Papua New Guinea's international tourism, number of arrivals was 39,000 in 2020, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 73.29% from 146,000 in 2010 (12.37% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 39,000 | 2020 |
| Five years earlier | 199,000 | 2015 |
| Ten years earlier | 146,000 | 2010 |
| Highest | 211,000 | 2019 |
| Lowest | 39,000 | 2020 |
| Average since 2011 | 173,700 | 2011–2020 |
| First recorded | 120,000 | 2008 |
What the numbers say
In 2020, Papua New Guinea's international tourism, number of arrivals fell 81.5% on 2019 (from 211,000 to 39,000).
Across the 11 yearly changes before that (2009 to 2019), the average change was +5.4% and a typical year strayed about 6.3% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 13.8 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 15.9% in 2010 and the biggest yearly fall was 81.5% in 2020. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2011 to 2020 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 10% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2020, Papua New Guinea had the 121st highest value of the 130 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 | 39,000 | 2020 |
| World | 2.4 billion | 2019 |
| East Asia & Pacific | 490.8 million | 2019 |
| Lower middle income | 207.72 million | 2019 |
Closest to Papua New Guinea in the 2020 ranking
- Mongolia — 118th of 130: 66,900
- Liechtenstein — 119th of 130: 58,400
- Bermuda — 120th of 130: 51,400
- New Caledonia — 122nd of 130: 31,000
- Bhutan — 123rd of 130: 29,800
- Moldova — 124th of 130: 29,000
What this measures
International inbound tourists (overnight visitors) are the number of tourists who travel to a country other than that in which they have their usual residence, but outside their usual environment, for a period not exceeding 12 months and whose main purpose in visiting is other than an activity remunerated from within the country visited. When data on number of tourists are not available, the number of visitors, which includes tourists, same-day visitors, cruise passengers, and crew members, is shown instead. Sources and collection methods for arrivals differ across countries. In some cases data are from border statistics (police, immigration, and the like) and supplemented by border surveys. In other cases data are from tourism accommodation establishments. For some countries number of arrivals is limited to arrivals by air and for others to arrivals staying in hotels. Some countries include arrivals of nationals residing abroad while others do not. Caution should thus be used in comparing arrivals across countries. The data on inbound tourists refer to the number of arrivals, not to the number of people traveling. Thus a person who makes several trips to a country during a given period is counted each time as a new arrival.
Limitations: Tourism can be either domestic or international. The data refers to international tourism, where the traveler's country of residence differs from the visiting country. International tourism consists of inbound (arrival) and outbound (departures) tourism. The data are from the World Tourism Organization (WTO), a United Nations agency. The data on inbound and outbound tourists refer to the number of arrivals and departures, not to the number of people traveling. Thus a person who makes several trips to a country during a given period is counted each time as a new arrival. The data on inbound tourism show the arrivals of nonresident tourists (overnight visitors) at national borders.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a gap-filled total.
All 13 values
| Year | International tourism, number of arrivals |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 39,000 |
| 2019 | 211,000 |
| 2018 | 195,000 |
| 2017 | 182,000 |
| 2016 | 198,000 |
| 2015 | 199,000 |
| 2014 | 191,000 |
| 2013 | 182,000 |
| 2012 | 175,000 |
| 2011 | 165,000 |
| 2010 |
International tourism, number of arrivals in nearby economies
- American Samoa — 900 (2020)
- Australia — 1.83 million (2020)
- Brunei Darussalam — 1.07 million (2020)
- Cambodia — 1.31 million (2020)
- China — 30.4 million (2020)
- Fiji — 168,000 (2020)
- French Polynesia — 89,400 (2020)
- Guam — 328,000 (2020)
- Hong Kong SAR, China — 3.57 million (2020)
- Indonesia — 4.05 million (2020)
More private sector & trade data for Papua New Guinea
- Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 62.04% (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$4.62 billion (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$15.54 billion (2025)
- Merchandise exports to high-income economies (% of total merchandise exports) — 69.25% (2023)
- Merchandise exports by the reporting economy, residual (% of total merchandise exports) — 0.000374% (2023)
- Merchandise exports by the reporting economy (current US$) — US$10.86 billion (2023)
- Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 58.93% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Papua New Guinea's international tourism, number of arrivals?
- 39,000 in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 2008?
- It is down 67.5% from 120,000 in 2008 (8.94% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 211,000 in 2019 and the lowest 39,000 in 2020.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank?
- 121st highest of 130 economies with data for 2020.
- Is the latest change in international tourism, number of arrivals unusual for Papua New Guinea?
- In 2020, Papua New Guinea's international tourism, number of arrivals fell 81.5% on 2019 (from 211,000 to 39,000). Across the 11 yearly changes before that (2009 to 2019), the average change was +5.4% and a typical year strayed about 6.3% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 13.8 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator ST.INT.ARVL, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism 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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