Population growth in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Population growth was 1.7% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Population growth in Papua New Guinea, 1961–2025
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division. Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, population growth in Papua New Guinea stood at 1.7%. That is the lowest value across all 65 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.0% on the previous year and down 31.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population growth in Papua New Guinea peaked at 3.6% in 1993 and was at its lowest, 1.7%, in 2025.
That places Papua New Guinea 60th out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 65 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.3% | 2.1% | 2.5% | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.3% | 2.1% | 2.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.1% | 2.1% | 2.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.4% | 2.6% | 3.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.3% | 3.1% | 3.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.6% | 2.3% | 3.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.9% | 1.7% | 2.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
- 57 Cayman Islands 1.8% compare
- 58 Ghana 1.8% compare
- 59 Tajikistan 1.8% compare
- 61 Armenia 1.7% compare
- 62 Kyrgyzstan 1.7% compare
- 63 Honduras 1.7% compare
More climate change data for Papua New Guinea
- Population, total 10.76 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 4.1% (2025)
- Urban population 1.70 million (2025)
- Urban population 15.8% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 0.3921 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 0.0% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 3.7% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 0.7% (2025)
- Marine protected areas 0.1% (2025)
- CPIA public sector management and institutions cluster average 2.7 1=low to 6=high (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population growth in Papua New Guinea?
- Population growth in Papua New Guinea was 1.7% in 2025, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division.
- What is the highest population growth recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 3.6% in 1993.
- What is the lowest population growth recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.7% in 2025.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for population growth?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 60th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is population growth rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 31.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea data come from?
- The figures come from World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division, published as part of Population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.