Papua New Guinea: Mineral rents (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, Papua New Guinea's mineral rents (% of GDP) rose 11.38 percentage points on 2020 (from 3.03% to 14.41%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2020), the average change was −0.52 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.69 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 3.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 14.32 percentage points in 1972 and the biggest yearly fall was 10.91 percentage points in 1975. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2012 to 2021 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 3% 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 2021, Papua New Guinea had the 8th highest value of the 197 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 2021 ranking

• Chile — 5th of 197: 16.23%
• Mali — 6th of 197: 16.18%
• Burkina Faso — 7th of 197: 15.45%
• Peru — 9th of 197: 12.1%
• Kyrgyz Republic — 10th of 197: 11.15%
• Australia — 11th of 197: 10.47%

What this measures

Mineral rents are the difference between the value of production for a stock of minerals at world prices and their total costs of production. Minerals included in the calculation are tin, gold, lead, zinc, iron, copper, nickel, silver, bauxite, and phosphate.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 52 values

Mineral rents (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• American Samoa — 0% (2021)
• Australia — 10.47% (2021)
• Brunei Darussalam — 0% (2021)
• Cambodia — 0% (2021)
• China — 0.51% (2021)
• Fiji — 1.13% (2021)
• French Polynesia — 0% (2021)
• Guam — 0% (2021)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 0% (2021)
• Indonesia — 1.91% (2021)
• Japan — 0.00721% (2021)
• Kiribati

More environment data for Papua New Guinea

• Population in largest city — 431,903 (2025)
• Population in the largest city (% of urban population) — 25.43% (2025)
• Rural population — 9.06 million (2025)
• Rural population (% of total population) — 84.22% (2025)
• Urban population — 1.7 million (2025)
• Urban population (% of total population) — 15.78% (2025)
• Aquaculture production (metric tons) — 2,552 (2024)
• Capture fisheries production (metric tons) — 342,808 (2024)
• Total fisheries production (metric tons) — 345,360 (2024)
• Rural population growth (annual %)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Papua New Guinea's mineral rents (% of GDP)?

14.41% in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is up 14.41 percentage points from 0% in 1970. The highest value was 27.62% in 1974 and the lowest 0% in 1970.

How does Papua New Guinea rank?

8th highest of 197 economies with data for 2021.

Is the latest change in mineral rents (% of GDP) unusual for Papua New Guinea?

In 2021, Papua New Guinea's mineral rents (% of GDP) rose 11.38 percentage points on 2020 (from 3.03% to 14.41%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2020), the average change was −0.52 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.69 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 3.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NY.GDP.MINR.RT.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank (WB), uri: https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/changing-wealth-of-nations/data, note: World Bank staff estimates based on sources and methods described in the World Bank's The Changing Wealth of Nations., publisher: World Bank (WB); Staff estimates, Wo… 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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