Australia vs Papua New Guinea
Australia vs Papua New Guinea: Government debt
Government debt in 2025: 51.9% of GDP in Australia and 51.6% of GDP in Papua New Guinea, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in Australia, by 0.3 percentage points, or 1.01 times that in Papua New Guinea.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- Australia has been higher since 2025, when it overtook Papua New Guinea.
- In 2025, Australia ranked 79 and Papua New Guinea ranked 80 of 149 countries, counting from the highest.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Australia at 54.3% of GDP and Papua New Guinea at 31.9% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | Australia | Papua New Guinea |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 51.9 | 51.6 |
| 2024 | 50.9 | 53.3 |
| 2023 | 49.4 | 54.8 |
| 2022 | 50 | 49.2 |
| 2021 | 55.4 | 53.8 |
| 2020 | 56.9 | 48.7 |
| 2019 | 46.5 | 38.2 |
| 2018 | 41.6 | 36.7 |
| 2017 | 41 | 32.5 |
| 2016 | 40.5 | 33.7 |
| 2015 | 37.6 | 29.9 |
| 2014 | 33.9 | 26.9 |
| 2013 | 30.3 | 24.9 |
| 2012 | 27.4 | 19.1 |
| 2011 | 24 | 16.3 |
| 2010 | 20.3 | 17.3 |
| 2009 | 16.6 | 21.7 |
| 2008 | 11.7 | 21.6 |
| 2007 | 9.6 | 22.2 |
| 2006 | 9.9 | 26 |
| 2005 | 10.8 | 31.6 |
| 2004 | 11.9 | 37.2 |
| 2003 | 13.2 | 40.4 |
| 2002 | 15 | 48.4 |
| 2001 | 17.1 | 47.7 |
| 2000 | 19.5 | 42.3 |
| 1999 | 22.5 | 41.8 |
| 1998 | 23.7 | 45.7 |
| 1997 | 25.9 | 43.9 |
| 1996 | 29.3 | 37.8 |
| 1995 | 31.1 | 36.6 |
| 1994 | 31.7 | 40.1 |
| 1993 | 30.6 | – |
| 1992 | 27.6 | – |
| 1991 | 21.6 | – |
| 1990 | 16.4 | – |
| 1989 | 17 | – |
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
| Year | Australia | Papua New Guinea |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 52.6 | 46.8 |
| 2027 | 53.2 | 42 |
| 2028 | 53.7 | 39.1 |
| 2029 | 54.1 | 36.6 |
| 2030 | 54.3 | 34.2 |
| 2031 | 54.3 | 31.9 |
Each country on its own
Good to know
- What the government owes, as a share of the economy’s yearly output.
- Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook, October 2026.
- The dashed line is the IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026), a scenario rather than a forecast.
- Ranks count the 149 countries with a value in 2025, highest first.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
Australia vs Papua New Guinea
Health
- Life expectancyAustralia: 83.9 years in 2023Papua New Guinea: 66.1 years in 2023
- Child mortalityAustralia: 0.4 per 100 live births in 2024Papua New Guinea: 3.9 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityAustralia: 3.2 per 1,000 live births in 2023Papua New Guinea: 32.2 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionAustralia: 4.62% in 2017Papua New Guinea: 3.17% in 2017
- Suicide rateAustralia: 11.1 per 100,000 people in 2017Papua New Guinea: 23.1 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationAustralia: 26.5 million people in 2023Papua New Guinea: 10.4 million people in 2023
- Population growthAustralia: 0.99% a year in 2023Papua New Guinea: 1.8% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateAustralia: 1.64 births per woman in 2023Papua New Guinea: 3.1 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationAustralia: 87.7% in 2025Papua New Guinea: 15.8% in 2025
- Median ageAustralia: 37.8 years in 2023Papua New Guinea: 22.3 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overAustralia: 17.4% in 2023Papua New Guinea: 3.3% in 2023
- Net migration rateAustralia: 5.3 per 1,000 people in 2023Papua New Guinea: -0.1 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingAustralia: 1.92% of GDP in 2025Papua New Guinea: 0.35% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsAustralia: $35.3B in 2025Papua New Guinea: $110M in 2025
- Military spending per personAustralia: $1,316 in 2025Papua New Guinea: $10 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingAustralia: 4.9% of government spending in 2025Papua New Guinea: 1.6% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelAustralia: 60,000 people in 2020Papua New Guinea: 4,000 people in 2020
- National powerAustralia: 0.6% of world capability in 2022Papua New Guinea: 0.03% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersAustralia: 0.44% of the labour force in 2020Papua New Guinea: 0.12% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsAustralia: 826 million TIV in 2025Papua New Guinea: 9 million TIV in 2023