Papua New Guinea's international tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) was US$3.46 million in 2018, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 64.76% from US$2.1 million in 2008 (5.12% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | US$3.46 million | 2018 |
| Five years earlier | US$3.6 million | 2013 |
| Ten years earlier | US$2.1 million | 2008 |
| Highest | US$25 million | 1995 |
| Lowest | US$800,000 | 2016 |
| Average since 2009 | US$2.59 million | 2009–2018 |
| First recorded | US$25 million |
What the numbers say
In 2018, Papua New Guinea's international tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) rose 76.5% on 2017 (from US$1.96 million to US$3.46 million).
Across the 22 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2017), the average change was +2.1% and a typical year strayed about 57.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 145% in 2017 and the biggest yearly fall was 60% in 1999. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2009 to 2018 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 5% 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
See how every economy compares in the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Papua New Guinea | US$3.46 million | 2018 |
| World | US$1.47 trillion | 2019 |
| East Asia & Pacific | US$390.16 billion | 2019 |
| Lower middle income | US$139.93 billion | 2019 |
Closest to Papua New Guinea in the 2018 ranking
- Mali — 5th of 9: US$227 million
- Marshall Islands — 6th of 9: US$8.6 million
- Burundi — 7th of 9: US$3.9 million
- Naoero — 9th of 9: US$1.6 million
What this measures
International tourism receipts for travel items are expenditures by international inbound visitors in the reporting economy. The goods and services are purchased by, or on behalf of, the traveler or provided, without a quid pro quo, for the traveler to use or give away. These receipts should include any other prepayment made for goods or services received in the destination country. They also may include receipts from same-day visitors, except in cases where these are so important as to justify a separate classification. Excluded is the international carriage of travelers, which is covered in passenger travel items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a gap-filled total.
All 24 values
| Year | International tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 3,460,000 |
| 2017 | 1,960,000 |
| 2016 | 800,000 |
| 2015 | 1,700,000 |
| 2014 | 2,700,000 |
| 2013 | 3,600,000 |
| 2012 | 2,400,000 |
| 2011 | 4,900,000 |
| 2010 | 2,300,000 |
| 2009 | 2,100,000 |
International tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) in nearby economies
- Australia — US$25.67 billion (2020)
- Brunei Darussalam — US$38 million (2020)
- Cambodia — US$1.02 billion (2020)
- China — US$14.23 billion (2020)
- Fiji — US$151 million (2020)
- French Polynesia — US$642 million (2018)
- Hong Kong SAR, China — US$2.84 billion (2020)
- Indonesia — US$3.31 billion (2020)
- Japan
More private sector & trade data for Papua New Guinea
- Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 62.04% (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$) — 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$10.86 billion (2023)
- Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 58.93% (2023)
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Papua New Guinea's international tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$)?
- US$3.46 million in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1995?
- It is down 86.16% from US$25 million in 1995 (8.24% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$25 million in 1995 and the lowest US$800,000 in 2016.
- Is the latest change in international tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) unusual for Papua New Guinea?
- In 2018, Papua New Guinea's international tourism, receipts for travel items (current US$) rose 76.5% on 2017 (from US$1.96 million to US$3.46 million). Across the 22 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2017), the average change was +2.1% and a typical year strayed about 57.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator ST.INT.TVLR.CD, 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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