Papua New Guinea's net foreign assets (current LCU) was 12.04 billion in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 104.82% from 5.88 billion in 2015 (7.43% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 12.04 billion | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 5.23 billion | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 5.88 billion | 2015 |
| Highest | 12.04 billion | 2022 |
| Lowest | 59.63 million | 1994 |
| Average since 2016 | 8.53 billion | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 147.78 million |
What the numbers say
In 2025, Papua New Guinea's net foreign assets (current LCU) rose 14.6% on 2024 (from 10.51 billion to 12.04 billion).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +31.6% and a typical year strayed about 79.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 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 380.7% in 1995 and the biggest yearly fall was 63.4% in 1994. 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 843.65 million a year. A straight line explains 78% 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 2025, Papua New Guinea had the 79th highest value of the 106 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 2025 ranking
- Ecuador — 76th of 106: 21.19 billion
- Brunei Darussalam — 77th of 106: 15.89 billion
- Jordan — 78th of 106: 15.24 billion
- West Bank and Gaza — 80th of 106: 11.81 billion
- Eswatini — 81st of 106: 10.79 billion
- Tunisia — 82nd of 106: 9.28 billion
What this measures
Net foreign assets are the sum of foreign assets held by monetary authorities and deposit money banks, less their foreign liabilities. 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.
All 53 values
| Year | Net foreign assets (current LCU) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 12,035,737,644 |
| 2024 | 10,505,208,598 |
| 2023 | 11,741,216,525 |
| 2022 | 12,038,161,286 |
| 2021 | 8,678,231,607 |
| 2020 | 5,225,600,451 |
| 2019 | 7,666,301,770 |
| 2018 | 7,018,376,063 |
| 2017 | 5,497,812,561 |
| 2016 | 4,928,227,732 |
| 2015 |
Net foreign assets (current LCU) in nearby economies
- Australia — -136.13 billion (2025)
- Brunei Darussalam — 15.89 billion (2025)
- Cambodia — 130.8 trillion (2025)
- China — 30.27 trillion (2024)
- Fiji — 3.45 billion (2025)
- Hong Kong SAR, China — 12.08 trillion (2025)
- Indonesia — 2,159.04 trillion (2025)
- Japan — 54.94 trillion (2025)
- Korea, Rep. — 627.85 trillion (2024)
- Macao SAR, China — 883.16 billion (2025)
- Malaysia
More financial sector data for Papua New Guinea
- GDP deflator (base year varies by country) — 175.74 (2025)
- DEC alternative conversion factor (LCU per US$) — US$4.12 (2025)
- Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average) — US$4.12 (2025)
- Inflation, GDP deflator (annual % growth) — 6.87% (2025)
- Consumer price index (2010 = 100) — 193.24 (2025)
- Inflation, consumer prices (annual % growth) — 4.42% (2025)
- Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) — 13.45% (2025)
- Net domestic credit (current LCU) — 31.63 billion (2025)
- Monetary sector credit to private sector (% of GDP)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Papua New Guinea's net foreign assets (current LCU)?
- 12.04 billion in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1973?
- It is up 8,044% from 147.78 million in 1973 (8.83% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 12.04 billion in 2022 and the lowest 59.63 million in 1994.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank?
- 79th highest of 106 economies with data for 2025.
- Is the latest change in net foreign assets (current LCU) unusual for Papua New Guinea?
- In 2025, Papua New Guinea's net foreign assets (current LCU) rose 14.6% on 2024 (from 10.51 billion to 12.04 billion). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +31.6% and a typical year strayed about 79.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 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 FM.AST.NFRG.CN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Financial Statistics database, 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.
Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.
Legal entity
Devansh Yadav
Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Governing law: Courts at Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Phone: +91 8433475698
Legal: legal@analyzeit.in