The water
Bottled or treated water only; malaria prevention matters in lowland areas. Tap water: Not drinkable.
Papua New Guinea
Queen Alexandra's birdwing, the world's largest butterfly, found only in PNG's Oro Province
RegionOceaniaCurrencyPGKPowerType I, 230VTap waterNot drinkable
Good
Eco Index
What to expect on the ground
At a glance
Food & farming
Around four in five people live rurally and grow their own food, so subsistence agriculture is the backbone of daily life, built on sweet potato (kaukau), taro, yam, sago, banana, coconut and leafy greens. Staple self sufficiency…Read more
Around four in five people live rurally and grow their own food, so subsistence agriculture is the backbone of daily life, built on sweet potato (kaukau), taro, yam, sago, banana, coconut and leafy greens. Staple self sufficiency at the household level is very high, though towns lean on imported rice and tinned fish. Cash crops include coffee, cocoa and copra.
Local staples
Sweet potato (kaukau), taro, yam, sago, banana, coconut, aibika greens; rice in towns
Markets
Daily produce markets; the Highlands markets at Mount Hagen and Goroka are vivid
In season
Coffee harvest April to September in the Highlands; garden crops year round
Wildlife
New Guinea is a global biodiversity summit, and PNG holds the lion's share of the world's birds of paradise, dozens of species most of them endemic, along with tree kangaroos, the world's largest butterfly (Queen Alexandra's…Read more
New Guinea is a global biodiversity summit, and PNG holds the lion's share of the world's birds of paradise, dozens of species most of them endemic, along with tree kangaroos, the world's largest butterfly (Queen Alexandra's birdwing, found only in Oro Province) and the coral rich waters of Kimbe and Milne bays. Endemism is exceptional across birds, mammals, reptiles and insects. The World Bank and IUCN list about 51 threatened mammal and 38 threatened bird species (2022).
Found nowhere else
Birds of paradise, many endemic; Queen Alexandra's birdwing butterfly; tree kangaroos
Natural phenomena
Wet Nov–Apr, dry May–Oct; lowlands are hot and humid all year.
When to go
Dry season for the Highlands and diving
Getting around
Domestic flights are essential because few roads link regions; public motor vehicles (PMVs) and boats for local travel
Good to know
Cash mostly, Kina; cards only in Port Moresby hotels. Crime caution in cities.
Safety
Solo female travel: Take care. LGBTQ+: Illegal.
Only hereQueen Alexandra's birdwing, the world's largest butterfly, found only in PNG's Oro Province
Assessed across 10 equally-weighted pillars
The Eco Index, pillar by pillar
68/100
Good
The Eco Index: Papua New Guinea
12 pillars, equally weighted, from published sources. All 12 assessed. Blanks mean unverified, never estimated.
Only here Queen Alexandra's birdwing, the world's largest butterfly, found only in PNG's Oro Province
- Forest cover
- 79.0%
- Land protected
- 3.69%
- Sea protected
- 0.14%
- Organic farmland
- 6.1%
- Found nowhere else
- Birds of paradise, many endemic; Queen Alexandra's birdwing butterfly; tree kangaroos
- Renewable power
- 23%
- CO2 per person
- 0.79 tonnes (2024) t
- Air quality (AQI)
- 12.3
- Cleanest air
- The Highlands and remote islands
- Water from
- Bottled or treated water only; malaria prevention matters in lowland areas.
- Tap water
- Not drinkable
- Cleanest water
- Kimbe Bay, Milne Bay and the Tufi fjords
- Springs
- Geothermal areas at Rabaul; Dei Dei and Fergusson Island hot springs in Milne Bay
- In season
- Coffee harvest April to September in the Highlands; garden crops year round
- Plastic ban
- Limited; not comprehensive
- Watch out for
- Large scale logging and mining, including the Ok Tedi mine notorious for Fly River tailings pollution
- Solo female travel
- Take care
- LGBTQ+ acceptance
- Illegal
- Best months
- May to October
- Getting around
- Domestic flights are essential because few roads link regions; public motor vehicles (PMVs) and boats for local travel
- Power
- Type I, 230V
- Currency
- PGK
| Pillar | Score | What we found |
|---|---|---|
| WaterWhere the water comes from, and whether there is enough of it | 2/5 | Papua New Guinea has enormous freshwater resources, high rainfall and major rivers such as the Sepik, Fly and Ramu, so scarcity is not the issue. Full assessmentAccess and safety are: WHO/UNICEF JMP figures place PNG among the world's lowest for drinking water, with well under half the population reaching even a basic supply and rural villages relying on rivers and rain tanks. Tap water is not reliably safe. Abundant water, poor delivery. |
| Food and farmingWhat the island actually grows, and what arrives by boat | 4/5 | Around four in five people live rurally and grow their own food, so subsistence agriculture is the backbone of daily life, built on sweet potato (kaukau), taro, yam, sago, banana, coconut a… Full assessmentd leafy greens. Staple self sufficiency at the household level is very high, though towns lean on imported rice and tinned fish. Cash crops include coffee, cocoa and copra. |
| Plant based and real foodWhether you can eat unprocessed from local supply | 4/5 | The everyday diet is dominated by whole plant foods: root crops, sago, banana, coconut and greens such as aibika, with meat and fish reserved largely for feasts. Full assessmentFresh produce fills local markets daily. Unprocessed plant eating is the norm rather than a niche. |
| OrganicCertified and chemical free growing, which is not the same thing as plant based | 4/5 | FiBL records about 6.1 percent of agricultural land as certified organic in 2020, roughly 72,000 hectares, a high share reflecting PNG's certified organic coffee and cocoa grown by smallhol… Full assessmenters with few synthetic inputs. |
| ConservationWhat is protected, and whether protection is enforced | 2/5 | Formal protected areas cover only about 3.7 percent of the land and a negligible 0.1 percent of marine waters (World Bank, 2021), among the lowest formal coverage anywhere. Full assessmentIn practice, roughly 97 percent of land is under customary ownership and much forest stays intact through traditional stewardship, with locally managed areas such as the YUS Conservation Area and Torricelli. Formal protection and enforcement are weak, but de facto forest cover is high at 79 percent. |
| Wildlife and endemicsWhat lives here and nowhere else on earth | 5/5 | New Guinea is a global biodiversity summit, and PNG holds the lion's share of the world's birds of paradise, dozens of species most of them endemic, along with tree kangaroos, the world's l… Full assessmentrgest butterfly (Queen Alexandra's birdwing, found only in Oro Province) and the coral rich waters of Kimbe and Milne bays. Endemism is exceptional across birds, mammals, reptiles and insects. The World Bank and IUCN list about 51 threatened mammal and 38 threatened bird species (2022). |
| Natural materialsWhat you can eat from and carry here instead of plastic, and who still makes it | 3/5 | Natural fibre craft is woven into daily life, above all the bilum, a looped string bag made from plant fibres and now also wool, recognised as intangible cultural heritage, alongside bark c… Full assessmentoth (tapa), woven mats, grass skirts and shell and feather adornment. These are made and used across the country. |
| Pollution and plasticPlastic law and contamination | 3/5 | Ambient PM2.5 averages about 12.3 micrograms per cubic metre (World Bank, 2017), relatively clean thanks to low industrialisation, and away from towns the environment is largely unpolluted. Full assessmentSolid waste management is weak in urban centres and formal plastic policy is limited, so town litter is a problem. Overall pollution is low but poorly managed where it occurs. |
| Recycling and wasteWhat actually happens to the rubbish once you have thrown it away | 1/5 | There is effectively no formal municipal recycling infrastructure, and most urban waste is landfilled or dumped. Full assessmentAny recovery is informal and small scale. |
| Energy and climateClean power, carbon emissions per person and the pace of decarbonisation | 3/5 | Papua New Guinea's grid drew only about a quarter of its electricity from low carbon sources in 2023, mostly hydropower at around 21% with some geothermal, and fewer than one in five people… Full assessmenthave grid access. Fossil carbon dioxide emissions are very low at roughly 0.79 tonnes per person in 2024 because energy use is minimal for most of the population. The country is nonetheless a significant liquefied natural gas exporter and faces heavy pressure from commercial logging and forest loss, which weigh against the low domestic figure. Its enhanced climate pledge aspires to net zero and targets a far higher renewable grid share, but delivery remains limited. |
| Culture and peopleIndigenous and living communities, and who the money reaches | 5/5 | Papua New Guinea is one of the most culturally intact nations on Earth, with more than 800 languages, most people living rurally on clan land, and vibrant living traditions from Highlands s… Full assessmentng sings to Sepik carving. Customary ownership of about 97 percent of the land keeps decisions with communities, and community based ecotourism operates around village stays, the Kokoda Track and the YUS area. Culture here is lived, not curated. |
| Living heritage and ancestral traditionsNational dance and music, and the ancestral and spiritual traditions still practised | 5/5 | Papua New Guinea is among the most culturally diverse nations on earth, with over 800 languages and heritage that remains vividly alive. Full assessmentSing-sing gatherings bring communities together in dance, kundu and garamut drumming, feather and shell bilas adornment and painted display, from the Huli wigmen to the Asaro mudmen. Ancestral and spiritual traditions, initiation rites and clan cosmology continue to shape daily life across the highlands, islands and Sepik River. Distinct regional forms such as Malagan carving and Sepik masks carry deep ancestral meaning. |
Before you go
Cash mostly, Kina; cards only in Port Moresby hotels. Crime caution in cities.
Where these figures come from
- FAO and World Bank, Forest area (percent of land area) AG.LND.FRST.ZS, 2022. source
- World Bank, Terrestrial protected areas (percent of total land area) ER.LND.PTLD.ZS, 2021. source
- World Bank, Marine protected areas (percent of territorial waters) ER.MRN.PTMR.ZS, 2021. source
- Low Carbon Power (data from EIA and Ember), Papua New Guinea electricity mix, 2023. source
- World Bank, PM2.5 air pollution, mean annual exposure (micrograms per cubic metre) EN.ATM.PM25.MC.M3, 2017. source
- FiBL, The World of Organic Agriculture 2022 (2020 data), organic farmland share. source
- World Bank and IUCN Red List, threatened mammal and bird species (EN.MAM.THRD.NO, EN.BIR.THRD.NO), 2022. source
- UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, bilum making. source
- Our World in Data, CO2 emissions per capita, 2024 source
- Low Carbon Power, Papua New Guinea electricity generation mix, 2023 source
- Pacific Community (SPC), renewable share of final energy, 2025 source
- Wikipedia, Sing-sing source
- Wikipedia, Megadiverse countries source
Living heritage and ancestral traditions
The culture still danced, played and believed
Papua New Guinea is among the most culturally diverse nations on earth, with over 800 languages and heritage that remains vividly alive. Sing-sing gatherings bring communities together in dance, kundu and garamut drumming, feather and shell bilas adornment and painted display, from the Huli wigmen to the Asaro mudmen. Ancestral and spiritual traditions, initiation rites and clan cosmology continue to shape daily life across the highlands, islands and Sepik River. Distinct regional forms such as Malagan carving and Sepik masks carry deep ancestral meaning.
- Sing-sing gatherings
- kundu and garamut drumming
- Huli wigmen and Asaro mudmen
- bilas adornment
- Malagan ceremonies and carving
- Sepik masks and haus tambaran
- initiation rites and ancestral clan cosmology.
Sleep well, tread lightly
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