Papua New Guinea's arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) was 9 million in 2023, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 12.5% from 8 million in 2018 (2.38% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 9 million | 2023 |
| Five years earlier | 8 million | 2018 |
| Highest | 32 million | 1975 |
| Lowest | 0 | 2017 |
| Average since 2014 | 6.8 million | 2014–2023 |
| First recorded | 32 million | 1975 |
Over five years it is up 12.5% from 8 million in 2018 (2.38% a year on average, compounded). Since 1975 it is down 71.88% from 32 million in 1975 (2.61% a year on average, compounded). The World Bank has no value for 28 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.
What the numbers say
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 8 million in 2018 and the biggest yearly fall was 6 million in 1988. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2023, Papua New Guinea had the 9th highest value of the 13 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Papua New Guinea | 9 million | 2023 |
| World | 33.33 billion | 2025 |
| East Asia & Pacific | 5.83 billion | 2025 |
| Lower middle income | 5.14 billion | 2025 |
Closest to Papua New Guinea in the 2023 ranking
What this measures
Arms transfers (imports) cover the volume of transfers of major arms through sales and gifts, and those made through manufacturing licenses. Data cover major conventional weapons such as aircraft, armored vehicles, artillery, radar systems, missiles, and ships. Figures are SIPRI Trend Indicator Values (TIVs). A '0' indicates that the volume of deliveries is between 0 and 0.5 million SIPRI TIV.
Limitations: SIPRI calculates the volume of transfers to, from and between all parties using the TIV and the number of weapon systems or subsystems delivered in a given year. This data is intended to provide a common unit to allow the measurement if trends in the flow of arms to particular countries and regions over time. Therefore, the main priority is to ensure that the TIV system remains consistent over time, and that any changes introduced are backdated. SIPRI TIV figures do not represent sales prices for arms transfers.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.
All 21 values
| Year | Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 9,000,000 |
| 2022 | no data |
| 2021 | 14,000,000 |
| 2020 | no data |
| 2019 | no data |
| 2018 | 8,000,000 |
| 2017 | 0 |
| 2016 | no data |
| 2015 | no data |
| 2014 | 3,000,000 |
| 2013 |
Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) in nearby economies
- Australia — 826 million (2025)
- Brunei Darussalam — 28 million (2024)
- Cambodia — 56 million (2023)
- China — 207 million (2025)
- Indonesia — 1.28 billion (2025)
- Japan — 1.72 billion (2025)
- Korea, Rep. — 222 million (2025)
- Lao PDR — 7 million (2024)
- Malaysia — 7 million (2024)
- Mongolia — 3 million (2022)
More public sector data for Papua New Guinea
- Military expenditure (current USD) — 106.48 million (2025)
- Military expenditure (current LCU) — 441.91 million (2025)
- Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 0.35% (2025)
- Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) — 1.59% (2025)
- Armed forces personnel, total — 4,000 (2020)
- Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 0.12% (2020)
- Net acquisition of financial assets (current LCU) — -1.4 billion (2024)
- Net acquisition of financial assets (% of GDP) — -1.18% (2024)
- Central government debt, total (current LCU)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Papua New Guinea's arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values)?
- 9 million in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1975?
- It is down 71.88% from 32 million in 1975 (2.61% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 32 million in 1975 and the lowest 0 in 2017.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank?
- 9th highest of 13 economies with data for 2023.
- Where does this data come from?
- The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Arms Transfers Programme, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), uri: https://armstransfers.sipri.org/ArmsTransfer/.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator MS.MIL.MPRT.KD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Arms Transfers Programme, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), uri: https://armstransfers.sipri.org/ArmsTransfer/ Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.
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