Papua New Guinea: Goods and services expense (current LCU)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Papua New Guinea's goods and services expense (current LCU) fell 20.8% on 2023 (from 5.19 billion to 4.11 billion).

Across the 21 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2023), the average change was +20.8% and a typical year strayed about 60.7% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 227.8% in 1999 and the biggest yearly fall was 62.6% in 1998. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is upward, about 296.8 million a year. A straight line explains 59% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2024, Papua New Guinea had the 70th highest value of the 89 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.

Closest to Papua New Guinea in the 2024 ranking

• Greece — 67th of 89: 9.07 billion
• Belgium — 68th of 89: 6.97 billion
• Slovak Republic — 69th of 89: 4.63 billion
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 71st of 89: 3.29 billion
• Georgia — 72nd of 89: 3.18 billion
• Tajikistan — 73rd of 89: 3.15 billion

What this measures

Goods and services include all government payments in exchange for goods and services used for the production of market and nonmarket goods and services. Use of goods and services for account capital formation is excluded. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This series is expressed in local currency units.

Limitations: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

All 24 values

Goods and services expense (current LCU) in nearby economies

• Australia — 69.37 billion (2022)
• Cambodia — 3.39 trillion (2023)
• Fiji — 726.63 million (2024)
• Kiribati — 107.94 million (2023)
• Korea, Rep. — 82.27 trillion (2024)
• Lao PDR — 3.81 trillion (2022)
• Macao SAR, China — 14.18 billion (2024)
• Malaysia — 37.67 billion (2024)
• Marshall Islands — 37.19 million (2020)
• Micronesia, Fed. Sts. — 28.76 million (2020)

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

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Questions people ask

What is Papua New Guinea's goods and services expense (current LCU)?

4.11 billion in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is up 1,353% from 283 million in 1990 (8.19% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 6.04 billion in 2022 and the lowest 227 million in 1998.

How does Papua New Guinea rank?

70th highest of 89 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in goods and services expense (current LCU) unusual for Papua New Guinea?

In 2024, Papua New Guinea's goods and services expense (current LCU) fell 20.8% on 2023 (from 5.19 billion to 4.11 billion). Across the 21 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2023), the average change was +20.8% and a typical year strayed about 60.7% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.XPN.GSRV.CN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) 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.

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