Malaysia vs Papua New Guinea
Malaysia vs Papua New Guinea: Government debt
Government debt in 2025: 70.5% of GDP in Malaysia and 51.6% of GDP in Papua New Guinea, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in Malaysia, by 18.9 percentage points, or 1.37 times that in Papua New Guinea.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- Malaysia has been higher since 2003, when it overtook Papua New Guinea.
- In 2025, Malaysia ranked 37 and Papua New Guinea ranked 80 of 149 countries, counting from the highest.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Malaysia at 65.1% of GDP and Papua New Guinea at 31.9% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | Malaysia | Papua New Guinea |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 70.5 | 51.6 |
| 2024 | 69.8 | 53.3 |
| 2023 | 69.7 | 54.8 |
| 2022 | 65.5 | 49.2 |
| 2021 | 69.2 | 53.8 |
| 2020 | 67.7 | 48.7 |
| 2019 | 57.1 | 38.2 |
| 2018 | 55.7 | 36.7 |
| 2017 | 54.4 | 32.5 |
| 2016 | 55.8 | 33.7 |
| 2015 | 57 | 29.9 |
| 2014 | 55.4 | 26.9 |
| 2013 | 55.7 | 24.9 |
| 2012 | 53.8 | 19.1 |
| 2011 | 51.9 | 16.3 |
| 2010 | 51.2 | 17.3 |
| 2009 | 50.4 | 21.7 |
| 2008 | 39.4 | 21.6 |
| 2007 | 39.4 | 22.2 |
| 2006 | 39.7 | 26 |
| 2005 | 40.8 | 31.6 |
| 2004 | 42 | 37.2 |
| 2003 | 41.4 | 40.4 |
| 2002 | 39.5 | 48.4 |
| 2001 | 38.1 | 47.7 |
| 2000 | 32.5 | 42.3 |
| 1999 | 34.4 | 41.8 |
| 1998 | 33.6 | 45.7 |
| 1997 | 29.6 | 43.9 |
| 1996 | 32.8 | 37.8 |
| 1995 | 38.2 | 36.6 |
| 1994 | 43.7 | 40.1 |
| 1993 | 51.1 | – |
| 1992 | 59.1 | – |
| 1991 | 67.3 | – |
| 1990 | 74.1 | – |
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
| Year | Malaysia | Papua New Guinea |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 69.2 | 46.8 |
| 2027 | 68.8 | 42 |
| 2028 | 67.7 | 39.1 |
| 2029 | 66.7 | 36.6 |
| 2030 | 65.9 | 34.2 |
| 2031 | 65.1 | 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
Malaysia vs Papua New Guinea
Health
- Life expectancyMalaysia: 76.7 years in 2023Papua New Guinea: 66.1 years in 2023
- Child mortalityMalaysia: 0.8 per 100 live births in 2024Papua New Guinea: 3.9 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityMalaysia: 6.4 per 1,000 live births in 2023Papua New Guinea: 32.2 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionMalaysia: 3.52% in 2017Papua New Guinea: 3.17% in 2017
- Suicide rateMalaysia: 7.8 per 100,000 people in 2017Papua New Guinea: 23.1 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationMalaysia: 35.1 million people in 2023Papua New Guinea: 10.4 million people in 2023
- Population growthMalaysia: 1.24% a year in 2023Papua New Guinea: 1.8% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateMalaysia: 1.55 births per woman in 2023Papua New Guinea: 3.1 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationMalaysia: 77.4% in 2025Papua New Guinea: 15.8% in 2025
- Median ageMalaysia: 30.1 years in 2023Papua New Guinea: 22.3 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overMalaysia: 7.5% in 2023Papua New Guinea: 3.3% in 2023
- Net migration rateMalaysia: 5.2 per 1,000 people in 2023Papua New Guinea: -0.1 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingMalaysia: 1.04% of GDP in 2025Papua New Guinea: 0.35% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsMalaysia: $4.55B in 2025Papua New Guinea: $110M in 2025
- Military spending per personMalaysia: $138 in 2025Papua New Guinea: $10 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingMalaysia: 4.4% of government spending in 2025Papua New Guinea: 1.6% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelMalaysia: 136,000 people in 2020Papua New Guinea: 4,000 people in 2020
- National powerMalaysia: 0.46% of world capability in 2022Papua New Guinea: 0.03% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersMalaysia: 0.81% of the labour force in 2020Papua New Guinea: 0.12% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsMalaysia: 7 million TIV in 2024Papua New Guinea: 9 million TIV in 2023