Papua New Guinea's labor force, total was 3.75 million in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 34.87% from 2.78 million in 2015 (3.04% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 3.75 million | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 3.27 million | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 2.78 million | 2015 |
| Highest | 3.75 million | 2025 |
| Lowest | 1.1 million | 1990 |
| Average since 2016 | 3.33 million | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 1.1 million |
What the numbers say
In 2025, Papua New Guinea's labor force, total rose 2.5% on 2024 (from 3.66 million to 3.75 million).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +3.6% and a typical year strayed about 0.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 4.4% in 1995. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is upward, about 97,053 a year. A straight line explains 100% 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.
A straight-line projection, tested first
Extending that straight line gives about 4.06 million for 2028. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2023 to 2025 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 26,754, against 163,789 for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.
See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.
How it compares
In 2025, Papua New Guinea had the 95th highest value of the 182 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 | 3.75 million | 2025 |
| World | 3.74 billion | 2025 |
| East Asia & Pacific | 1.28 billion | 2025 |
| Lower middle income | 1.2 billion | 2025 |
Closest to Papua New Guinea in the 2025 ranking
- Tunisia — 92nd of 182: 4.27 million
- Hong Kong SAR, China — 93rd of 182: 3.79 million
- Singapore — 94th of 182: 3.76 million
- Lao PDR — 96th of 182: 3.65 million
- Somalia, Fed. Rep. — 97th of 182: 3.56 million
- Paraguay — 98th of 182: 3.53 million
What this measures
Labor force comprises people ages 15 and older who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period. It includes people who are currently employed and people who are unemployed but seeking work as well as first-time job-seekers. Not everyone who works is included, however. Unpaid workers, family workers, and students are often omitted, and some countries do not count members of the armed forces. Labor force size tends to vary during the year as seasonal workers enter and leave.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.
All 36 values
| Year | Labor force, total |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 3,746,653 |
| 2024 | 3,655,667 |
| 2023 | 3,573,686 |
| 2022 | 3,494,880 |
| 2021 | 3,393,679 |
| 2020 | 3,269,241 |
| 2019 | 3,193,903 |
| 2018 | 3,089,167 |
| 2017 | 2,979,396 |
| 2016 | 2,876,659 |
| 2015 |
Labor force, total in nearby economies
- Australia — 15.13 million (2025)
- Brunei Darussalam — 237,763 (2025)
- Cambodia — 10.37 million (2025)
- China — 768.07 million (2025)
- Fiji — 390,290 (2025)
- French Polynesia — 120,628 (2025)
- Guam — 78,007 (2025)
- Hong Kong SAR, China — 3.79 million (2025)
- Indonesia — 147.11 million (2025)
- Japan — 69.48 million (2025)
- Korea, Dem. People's Rep. — 17.7 million (2025)
- Korea, Rep.
More social protection & labor data for Papua New Guinea
- Net migration — -284 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asylum — 7,727 (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 29.35% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 27.16% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 28.2% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate) — 51.62% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate) — 54.1% (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Papua New Guinea's labor force, total?
- 3.75 million in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1990?
- It is up 241.87% from 1.1 million in 1990 (3.57% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 3.75 million in 2025 and the lowest 1.1 million in 1990.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank?
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SL.TLF.TOTL.IN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Labour Organization (ILO), type: estimates based on external database; United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division; Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) 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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