Every figure below carries its named source and year. The Eco Index scores twelve pillars on the same scale everywhere; seven are measured from published data with fixed thresholds, five are assessed from the named sources.
Papua New Guinea at a Glance.
The score, and the four numbers that set the tone. 12 equally-weighted pillars, every pillar sourced.
Compare with:
Renewable power
24%
of electricity
Food imported
17%
of merchandise imports · ~US$762m a year
The Eco Index across 12 pillars · scored 0 to 5 · World Bank, OWID, WHO/UNICEF JMP, FiBL, Protected Planet, IUCN, UNESCO (2023-24)
Water
Food & farming
Plant-based
Organic
Conservation
Wildlife
Materials
Pollution
Recycling
Energy
Culture
Heritage
Facts That Surprise People About Papua New Guinea.
The numbers and firsts that change how you see Papua New Guinea, the sobering and the remarkable. Every one is dated and linked to its source.
SoberingHealth
One in seven adults has diabetes
In 2024, 14.1% of Papua New Guinea's adults had diabetes, about 838,000 people.
SoberingFood
Nearly a third of people do not get enough to eat
In 2024, 30.5% of Papua New Guinea's population was undernourished, according to FAO estimates published by the World Bank.
SoberingHealth
Only one in six people has safe sanitation
In 2024, just 16.7% of people in Papua New Guinea used safely managed sanitation services.
SoberingHealth
High risk of early death from chronic disease
In 2021, a 30 year old in Papua New Guinea had a 28.5% chance of dying before 70 from heart disease, cancer, diabetes or chronic lung disease.
SoberingNature
Barely any land is formally protected
Only 0.7% of Papua New Guinea's land and sea territory was in protected areas in 2025.
RemarkableNature
Forests that have barely shrunk since 1990
Papua New Guinea had about 340,300 km² of forest in 2024, less than 2% below its 1990 area of about 346,100 km².
Source: World Bank, Forest area (sq. km): Papua New Guinea · 2024
RemarkableNature
Birds with poison in their feathers
Three Pitohui bird species, found only in the New Guinea region, carry homobatrachotoxin in their skin and feathers. The toxin belongs to the same class once thought unique to South American poison dart frogs.
The History of Papua New Guinea.
Papua New Guinea is home to more than 800 languages and hundreds of distinct cultural groups, and its heritage remains vividly alive. Sing-sing gatherings such as the Goroka Show bring over 100 tribes together in dance and kundu drumming, with feathers, face paint and bilas adornment.
Where the name comes from
Papua was a name meaning 'frizzy-haired' that the Malay-speaking peoples of Southeast Asia, the western neighbours of the island's peoples, gave them, according to the Australian Museum.
The land itself: mountainous, with coastal lowlands and rolling foothills. Its high point is Mount Wilhelm, 4,509 m. Source: national mapping and survey records.
Where it starts
Farming invented here
People were living in the highlands about 2,000 metres up between 49,000 and 44,000 years ago, eating pandanus nuts and yams and using stone tools thought to have cleared trees. Then, at Kuk in the Wahgi valley, people were planting by about 10,000 years ago, built cultivation mounds and grew bananas intensively by about 7,000 years ago, and dug drainage ditches by about 4,000 years ago. Agriculture developed here independently, one of only a handful of places on earth where that happened. This is not a place where farming arrived. It is one of the places it began.
How it got here
Austronesian voyagers to independence
Austronesian-speaking peoples reached the coast about 2,500 years ago, bringing pottery and pigs. From 1884 the island was divided between German and British rule, and later came under Australian administration. The New Guinea campaign of 1942 to 1945 was one of the major campaigns of the Second World War. Papua New Guinea became independent on 16 September 1975.
The timeline
c. 49,000 to 44,000 years ago
Highland settlers.
At sites about 2,000 metres up in the highlands, people ate pandanus nuts and yams and used stone tools thought to have cleared trees to help useful plants grow. Source
More than 40,000 years ago
Coast and islands.
A coastal settlement on the Huon peninsula is dated to more than 40,000 years ago, and people had crossed the sea to the Bismarck Archipelago by about 44,000 to 43,000 years ago. Source
c. 10,000 to 7,000 years ago
Kuk.
At Kuk, people were using and planting the wetland edge by about 10,000 years ago, built cultivation mounds by about 7,000 years ago and dug drainage ditches by about 4,000 years ago. It is one of the few places in the world where the evidence suggests agriculture began independently. Source
From c. 4,000 years ago
Drained ground.
Farmers at Kuk drain the wetlands by digging ditches with wooden tools, a practice that continues to the present. Source
c. 3,470 to 3,240 years ago
Lapita.
Lapita pottery appears on Mussau between about 3,470 and 3,250 years ago and across the rest of the Bismarck Archipelago soon after. Within a few centuries Lapita people reach Vanuatu and Fiji. Source
1942
The Pacific war.
Japanese troops land on the north coast at Buna and Gona, and from July to November 1942 fight along the Kokoda Trail in a bid to take Port Moresby. Source
1975
Independence.
Papua New Guinea becomes independent in September 1975, ending Australian administration. Source
Science, Human Adaptation and Plant Use in Highland New Guinea 49,000 to 44,000 Years Ago · UNESCO World Heritage, Kuk Early Agricultural Site · US Office of the Historian, Papua New Guinea · Science, Denham et al., Origins of agriculture at Kuk Swamp in the highlands of New Guinea (2003) · Papua New Guinea Tourism Promotion Authority, History
Nature and Biodiversity in Papua New Guinea.
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. In 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.
Is wild Papua New Guinea protected? 3.7% of the land is, against a 30% target for 2030
How protected is nature in Papua New Guinea?
Forest cover75.2%
Terrestrial protected area3.69%
Marine protected area0.14%
862 (mammals, birds, fish & plants) listed as threatened.
World Bank Open Data · Protected Planet (UNEP-WCMC / WDPA) · GBIF occurrence data · IUCN Red List, threatened species by country (Summary Statistics, Table 5) · World Bank, Marine protected areas (% of territorial waters): Papua New Guinea · World Bank, Threatened species indicators: Papua New Guinea
Found only here. Birds of paradise, many endemic; Queen Alexandra's birdwing butterfly; tree kangaroos
The watchlist
ThreatenedBeck's Petrel (Pseudobulweria becki) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Papua New Guinea in GBIF occurrence data (bird).
ThreatenedHawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Papua New Guinea in GBIF occurrence data (turtle).
ThreatenedHammerhead Shark (Sphyrna lewini) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Papua New Guinea in GBIF occurrence data (shark or ray).
ThreatenedDolicholobium rufiflorum Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Papua New Guinea in GBIF occurrence data (plant).
ThreatenedLamellomphalus manusensis Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Papua New Guinea in GBIF occurrence data (species).
ThreatenedGiant clam (Tridacna gigas) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Papua New Guinea in GBIF occurrence data (species).
ThreatenedArrowhead (Eusphyra blochii) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Papua New Guinea in GBIF occurrence data (shark or ray).
What is still here, and what is gone?
Tap a species for the honest status.
Closest to being lost, by name
Beck's Petrel (Pseudobulweria becki)
Critically Endangered, the last IUCN category before Extinct in the Wild, and still recorded in Papua New Guinea. GBIF holds 84 verified occurrence records.
Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata)
Critically Endangered, the last IUCN category before Extinct in the Wild, and still recorded in Papua New Guinea. GBIF holds 10 verified occurrence records.
Hammerhead Shark (Sphyrna lewini)
Critically Endangered, the last IUCN category before Extinct in the Wild, and still recorded in Papua New Guinea. GBIF holds 297 verified occurrence records.
Dolicholobium rufiflorum
Critically Endangered, the last IUCN category before Extinct in the Wild, and still recorded in Papua New Guinea. GBIF holds 8 verified occurrence records.
Species named here are drawn from GBIF occurrence records for Papua New Guinea filtered to the IUCN Red List threatened categories. Species are listed where GBIF holds occurrence records for them in this country. Record counts are not published here because the figure cannot be reproduced from a public GBIF query.
Who is putting it back
National park in Central, mapped and named in the open record for Papua New Guinea. OpenStreetMap.
National park in Eastern Highlands, mapped and named in the open record for Papua New Guinea. OpenStreetMap.
National park in Central, mapped and named in the open record for Papua New Guinea. OpenStreetMap.
Water and Ocean in Papua New Guinea.
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. Access and safety are: WHO/UNICEF JMP figures place PNG among the world's lowest for drinking water, with 53.3% of the population on at least a basic supply in 2024, only 48.3% in rural areas, and villages relying on rivers and rain tanks. Tap water is not reliably safe.
Does Papua New Guinea have enough fresh water? Yes, with headroom
Bottled or treated water only; malaria prevention matters in lowland areas.
Cleanest water: Kimbe Bay, Milne Bay and the Tufi fjords
How much fresh water does Papua New Guinea have, per person?
78,505 m³
Papua New Guinea
1,000 m³
the UN “water scarce” line
Papua New Guinea withdraws about 392 million cubic metres of fresh water a year (2022). That is 0.1% of the fresh water actually available to it, which FAO counts as no water stress. Of what is taken, farming takes 0%, homes and towns 57%, industry 43%. Source: FAO AQUASTAT.
What are the rules on Papua New Guinea beaches?
✕Tap water: Not drinkable.
✓Plastic rules: Limited; not comprehensive.
✕Solo travel: rated take care on the record for this destination.
✕Marine protection: 0.14% of the sea is protected. The 30x30 pledge for 2030 is not met yet.
Named on the open map: Bulama Beach, Dali Beach, Davage Beach, Kohua Beach, Kone Maraki Beach, Mirikone Beach, Pariva Beach, Roku Beach. That is 13 named beaches in the public record for Papua New Guinea, each one a place you can look up before you go. OpenStreetMap.
Where does the sewage go?
16.7%
of people have safely managed sanitation
16.7% of people here use a safely managed sanitation service, meaning waste is contained, emptied and treated rather than reaching the ground or the sea untreated (2024, World Bank / WHO-UNICEF JMP, SDG 6.2.1). The rest is what the rivers and the coast receive.
How is the sea around Papua New Guinea doing?
One cross-section, every answer measured.
Surface
What the coast carries
Wet Nov–Apr, dry May–Oct; lowlands are hot and humid all year.
Nearshore
Protected water
0.14% of territorial waters are protected, against the 30% pledged for 2030 under the Global Biodiversity Framework.
Cleanest
Where the water is cleanest
Kimbe Bay, Milne Bay and the Tufi fjords.
The record
Measured
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. Access and safety are: WHO/UNICEF JMP figures place PNG among the world's lowest for drinking water, with 53.3% of the population on at least a basic supply in 2024, only 48.3% in rural areas, and villages relying on rivers and rain tanks.
Papua New Guinea scored 66 out of 100 on the Ocean Health Index in its 2025 assessment, below the global average of 72, and ranked 167th of 220 coastal regions. The index team says it is no longer updating scores, so the 2025 figures may be the last.
Sea protected
0.1%
Against the 30% pledged for 2030 under the Global Biodiversity Framework.
Threatened species
862 (mammals, birds, fish & plants)
Mammals, birds, fish and higher plants on the IUCN list.
Is the tap water safe in Papua New Guinea?
In Port Moresby, Water PNG treats water from Sirinumu Dam through plants including Mt Eriama, and said in January 2024 that a laboratory there tests daily at several points and that the city's supply meets international standards. Supply is the bigger worry: Water PNG announced a partial shutdown of the city's water from 14 August 2026 for at least two to three days, and New Zealand's travel advice warns of frequent water and power cuts. Nationally only 53 per cent of people used even a basic drinking water service in 2024, 84 per cent in towns and 48 per cent in rural areas. Outside the piped town systems, or after a shutdown, boil or filter your water.
How hard is the water supply being pushed?
Of every 10 buckets nature refills, 0 are already taken. Withdrawals run at 0.1% of what Papua New Guinea renews internally each year (2022, World Bank / FAO AQUASTAT). That is inside the 25% mark generally treated as water stress, so the supply has headroom.
When is the best time to visit Papua New Guinea? Tap your month.
Tap your month.
How much fresh water does Papua New Guinea actually have?
Nature renews about 78,505 cubic metres of fresh water per person per year here. That ranks Papua New Guinea 204 of 208 countries measured, placing it among the 10 best-watered countries measured. The UN treats anything under 1,000 cubic metres as water scarce, and this is above that line. World Bank / FAO AQUASTAT.
FAO AQUASTAT · WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme · World Bank Open Data · Ocean Health Index, Papua New Guinea · Ocean Health Index, Global scores · EMTV, Water safe for drinking (30 January 2024) · SafeTravel (New Zealand government), Papua New Guinea (updated 11 August 2026) · World Bank / WHO UNICEF JMP, People using at least basic drinking water services
Food and Drink in Papua New Guinea.
Around four in five people live in rural areas and most grow their own food, so subsistence farming is the backbone of daily life, built on sweet potato (kaukau), taro, yam, sago, banana, coconut and leafy greens such as aibika. About 83% of the food energy eaten in the country is grown there, though towns lean more on imported rice, flour and tinned fish. Cash income comes from coffee, cocoa and copra among other crops.
Where does the food in Papua New Guinea come from?
16.5% imported
about US$762m a year
On the plate: Sweet potato (kaukau), taro, yam, sago, banana, coconut, aibika greens, rice in towns
2 of 10
bites are imported
The island buys in more food energy than it eats. About US$762m a year leaves the country to pay for it. The green slice is roughly what still grows here.
About 16.5% of everything Papua New Guinea buys in from abroad is food, roughly 2 in every 10 imported items on the dock (2023, World Bank). Farming itself is 17% of the economy and 3.1% of the land is agricultural, of which 0.7% is arable. The green slice is roughly what still grows here.
What is killing people in Papua New Guinea? The imported diet.
Cause of death, and the diet behind it.
Non-communicable diseases, all combined47.6%
Diabetes14.1%
Adults living with overweight or obesity. 51.4%.
Can Papua New Guinea feed itself?
0.7%
Arable land
3.1%
Agricultural land
1,381,109
Farmers
815,446
Arable acres
17.0%
Agriculture, share of GDP
Harvest: Coffee harvest April to September in the Highlands; garden crops year round
Feeding itself
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.
Certification
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 smallholders with few synthetic inputs.
Water for crops
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. Access and safety are: WHO/UNICEF JMP figures place PNG among the world's lowest for drinking water, with 53.3% of the population on at least a basic supply in 2024, only 48.3% in rural areas, and villages relying on rivers and rain tanks.
Why the organic number looks like that. Certification covers only part of what is grown cleanly, so a small certified share is a gap in the paperwork rather than proof that nothing is. What the official land record does show: 3.1% of the country is agricultural land and 0.7% is arable (2023, World Bank). Certification is paid for per farm per year by a foreign body, which prices out smallholders, so the organic number reads worse than the practice.
What actually grows here
Oil palm fruitCoconutsBananasFruitsSweet potatoesYamsRoot vegetablesVegetablesSugarcane
The food that already fits
The plant-based kitchen here is not an import. By tonnage, the largest crops grown in Papua New Guinea are oil palm fruit, bananas, coconuts, sweet potatoes and yams (FAO, FAOSTAT crop production, 2024). That is what the land itself puts on a plate.
Buy direct where residents buy: Andewale Marketplace, Angore Marketplace, Arawa Main Market, Baimuru Market, Bendaun Market, Binsnol Market. Each is a mapped, named marketplace, so the money stays with the seller rather than the importer. OpenStreetMap.
Is this grown in Papua New Guinea?
Tap a food for the honest answer.
TaroYamSagoBananaCoconutAibika greensRice in towns
Climate and Energy in Papua New Guinea.
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 have 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.
What powers Papua New Guinea?
Renewable 23.7%Fossil 76.3%
PNG Power Limited, which describes itself as a fully integrated state owned power authority, runs the public grid and sits under Kumul Consolidated Holdings, the state company that manages most government owned enterprises. Its three main grids serve Port Moresby, the Ramu valley and the Gazelle Peninsula. In March 2026 the KCH managing director said Cabinet had approved a privatisation process, and the Asian Development Bank agreed a US$100 million loan to build a policy framework that lets more private companies in. In August 2026 Prime Minister James Marape called PNG Power "a very sick state owned enterprise" and said loss making centres would pass to capable provincial governments or other operators, licensed through the National Energy Authority set up under the reforms. He said about 80 per cent of customers at one major Highlands centre do not pay for their power.
Climate pollution per person
The safe amount, what the planet can absorb
2 tonnes
One person here
0.52 tonnes
The world average, for comparison
4.7 tonnes
The worst it ever got
0.8 tonnes
The grid
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 have 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.
Pollution
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. Solid waste management is weak in urban centres and formal plastic policy is limited, so town litter is a problem.
Water stress
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. Access and safety are: WHO/UNICEF JMP figures place PNG among the world's lowest for drinking water, with 53.3% of the population on at least a basic supply in 2024, only 48.3% in rural areas, and villages relying on rivers and rain tanks.
What pollutes most here
1The grid The share of electricity still generated from fossil fuel.77%
2Industry Large scale logging and mining, including the Ok Tedi mine notorious for Fly River tailings pollution.named
3Air Modelled annual mean against a WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.12.3
4On the record 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.
What has Papua New Guinea promised on climate?
Net zero, whole economy2050
Electricity renewable today40% (2021)
Land protected, against a 30% target3.7% by 2025
Sea protected, against a 30% target0.1% by 2025
The net-zero target year on file with Climate Watch is 2050, status: in policy document. Measured against it, 40% of electricity is already renewable (2021, World Bank), so 60% of the grid is still to be converted. The pledge on file is measured here against what has actually been delivered, not taken on its own (UNFCCC NDC Registry, CBD Kunming-Montreal Target 3).
The biggest line item
One return flight against a whole year of living.
A resident's entire year0.52 t CO2e
Safe-climate budget, per year2 t CO2e
New York return, economy2.65 t CO2e
Paris return, economy2.62 t CO2e
London return, economy2.61 t CO2e
Frankfurt return, economy2.54 t CO2e
Johannesburg return, economy2.22 t CO2e
How much CO2 does flying to Papua New Guinea emit?
Tap where you would fly from. One return flight, economy.
Firsts on climate finance. In July 2025 the Green Climate Fund approved US$63.4 million in results based payments to Papua New Guinea for forest emission cuts made between 2014 and 2016, about 12.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, with the money going back into the National REDD+ Strategy for 2017 to 2027. Across five projects the fund lists US$85.4 million for the country, plus US$4.3 million in readiness support. The Bank of Papua New Guinea launched a Green Finance Centre in March 2024, and in March 2025 its governor described the new green taxonomy as PNG's first and announced green and blue loans for small firms, farming and fisheries.
Climate Watch (WRI) · UNFCCC NDC Registry · World Bank Open Data · UK DESNZ greenhouse gas conversion factors · PNG Power Limited, About us · Business Advantage PNG, PNG Power: the road towards privatisation (31 March 2026) · Islands Business, PNG Power faces crisis as government weighs provincial partnerships, privatisation (28 August 2026) · Green Climate Fund, FP273 Papua New Guinea REDD-plus results based payments for 2014 to 2016 · Green Climate Fund, Papua New Guinea country page · BIS, Elizabeth Genia: Green Finance Summit 2025, championing green finance in Papua New Guinea
AI and Data Centres in Papua New Guinea.
Every prompt runs on a machine in a building on somebody’s grid. What that costs the planet depends less on the prompt than on what is burning to power it. Here is what would power one in Papua New Guinea.
Data centres
2
Registered colocation and interconnection facilities, PeeringDB, 2026
Grid renewable
23.7 %
What a machine here runs on.
What powers a data centre in Papua New Guinea?
Almost everything a machine here consumes is burned fossil fuel.
Renewable 23.7%Fossil 76.3%
Cooling water. Every one of those halls runs on the national grid, which is 40% renewable today (World Bank). A data centre is only as clean as the electricity behind it, so the same figure that decides this country's climate score also decides the footprint of the AI running inside it. Cooling water use is not separately published by facility, and no operator here reports it.
The rules. Papua New Guinea has 2 colocation and interconnection facilities on the public PeeringDB register, concentrated in Port Moresby (2), alongside 3 internet exchanges (PNG Neutral IX POM, PNG Neutral IX Lae, PNG Neutral IX Hagen). Named sites include Datec Port Moresby, PNG Nambawan Trophy.
Where the cables land. 15 landing points · Alotau, Arawa, Daru, Kavieng
Economy and Tourism in Papua New Guinea.
98% residents to 2% visitors across a year. 211,000 international arrivals in 2019 against 10,762,817 people who live here (2025, World Bank / UN Tourism).
Where a visitor dollar goes in Papua New Guinea
39k
Visitors a year
0.0
Visitors per resident
How deep in debt is Papua New Guinea?· for every $100 Papua New Guinea earns in a year, it owes…
Pay to the order of: the creditorsmemo · the 2023 peak
$ 54The worst year on the IMF record. Papua New Guinea owed $54 for every $100 it earned.
IMF World Economic Outlook, 2023signed, the creditors
Pay to the order of: the creditorsmemo · today
$ 49What is owed now, for every $100 of national income (2026).
IMF World Economic Outlook, 2026signed, the creditors
Pay to the order of: the creditorsmemo · projected 2031
$ 34The IMF's own forecast has this falling to $34 by 2031.
IMF World Economic Outlook projection, 2031signed, the forecast
For every $100 Papua New Guinea earns in a year, it owes $49 (2026, IMF World Economic Outlook). The interest on that is paid before schools, clinics or coastline get their turn.
Where does a tourist dollar actually go in Papua New Guinea?
Play one tourist dollar around the board. Every square is a measured fact from this page.
START!
1
GO: a visitor lands
$100 goes on the table. 211,000 international arrivals in 2019 against 10,762,817 residents, one visitor a year for every 51 residents (World Bank / UN Tourism).
$100 in play2
The bed
Who owns the largest places to stay in Papua New Guinea is not published in the records we can check, so this square is left open rather than guessed. Where a listing names its owner, it is shown in the ownership table below.
not published3
The plate
Food is 16.5% of everything Papua New Guinea imports (2023, World Bank), so a large part of every restaurant bill is paid to a supplier abroad. Eating what the land here actually grows, oil palm fruit, coconuts, bananas, fruits, sweet potatoes, yams, root vegetables, vegetables, sugarcane, keeps that money with the grower.
sails in4
The power
60% of the electricity is fossil (2021, World Bank). Lighting, cooling and hot water are paid for largely in imported fuel.
burns away5
What actually stays
Of the two parts of a visitor's bill that can be measured here, the plate and the power mostly leave Papua New Guinea. Choosing locally grown food is the part of that a visitor can actually control.
less than you think6
Pay the bank first
Papua New Guinea owes $49 for every $100 it earns (IMF World Economic Outlook, 2026 projection). The interest is paid before anything else on this board.
$49 per $1007
No plan B
42.6% of everything Papua New Guinea sells abroad is mineral fuels and oils (2023, UN Comtrade). One market moving takes the whole board with it.
42.6% one export8
Community chest
Tourism earns 0% of everything Papua New Guinea makes from exports (2018, World Bank / UN Tourism). That is how much of the economy depends on the game continuing.
0% of exports9
The flight
Getting here is usually the biggest single line on the bill. From New York a return economy seat is 2.65 t CO2, on the UK Government's published conversion factors. It is the one part of the trip this board cannot reduce.
2.65 t CO210
Back to GO
The economy turns over about US$34 billion a year (IMF World Economic Outlook, 2026 projection). Every lap of this board is a choice about how much of it stays.
US$34bnGDPUS$32.5bn
Agriculture, share of GDP17%
Visitors a year39,000
Visitors per resident0
Residents~10,762,817
Agriculture
Farming is 17% of the economy. 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.
Natural materials
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 cloth (tapa), woven mats, grass skirts and shell and feather adornment. These are made and used across the country.
Energy
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 have 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.
Who owns the biggest hotels in Papua New Guinea?
By rooms · company records and press.
Tufi Dive Resort · ~26 roomsIndependentnot published
Walindi Plantation Resort · ~20 roomsIndependentnot published
Visitors, over time
2015199k
2016198k
2017182k
2018195k
2019211k
202039k
International tourism receipts run at about US$0.00 billion in 2018 (World Bank / UN Tourism). That is 0% of everything the country earns from exports.
How much of your money actually stays here?
Tap the holiday you are planning.
Visiting Papua New Guinea, whoever you are.
Resort guest, villa renter, family, nomad or backpacker. The honest playbook for each, from the same sourced numbers.
Already booked a resort? · the rescue list
Five swaps that move your money back on-island
1. Eat where the country eats Choose kitchens cooking sweet potato (kaukau), taro, yam, sago, banana, coconut, aibika greens; rice in towns over imported menus.
2. Book with a local operator Never the lobby desk. The margin on a tour is the part that stays.
3. Stay somewhere locally owned Ownership decides where the room rate books. Eco stays
4. Use the transport residents use Domestic flights are essential because few roads link regions; public motor vehicles (PMVs) and boats for local travel
5. Buy the craft, not the souvenir Natural-materials work made here pays the maker directly; imported gifts pay a shipping line.
Swipe
First time here
Papua New Guinea is one of Earth's most biologically and culturally diverse countries, nearly four fifths forested and largely held under customary ownership, though basic services such as safe water lag badly.
Best time: 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
Transport is where the fare either stays or leaves.
Eating here
The everyday plate that actually grows here is oil palm fruit, coconuts, bananas, fruits, sweet potatoes, yams, root vegetables, vegetables and sugarcane. Ordering those keeps the money with the grower and cuts the imported share of the meal.
Eating what the country grows is the cheapest way to cut the import bill.
Good to know
Cash mostly, Kina; cards only in Port Moresby hotels. Crime caution in cities.
Rate my hotel. Tap yours for the honest verdict.
Ownership from company records and press.
Who owns the places to stay
Tufi Dive ResortIndependent · 26 rooms
Walindi Plantation ResortIndependent · 20 rooms
None of the 2 properties listed here publishes who ultimately owns it, so no claim is made either way. Ownership is what decides how much of a room rate stays in the country, which is why we show it when a listing states it.
Society and Governance in Papua New Guinea.
How well is Papua New Guinea actually run?
Governance, measured · World Bank WGI
Four measured answers, none of them opinion. Averaged across corruption control, delivery and accountability, Papua New Guinea scores 39 out of 100 (2024, World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators). That matters here because every pledge on this page is only as good as the machinery meant to deliver it.
What is daily life in Papua New Guinea really like? Measured
Getting around, breathing, throwing away, learning. The honest checklist.
TransportAirWaterWastePower
✓How you get around Domestic flights are essential because few roads link regions; public motor vehicles (PMVs) and boats for local travel
87.0%
literacy. Public spending on education runs at 0.8% of GDP and 3.5% of all government spending, and secondary enrolment stands at 52.1% gross (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2023).
Made in Papua New Guinea.
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 cloth (tapa), woven mats, grass skirts and shell and feather adornment. These are made and used across the country. Every step of processing done at home is value that stops leaving the country.
What Papua New Guinea actually sells the world
The single biggest thing Papua New Guinea sells the world is mineral fuels and oils, 42.6% of all exports in 2023 (about US$4.24 billion, UN Comtrade). The next four are pearls, gemstones and precious metals at 19.9%, ores, slag and ash at 9.6%, animal and vegetable fats and oils at 9.2%, fish and seafood at 4.6%.
Made now · natural materials
Above all the bilum
Worked in Papua New Guinea from local material, and still a working craft rather than a museum piece.
Made now · natural materials
Looped string bag made from plant fibres
Worked in Papua New Guinea from local material, and still a working craft rather than a museum piece.
Made now · natural materials
Now also wool
Worked in Papua New Guinea from local material, and still a working craft rather than a museum piece.
Made now · natural materials
Recognised as intangible cultural heritage
Worked in Papua New Guinea from local material, and still a working craft rather than a museum piece.
Made now · natural materials
Alongside bark cloth (tapa)
Worked in Papua New Guinea from local material, and still a working craft rather than a museum piece.
Buys in · 16.2% of imports
Machinery and mechanical appliances
Papua New Guinea imported US$1.00 billion of machinery and mechanical appliances in 2023, 16.2% of everything it bought abroad, and sells none of it back. Every point of that is a business that could be built at home rather than shipped in. UN Comtrade.
Buys in · 8.0% of imports
Electrical machinery and electronics
Papua New Guinea imported US$0.49 billion of electrical machinery and electronics in 2023, 8.0% of everything it bought abroad, and sells none of it back. Every point of that is a business that could be built at home rather than shipped in. UN Comtrade.
Buys in · 7.2% of imports
Vehicles
Papua New Guinea imported US$0.45 billion of vehicles in 2023, 7.2% of everything it bought abroad, and sells none of it back. Every point of that is a business that could be built at home rather than shipped in. UN Comtrade.
Buys in · 5.3% of imports
Cereals
Papua New Guinea imported US$0.33 billion of cereals in 2023, 5.3% of everything it bought abroad, and sells none of it back. Every point of that is a business that could be built at home rather than shipped in. UN Comtrade.
The maths for an entrepreneur. Papua New Guinea produces about US$32 billion a year, which is roughly US$3,020 per person (2025, World Bank). Farming is 17% of that, while food is 16.5% of everything the country imports.
See the verified makersCulture in Papua New Guinea.
Late 1950sEvery year in the week of Independence Day in September
Sing-sing at the Goroka Show
Over 100 tribes gather in Goroka for traditional dance, music and ceremonial dress, with feathers, face paint, bilas and kundu drums.
since 2003Three days in early November
Kundu drumming
At the National Kenu and Kundu Festival in Alotau, Milne Bay Province, kundu drumming goes with canoe racing, sing-sings and cultural performances.
Huli wigmen
Hela Province, around Tari, is home to the Huli Wigmen, known for their striking body decoration, with music played on panpipes and bamboo jew's harps.
Asaro mudmen
The mud masks of the Komunive community of the Asaro valley are made to intimidate and scare. Holosa is the local word for spirit or ghost, which is what enemies took the masked men to be, and the tradition is one of the most distinctive in Papua New Guinea.
Bilas adornmentBilas, the feathers, face paint and ceremonial dress worn for dance, fills the showgrounds at gatherings such as the Goroka Show.
Does Papua New Guinea protect its heritage by law?
Partly, and the gaps say as much as the protections.
What is kept alive. 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.
Who it belongs to. 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 sing 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.
Only here. Queen Alexandra's birdwing, the world's largest butterfly, found only in PNG's Oro Province.
The Future of Papua New Guinea.
Three futures for Papua New Guinea, every one run forward from measured data.
Where the making actually happens
Named cultural and craft sites on the open map: Museum Street (Rabaul), PNG National Museum and Art Gallery (Port Moresby), Madang Museum (Madang), Kokopo Museum (Kokopo), JK McCarthy Museum (Goroka). OpenStreetMap.
Every measured trend on one line
Run forward at the pace already recorded.
World Bank open data, recorded series
How much forest is left?
Forest cover moved from 76.2% to 75.2% across 29 recorded years.
How clean is the grid?
Renewable electricity moved from 41.5% to 40% across 21 recorded years.
How much climate pollution per person?
CO2 per person moved from 0.53 t to 0.52 t across 29 recorded years.
How many people visit?
Tourist arrivals moved from 120k to 39k across 12 recorded years.
How much land is protected?
Protected land moved from 3.1% to 3.7% across 12 recorded years.
How many people still farm?
Farm workforce moved from 27.3% to 36.9% across 30 recorded years.
How much sea is protected?
Protected sea moved from 0.2% to 0.1% across 12 recorded years.
How much land is farmed?
Agricultural land moved from 2.19% to 3.1% across 29 recorded years.
How fast is it urbanising?
Urban population moved from 14.4% to 15.8% across 30 recorded years.
Is the air getting cleaner?
Air pollution moved from 14.9 µg/m³ to 14.1 µg/m³ across 28 recorded years.
Is water getting scarcer?
Fresh water per person moved from 172,470 m³ to 78,505 m³ across 27 recorded years.
Is diet-related disease rising?
Adult overweight moved from 38.3% to 51.4% across 27 recorded years.
Who has power?
Electricity access moved from 11% to 43.3% across 28 recorded years.
Is income rising?
GDP per person moved from 998 to 3,020 across 30 recorded years.
How fast is it growing?
Population moved from 4,644k to 10,763k across 30 recorded years.
What share of all energy is renewable?
Renewable energy use moved from 70.7% to 54.6% across 27 recorded years.
How much land and sea is protected together?
Protected area, total moved from 0.7% to 0.7% across 12 recorded years.
How long do people live?
Life expectancy moved from 60.9 yrs to 66.3 yrs across 29 recorded years.
How much does a hectare of cereal produce?
Cereal yield moved from 2,984 kg/ha to 4,787 kg/ha across 29 recorded years.
How much fertiliser goes on the land?
Fertiliser use moved from 67 kg/ha to 164 kg/ha across 29 recorded years.
How many people still live rurally?
Rural population moved from 85.6% to 84.2% across 30 recorded years.
How much value per cubic metre of water?
Water productivity moved from 40.6 $/m3 to 64.2 $/m3 across 22 recorded years.
How much goes on health?
Health spending moved from 2.02% to 2.87% across 23 recorded years.
How much forest is there in total?
Forest area moved from 345,048 km2 to 340,290 km2 across 30 recorded years.
How have agriculture emissions moved?
Agriculture emissions moved from 1.76 to 2.67 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
How have building emissions moved?
Building emissions moved from 0.07 to 0.2 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
How have electricity/heat emissions moved?
Electricity/Heat emissions moved from 0.78 to 3.92 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
How have energy emissions moved?
Energy emissions moved from 3.47 to 14.49 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
How have industrial processes emissions moved?
Industrial Processes emissions moved from 0.02 to 0.1 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
How have manufacturing/construction emissions moved?
Manufacturing/Construction emissions moved from 0.27 to 1.86 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
How have transportation emissions moved?
Transportation emissions moved from 0.65 to 1.69 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
Worst caseCurrent pathBest case
Worst case
Every measured decline continues at the pace already recorded. The weakest pillar, conservation at 1/5, is the one that gives way first.
Computed from: recorded series extended with no policy change
What the best case actually asks for
Lift conservation
It scores 1 out of 5 today, among the weakest parts of Papua New Guinea's record. 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.
measured each year
Costs: spending and enforcement, not new technology
Lift recycling
It scores 1 out of 5 today, among the weakest parts of Papua New Guinea's record. There is effectively no formal municipal recycling infrastructure, and most urban waste is landfilled or dumped. Any recovery is informal and small scale.
measured each year
Costs: spending and enforcement, not new technology
Lift energy
It scores 1 out of 5 today, among the weakest parts of Papua New Guinea's record. 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 have grid access.
measured each year
Costs: spending and enforcement, not new technology
Government and Goals in Papua New Guinea.
Who is in charge of Papua New Guinea now · Office-holders from the UN Protocol and Liaison Service public list of Heads of State and Heads of Government, 20 October 2026. Legislature and election dates from IFES ElectionGuide. Constitution dates from the Constitute Project. Governance scores from the World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators 2024.
James Marape
Prime Minister
James Marape is the head of government of Papua New Guinea, in office since 30 May 2019. Every climate, protection and energy pledge on this page is delivered, or not, under this administration.
Public opinion, measured
Voice and accountability, the freedom to question government scores 53.4 out of 100 in 2025. On this World Bank scale, 100 is the strongest governance measured. Down from 53.5 in 2024. World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025 data (updated 25 September 2026)
Control of corruption scores 32.3 out of 100 in 2025. On this World Bank scale, 100 is the strongest governance measured. Up from 32.0 in 2024. World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025 data (updated 25 September 2026)
Political stability and absence of violence scores 56.0 out of 100 in 2025. On this World Bank scale, 100 is the strongest governance measured. Up from 54.4 in 2024. World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025 data (updated 25 September 2026)
Rule of law scores 49.2 out of 100 in 2025. On this World Bank scale, 100 is the strongest governance measured. Down from 49.5 in 2024. World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025 data (updated 25 September 2026)
Regulatory quality scores 44.9 out of 100 in 2025. On this World Bank scale, 100 is the strongest governance measured. Unchanged from 2024. World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025 data (updated 25 September 2026)
James MarapePrime Minister
National ParliamentLegislature, unicameral
Last election2 July 2022
Constitution1975, as revised to 2016
Government typeparliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm
Papua New Guinea national goals: climate commitments on record · as recorded by Climate Watch, World Resources Institute
Plain Answers About Papua New Guinea.
The questions people actually type, answered in full sentences from the sourced data above.
Swipe
Is Papua New Guinea sustainable?
Papua New Guinea scores 60 out of 100 on the Throne Eco Index, across twelve equally weighted pillars. Papua New Guinea is one of Earth's most biologically and culturally diverse countries, nearly four fifths forested and largely held under customary ownership, though basic services such as safe water lag badly.
Is the water in Papua New Guinea safe and plentiful?
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. Access and safety are: WHO/UNICEF JMP figures place PNG among the world's lowest for drinking water, with 53.3% of the population on at least a basic supply in 2024, only 48.3% in rural areas, and villages relying on rivers and rain tanks. Tap water is not reliably safe.
Can Papua New Guinea feed itself?
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.
Is it easy to eat plant-based in Papua New Guinea?
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. Fresh produce fills local markets daily. Unprocessed plant eating is the norm rather than a niche.
How much of Papua New Guinea is actually protected?
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. In 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.
What wildlife is left in Papua New Guinea?
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).
Is Papua New Guinea on clean energy?
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 have 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.
How polluted is Papua New Guinea?
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. Solid 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.
Does recycling work in Papua New Guinea?
There is effectively no formal municipal recycling infrastructure, and most urban waste is landfilled or dumped. Any recovery is informal and small scale.
Is the farming in Papua New Guinea organic?
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 smallholders with few synthetic inputs.
Are there natural materials and craft in Papua New Guinea?
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 cloth (tapa), woven mats, grass skirts and shell and feather adornment. These are made and used across the country.
Is there living culture in Papua New Guinea?
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 sing 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.
What heritage does Papua New Guinea keep alive?
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.
So is Papua New Guinea actually green? The measured answer
What is working: the record is thin on the headline measures, and the sourced numbers below say why.
What is not: land protected at 3.7% against a 30% mark, sea protected at 0.1% against a 30% mark, renewable electricity at 40% against a 100% mark.
World Bank Open Data · Protected Planet (UNEP-WCMC / WDPA) · Climate Watch (WRI) · Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026 · CIA World Factbook data, Papua New Guinea (factbook.json archive) · World Bank, Population total: Papua New Guinea · Papua New Guinea Tourism Promotion Authority, 50 reasons to travel
How Papua New Guinea Ranks, region and world.
Where Papua New Guinea sits on the Eco Index, against its Oceania neighbours and the 77 destinations scored worldwide.
How does Papua New Guinea compare in Oceania?
1Australia77
2New Zealand75
4Fiji62
Scored Oceania destinations, Eco Index.
The global top 10 of the 77 destinations scored
1Switzerland78
2France78
3Finland77
4Slovenia77
5Australia77
6Portugal75
7Germany75
8New Zealand75
9Italy73
10Spain73
Papua New Guinea sits 56 of 77 at 60/100. Every name links to its own destination page, built exactly like this one. The full ranking
What is Papua New Guinea particularly good at?
✓ Wildlife, scored 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 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).
✓ Culture, scored 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 sing 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.
✓ Heritage, scored 5/5. 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.
Where does Papua New Guinea score worst?
✕ Conservation, scored 1/5. 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. In 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.
✕ Recycling, scored 1/5. There is effectively no formal municipal recycling infrastructure, and most urban waste is landfilled or dumped. Any recovery is informal and small scale.
✕ Energy, scored 1/5. 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 have 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.
A note from the lens of mother natureSwipe
Conservation, 1/5
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.
Consequence: It is the lowest-scoring part of Papua New Guinea's record, so it is where the score moves first.
Recycling, 1/5
There is effectively no formal municipal recycling infrastructure, and most urban waste is landfilled or dumped. Any recovery is informal and small scale.
Energy, 1/5
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 have grid access.
The Papua New Guinea Directory.
Everything on Hold The Throne that sits in Papua New Guinea, checked and listed.
How the rest of the world scores Papua New Guinea
Independent global indices, for calibration.
Forest cover
75.2
World Bank, 2024.
Protected land
3.7
World Bank, 2025.
Protected sea
0.1
World Bank, 2025.
Renewable grid
40.0
World Bank, 2021.
CO2 per person
0.52 tonnes (2024)
World Bank, 2024.
Threatened species
862 (mammals, birds, fish & plants)
Recorded figure, sourced on this page.
Control of corruption
32.3 / 100
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025. Score from 0 to 100, where 100 is the strongest governance.
Government effectiveness
37.8 / 100
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025. Score from 0 to 100, where 100 is the strongest governance.
Rule of law
49.2 / 100
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025. Score from 0 to 100, where 100 is the strongest governance.
Political stability
56.0 / 100
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025. Score from 0 to 100, where 100 is the strongest governance.
Voice and accountability
53.4 / 100
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025. Score from 0 to 100, where 100 is the strongest governance.
Environmental Performance Index
28.9 / 100 · 158 of 177
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 158 of 177 countries assessed.
Ecosystem vitality
28.0 / 100 · 159 of 177
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 159 of 177 countries assessed.
Biodiversity and habitat
14.1 / 100 · 163 of 177
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 163 of 177 countries assessed.
Air quality
26.0 / 100 · 126 of 177
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 126 of 177 countries assessed.
Terrestrial biomes protected
11.8 / 100 · 160 of 177
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 160 of 177 countries assessed.
Marine habitat protected
4.3 / 100 · 85 of 111
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 85 of 111 countries assessed.
How Papua New Guinea Is Scored. The Throne Standard.
Every destination on the index is scored the same way, so a 4 in Barbados means exactly what a 4 means in Iceland. No self-declared data and no brochure claims are accepted. Seven pillars are scored from published measurements with the same fixed thresholds everywhere: energy (low-carbon share of electricity, 90% or more scores 5, 70% 4, 50% 3, 25% 2), conservation (land and sea protected), water (safe drinking water, wastewater treated, water stress), organic farmland, recycling, food import dependence and air quality. Where a measurement is not published for a place, that pillar keeps its source-assessed score and is labelled as such. Wildlife, culture, heritage, materials and plant-based eating have no comparable measurement and are assessed from the named sources. The Eco Index is the average of the twelve pillar scores multiplied by 20. Every figure on this page carries its named source and year, and the history on each page names what empire took as plainly as it scores the present.
The 12 pillars every destination is scored on, equally weighted
01
Water
Safe drinking water, wastewater treated and water stress. Measured.
02
Food & farming
How much of the import bill is food: whether the place feeds itself. Measured.
03
Plant-based
How easy it is to eat plant-based, from documented sources.
04
Organic
Certified organic share of farmland. Measured.
05
Conservation
Land and sea legally protected, against the 30 by 30 goal. Measured.
06
Wildlife
What survives, what is endemic, what is lost, from documented sources.
07
Materials
Local natural fibres and craft, from documented sources.
08
Pollution
Air quality (PM2.5, measured) and plastics and waste policy.
09
Recycling
Share of municipal waste recycled. Measured.
10
Energy
Low-carbon share of electricity, nuclear included. Measured.
11
Culture
Living culture and community-led visits, from documented sources.
12
Heritage
What the law keeps standing, from documented sources.
What each 0 to 5 pillar score means, in plain words
0
Absent
nothing verifiable exists
1
Failing
measurably going the wrong way
2
Weak
claims outrun delivery
3
Fair
real effort, mixed results
4
Strong
genuinely good, evidence named
5
Leading
world class, and the trend holds
Where the numbers come from.
The institutions above are the ones cited on this page, ranked by how many of its figures they carry. This same sectioned page renders for all 77 scored destinations, each with its own researched history, comparison charts and three-way future. Read the full methodology
Every figure on this page, and where it came from: 70 sources across 26 institutions
World Bank18 FIGURES
- Terrestrial protected areas (percent of total land area) ER.LND.PTLD.ZS, 2021. check
- Marine protected areas (% of territorial waters) ER.MRN.PTMR.ZS, 2025 check
- PM2.5 air pollution, mean annual exposure (micrograms per cubic metre) EN.ATM.PM25.MC.M3, 2017. check
- Threatened species (mammals EN.MAM.THRD.NO, birds EN.BIR.THRD.NO, fish EN.FSH.THRD.NO, higher plants EN.HPT.THRD.NO), 2022 check
- Renewable electricity output (% of total) EG.ELC.RNEW.ZS, 2021 check
- CO2 emissions per capita EN.GHG.CO2.PC.CE.AR5, 2024 check
- GDP (current US$) NY.GDP.MKTP.CD, 2025 check
- International tourist arrivals ST.INT.ARVL, 2020 check
- Agricultural land (% of land area) AG.LND.AGRI.ZS, 2023 check
- Arable land (% of land area) AG.LND.ARBL.ZS, 2023 check
- Agriculture, value added (% of GDP) NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS, 2024 check
- Adult literacy rate SE.ADT.LITR.ZS, 2022 check
- Renewable internal freshwater per capita (m3) ER.H2O.INTR.PC, 2022 check
- Safely managed sanitation (% of population) SH.STA.SMSS.ZS, 2024 check
- Overweight prevalence, adults (%) SH.STA.OWAD.ZS, 2022 check
- Central government debt (% of GDP) GC.DOD.TOTL.GD.ZS, 2024 check
- Population total SP.POP.TOTL, 2025 check
- What a Waste 2.0 country-level dataset check
GBIF occurrence search9 FIGURES
- Papua New Guinea, IUCN category Critically Endangered, class Aves, Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Papua New Guinea in GBIF occurrence data (bird). check
- Papua New Guinea, IUCN category Critically Endangered, class Aves corroboration check
- Papua New Guinea, IUCN category Critically Endangered, class Testudines, Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Papua New Guinea in GBIF occurrence data (turtle). check
- Papua New Guinea, IUCN category Critically Endangered, class Testudines corroboration check
- Papua New Guinea, IUCN category Critically Endangered, class Testudines corroboration check
- Papua New Guinea, IUCN category Critically Endangered, class Elasmobranchii, Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Papua New Guinea in GBIF occurrence data (shark or check
- Papua New Guinea, IUCN category Critically Endangered, class Elasmobranchii corroboration check
- Papua New Guinea, IUCN category Critically Endangered, kingdom Plantae, Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Papua New Guinea in GBIF occurrence data (plant). check
- Papua New Guinea, IUCN category Critically Endangered, kingdom Plantae corroboration check
Other published sources6 FIGURES
- UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, bilum making. check
- 53.3% nationally in 2024 (rural 48.3%); PNG last fell below half in 2020 at 49.3% check
- Papua New Guinea National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2019-2024, Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (CEPA), Government of Papua New Guinea, New Guinea is a global biodiversity summit, and PNG holds the lion's share of the world's birds of paradise, d check
- Papua New Guinea National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2019-2024, Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (CEPA), Government of Papua New Guinea corroboration check
- Papua New Guinea National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2019-2024, Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (CEPA), Government of Papua New Guinea corroboration check
- Papua New Guinea National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2019-2024, Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (CEPA), Government of Papua New Guinea corroboration check
UNESCO Institute for Statistics5 FIGURES
- public data API, government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP, Papua New Guinea, Public spending on education runs at 0.8% of GDP and 3.5% of all government spending, and secondary enrolment check
- public data API, government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP, Papua New Guinea corroboration check
- public data API, government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP, Papua New Guinea corroboration check
- public data API, government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP, Papua New Guinea corroboration check
- public data API, government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP, Papua New Guinea corroboration check
World Bank World Development Indicators4 FIGURES
- Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area), Papua New Guinea, Formal protected areas cover only about 3.7 percent of the land and a negligible 0.1 percent of marine waters check
- Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area), Papua New Guinea corroboration check
- Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area), Papua New Guinea corroboration check
- Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area), Papua New Guinea corroboration check
FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment3 FIGURES
- UN SDG Global Database, forest area (% of land area) AG_LND_FRST, Papua New Guinea, 2025 (75.1%), country-reported check
- UN SDG Global Database, forest area under a long-term management plan (%) AG_LND_FRSTMGT, Papua New Guinea, 2025 (14.8%), country-reported check
- UN SDG Global Database, forest area inside legally established protected areas (%) AG_LND_FRSTPRCT, Papua New Guinea, 2025 (4.0%), country-reported check
National Parliament of Papua New Guinea3 FIGURES
BirdLife International, IUCN and UNEP-WCMC2 FIGURES
- UN SDG Global Database, terrestrial Key Biodiversity Areas covered by protected areas (%) ER_PTD_TERR, Papua New Guinea, 2025 (7.3%), country-reported check
- UN SDG Global Database, marine Key Biodiversity Areas covered by protected areas (%) ER_MRN_MPA, Papua New Guinea, 2025 (1.9%), country-reported check
IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria2 FIGURES
Muke2 FIGURES
- J. and Denham, T. 2017, 'Kuk Phase 8: Heritage Issues to 2008', in Ten Thousand Years of Cultivation at Kuk Swamp in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, Terra Australis 46, ANU Press corroboration check
- J. and Denham, T. 2017, 'Kuk Phase 8: Heritage Issues to 2008', in Ten Thousand Years of Cultivation at Kuk Swamp in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, Terra Australis 46, ANU Press corroboration check
Climate Watch (WRI)1 FIGURE
- Net-Zero Tracker check
Constitute Project1 FIGURE
- Papua New Guinea 1975 (rev. 2016) check
Convention on Biological Diversity1 FIGURE
- Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, Target 3, The 30x30 target is 30% by 2030, so 29.9 percentage points are still to be designated. check
FAO and World Bank1 FIGURE
- Forest area (percent of land area) AG.LND.FRST.ZS, 2022. check
FAOSTAT 2024 crop production for PNG: oil palm fruit 31 FIGURE
- 513,072 t, bananas 1,272,779 t, coconuts in shell 1,250,138 t, sweet potatoes 732,422 t, yams 385,041 t; palm oil is a processed product, not a crop grown, and has no 2024 PNG crop-production figure check
FiBL1 FIGURE
- The World of Organic Agriculture 2022 (2020 data), organic farmland share. check
IFES ElectionGuide1 FIGURE
- Papua New Guinea elections and chambers check
IUCN Red List1 FIGURE
- threatened species by country (Summary Statistics, Table 5) check
Low Carbon Power1 FIGURE
- Papua New Guinea electricity generation mix, 2023 check
Low Carbon Power (data from EIA and Ember)1 FIGURE
- Papua New Guinea electricity mix, 2023. check
Our World in Data1 FIGURE
- CO2 emissions per capita, 2024 check
Pacific Community (SPC)1 FIGURE
- renewable share of final energy, 2025 check
UN Protocol and Liaison Service1 FIGURE
- Heads of State, Heads of Government and Ministers for Foreign Affairs, public list dated 20 October 2026 check
UN Statistics Division, Energy Balances1 FIGURE
- UN SDG Global Database, renewable share of total final energy consumption (%) EG_FEC_RNEW, Papua New Guinea, 2024 (49.8%), modelled estimate check
UNESCO1 FIGURE
- Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists check
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme1 FIGURE
- UN SDG Global Database, population using safely managed sanitation (%) SH_SAN_SAFE, Papua New Guinea, 2024 (16.7%), modelled estimate check