About

Overview In 2022, Papua New Guinea was the number 102 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 87 in total exports, the number 141 in total imports, the number 133 economy in terms of GDP per capita (current US$) and the number 120 most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI) .

Exports The top exports of Papua New Guinea are Petroleum Gas ($7.71B), Gold ($1.74B), Palm Oil ($1.03B), Crude Petroleum ($934M), and Copper Ore ($826M), exporting mostly to Japan ($4.03B), China ($3.44B), Australia ($1.74B), South Korea ($1.48B), and Chinese Taipei ($1.46B).

Imports The top imports of Papua New Guinea are Refined Petroleum ($858M), Rice ($160M), Excavation Machinery ($123M), Delivery Trucks ($114M), and Broadcasting Equipment ($104M), importing mostly from China ($1.43B), Australia ($1.27B), Singapore ($857M), Malaysia ($508M), and Indonesia ($245M).

Location Papua New Guinea borders Indonesia by land and Australia, Micronesia, Solomon Islands, and New Caledonia by sea.

Latest Trends

Latest Trade

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Y-AXIS SCALE

The following section uses the most recent trade data from partners of Papua New Guinea.

Disclaimer: data is presented based on availability and only countries that use the harmonized system are being shown.

* Trade values are converted to USD using each month's exchange rate. For December 2023 data, the exchange rate from December 30, 2023 is used.

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Latest Data

Flow
Color
Depth

The data obtained is mirror data. The trade of countries that do not report current data can be reconstructed based on data reported by partner countries with current data available.

*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.

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Historical Data

Yearly Trade

Flow
Color
Depth
Top Export (2022)Petroleum Gas$7.71B
Top Destination (2022)Japan$4.03B

In 2022, Papua New Guinea exported a total of $15.4B, making it the number 87 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of Papua New Guinea have changed by $5.42B from $10B in 2017 to $15.4B in 2022.

The most recent exports are led by Petroleum Gas ($7.71B), Gold ($1.74B), Palm Oil ($1.03B), Crude Petroleum ($934M), and Copper Ore ($826M). The most common destination for the exports of Papua New Guinea are Japan ($4.03B), China ($3.44B), Australia ($1.74B), South Korea ($1.48B), and Chinese Taipei ($1.46B).

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Exports (2022)
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Destinations (2022)
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Market Growth

Flow
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Fastest Growing Export Markets (2021 - 2022)
Japan$1.37B (+ 51.7%)
China$1.16B (+ 51.1%)
South Korea$861M (+ 139%)
Fastest Growing Import Markets (2021 - 2022)
China$472M (+ 49.5%)
Singapore$196M (+ 29.6%)
Malaysia$157M (+ 44.9%)

Total Export Growth by Market (2021 - 2022)

Service Trade

Service Trade

Papua New Guinea Exports Services (2018)$388M
Papua New Guinea Imports Services (2018)$1.63B

In 2018, Papua New Guinea exported $388M worth of services. The top services exported by Papua New Guinea in 2018 were Other business services ($185M), Insurance services ($93.6M), Government services, n.i.e. ($32.8M), Construction services ($28.3M), and Financial services ($22.9M).

The top services imported by Papua New Guinea in 2018 were Other business services ($916M), Transportation ($316M), Construction services ($125M), Personal travel ($89.3M), and Insurance services ($59.1M).

Service Exports (2018)

Service Imports (2018)

Economic Complexity

Overview

Economic Complexity (Trade)-1.84Rank 120 of 124
Economic Complexity (Research)-0.72Rank 100 of 135

Most Specialized Products by RCA Index

Papua New Guinea has a high level of specialization in Platinum Clad Metals (199), Nickel Mattes (72.3), Rough Wood (55.4), Vanilla (37.1), and Coconut Oil (30.1). Specialization is measured using RCA, an index that takes the ratio between Papua New Guinea observed and expected exports in each product.

Most Complex Products by PCI

The highest complexity exports of Papua New Guinea according to the product complexity index (PCI) are Wooden articles n.e.c. in heading no. 4414 to 4420 (-0.41), Leather further prepared after tanning or crusting, including parchment-dressed leather, of bovine... (-0.68), Silver (including silver plated with gold or platinum); unwrought or in semi-manufactured... (-0.7), Wood sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether or not planed,... (-1.22), and Oil-cake and other solid residues; whether or not ground or in the... (-1.27). PCI measures the knowledge intensity of a product by considering the knowledge intensity of its exporters.

Export Opportunities by Relatedness

The top export opportunities for Papua New Guinea according to the relatedness index, were Cocoa Shells (0.062), Crude Petroleum (0.061), Aluminium Ore (0.048), Niobium, Tantalum, Vanadium and Zirconium Ore (0.047), and Rubber (0.044). Relatedness measures the distance between a country's current exports and each product. The barchart show only products that Papua New Guinea is not specialized in.

Product Space

The product space is a network connecting products that are likely to be co-exported. The product space can be used to predict future exports, since countries are more likely to start exporting products that are related to current exports. Relatedness measures the distance between a product, and all of the products a country currently specializes in.

Relatedness Space

This network shows the products most related to the production structure of Papua New Guinea. These are products that tend to be co-exported with the products that Papua New Guinea exports. Higher relatedness values ​​indicate greater knowledge, which predicts a greater probability of exporting that product in the future.

Diversification Frontier

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Depth

The Complexity-Relatedness diagram compares the risk vs strategic value of a country's potential export oppotunities. Relatedness is predictive of the probability that a country increases its exports in a product. Complexity, is associated with higher levels of income, economic growth, less income inequality, and lower greenhouse emissions.

Economic Complexity Ranking

Methodology
Scale

During the last 20 years Papua New Guinea's⁩ ⁨economy has become relatively less complex, moving from the ⁩⁨91st to the 120th⁩ position in the ECI rank.

These economic complexity rankings use 6 digit exports classified according to the HS96 classification. We consider only countries with population of at least 1 million and exports of at least $1 billion, and products with world trade over $500 million. To explore different rankings and vary these parameters visit the custom rankings section.

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ECI (Trade) Ranking by Country

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