28 February 2017)
Papua New Guinea maintains 21 embassies abroad, hosts 16 foreign diplomatic missions, holds permanent missions to UN New York, UN Geneva. The breadth of a diplomatic network is a direct measure of diplomatic power — it shows how far a country’s influence, alliances and interests reach.
| Embassies abroad | 21 |
|---|---|
| Foreign missions hosted | 16 |
| Multilateral missions | UN New York, UN Geneva |
Source: Lowy Institute Global Diplomacy Index 2024 (released 2024-02-25), https://globaldiplomacyindex.lowyinstitute.org/; Wikipedia 'List of diplomatic missions of Papua New Guinea', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_diplomatic_missions_of_Papua_New_Guinea; '... in Papua New Guinea', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_diplomatic_missions_in_Papua_New_Guinea
Transport networks are economic power made physical — ports, runways, railways and pipelines decide what a country can move, sell and defend.
| Sea access | Coastal — 5152 km of coastline. |
|---|---|
| Airports (total) | 569 + 3 heliports (registration prefix P2) |
| Major seaports | Kavieng Harbor, Kieta, Port Moresby, Rabaul, Vanimo, Wewak Harbor |
| Pipelines | 264 km oil (2013) |
Nadzab Tomodachi International Airport (LAE) — Lae; Port Moresby Jacksons International Airport (POM) — Port Moresby; Baimuru Airport (VMU) — Baimuru; Balimo Airport (OPU) — Balimo; Buka Airport (BUA) — Buka Island; Chimbu Airport (CMU) — Kundiawa; Daru Airport (DAU) — Daru; Girua Airport (PNP) — Popondetta; Goroka Airport (GKA) — Goronka; Gurney Airport (GUR) — Gurney.
Showing 10 of 15 major airports.
| LNG export terminals | Port Moresby |
|---|
Sources: OurAirports public-domain extract (2026-10-02); per-entry Wikipedia links included; CIA World Factbook via cia_factbook snapshot (2026-09-28); theodora.com CIA mirror (CIA World Factbook Transportation section), scraped 2026-10-02
| Political system | parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
|---|---|
| Next election | No election currently scheduled. |
POWER 38.41/100 Ranked #125 of 195 countries in the Magna Country Rankings. Full ranking breakdown for Papua New Guinea.
Historical timeline of Papua New Guinea
