Papua New Guinea vs Thailand
Papua New Guinea vs Thailand: Government debt
Government debt: 51.6% of GDP in Papua New Guinea in 2025 and 62.9% of GDP in Thailand in 2024, by IMF estimates. In 2024 the value was higher in Thailand, by 9.6 percentage points, or 1.18 times that in Papua New Guinea.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- Thailand has been higher since 1998, when it overtook Papua New Guinea.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Papua New Guinea at 31.9% of GDP and Thailand at 69.8% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | Papua New Guinea | Thailand |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 51.6 | 64.7 |
| 2024 | 53.3 | 62.9 |
| 2023 | 54.8 | 62.2 |
| 2022 | 49.2 | 60.6 |
| 2021 | 53.8 | 58.4 |
| 2020 | 48.7 | 49.4 |
| 2019 | 38.2 | 41.1 |
| 2018 | 36.7 | 41.9 |
| 2017 | 32.5 | 41.8 |
| 2016 | 33.7 | 41.7 |
| 2015 | 29.9 | 42.6 |
| 2014 | 26.9 | 43.3 |
| 2013 | 24.9 | 42.2 |
| 2012 | 19.1 | 41.9 |
| 2011 | 16.3 | 39.1 |
| 2010 | 17.3 | 39.8 |
| 2009 | 21.7 | 42.4 |
| 2008 | 21.6 | 35 |
| 2007 | 22.2 | 36 |
| 2006 | 26 | 39.2 |
| 2005 | 31.6 | 45.5 |
| 2004 | 37.2 | 46.3 |
| 2003 | 40.4 | 47.5 |
| 2002 | 48.4 | 54.9 |
| 2001 | 47.7 | 57.5 |
| 2000 | 42.3 | 57.8 |
| 1999 | 41.8 | 56.6 |
| 1998 | 45.7 | 49.9 |
| 1997 | 43.9 | 40.5 |
| 1996 | 37.8 | 15.2 |
| 1995 | 36.6 | – |
| 1994 | 40.1 | – |
- 12.3Projected
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
| Year | Papua New Guinea | Thailand |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 46.8 | 67.2 |
| 2027 | 42 | 68.5 |
| 2028 | 39.1 | 69.1 |
| 2029 | 36.6 | 69.4 |
| 2030 | 34.2 | 69.6 |
| 2031 | 31.9 | 69.8 |
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
Papua New Guinea vs Thailand
Health
- Life expectancyPapua New Guinea: 66.1 years in 2023Thailand: 76.4 years in 2023
- Child mortalityPapua New Guinea: 3.9 per 100 live births in 2024Thailand: 0.9 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityPapua New Guinea: 32.2 per 1,000 live births in 2023Thailand: 6.2 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionPapua New Guinea: 3.17% in 2017Thailand: 3.09% in 2017
- Suicide ratePapua New Guinea: 23.1 per 100,000 people in 2017Thailand: 10.4 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationPapua New Guinea: 10.4 million people in 2023Thailand: 71.7 million people in 2023
- Population growthPapua New Guinea: 1.8% a year in 2023Thailand: -0.04% a year in 2023
- Fertility ratePapua New Guinea: 3.1 births per woman in 2023Thailand: 1.21 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationPapua New Guinea: 15.8% in 2025Thailand: 62.8% in 2025
- Median agePapua New Guinea: 22.3 years in 2023Thailand: 39.7 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overPapua New Guinea: 3.3% in 2023Thailand: 14.7% in 2023
- Net migration ratePapua New Guinea: -0.1 per 1,000 people in 2023Thailand: 0.3 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingPapua New Guinea: 0.35% of GDP in 2025Thailand: 1.04% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsPapua New Guinea: $110M in 2025Thailand: $5.57B in 2025
- Military spending per personPapua New Guinea: $10 in 2025Thailand: $84 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingPapua New Guinea: 1.6% of government spending in 2025Thailand: 4.4% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelPapua New Guinea: 4,000 people in 2020Thailand: 455,000 people in 2020
- National powerPapua New Guinea: 0.03% of world capability in 2022Thailand: 0.79% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersPapua New Guinea: 0.12% of the labour force in 2020Thailand: 1.13% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsPapua New Guinea: 9 million TIV in 2023Thailand: 33 million TIV in 2025