Papua New Guinea: Taxes on goods and services (% of revenue)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Papua New Guinea's taxes on goods and services (% of revenue) fell 0.84 percentage points on 2023 (from 26.39% to 25.55%).

Across the 21 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2023), the average change was +0.19 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.38 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 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 3.6 percentage points in 2017 and the biggest yearly fall was 6.37 percentage points in 2022. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 1% 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 2024, Papua New Guinea had the 66th highest value of the 91 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 2024 ranking

• Ukraine — 62nd of 91: 26.23%
• Mongolia — 63rd of 91: 25.91%
• Costa Rica — 64th of 91: 25.63%
• Namibia — 66th of 91: 25.38%
• Philippines — 67th of 91: 25.29%
• Luxembourg — 68th of 91: 25.29%

What this measures

General taxes on goods and services are taxes levied on the production, leasing, delivery, sale, purchase or other change of ownership of a wide range of goods and the provision of a wide range of services. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of revenue which includes all transactions that add to the amount of economic value of a unit or sector.

Limitations: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

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

All 24 values

Taxes on goods and services (% of revenue) in nearby economies

• Australia — 17.79% (2022)
• Cambodia — 42.2% (2023)
• China — 28.26% (2024)
• Fiji — 44.41% (2024)
• Kiribati — 11.75% (2023)
• Korea, Rep. — 16.99% (2024)
• Lao PDR — 53.89% (2022)
• Macao SAR, China — 76.24% (2024)
• Malaysia — 22.58% (2024)
• Marshall Islands — 8.39% (2020)

More public sector data for Papua New Guinea

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 106.48 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 441.91 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 0.35% (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) — 1.59% (2025)
• Armed forces personnel, total — 4,000 (2020)
• Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 0.12% (2020)
• Net acquisition of financial assets (current LCU) — -1.4 billion (2024)
• Net acquisition of financial assets (% of GDP) — -1.18% (2024)
• Central government debt, total (current LCU)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Papua New Guinea's taxes on goods and services (% of revenue)?

25.55% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is up 14.67 percentage points from 10.88% in 1990. The highest value was 29.53% in 2021 and the lowest 6.85% in 1996.

How does Papua New Guinea rank?

66th highest of 91 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in taxes on goods and services (% of revenue) unusual for Papua New Guinea?

In 2024, Papua New Guinea's taxes on goods and services (% of revenue) fell 0.84 percentage points on 2023 (from 26.39% to 25.55%). Across the 21 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2023), the average change was +0.19 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.38 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 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 GC.TAX.GSRV.RV.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, 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.

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