Economy - overview Papua New Guinea is richly endowed with natural resources, but exploitation has been hampered by the rugged terrain and the high cost of developing an infrastructure. Agriculture provides a subsistence livelihood for the bulk of the population. Mineral deposits, including oil, copper, and gold, account for 72% of export earnings. Budgetary support from Australia and development aid under World Bank auspices have helped sustain the economy. In 1995, Port Moresby reached agreement with the IMF and World Bank on a structural adjustment program, of which the first phase was successfully completed in 1996. Droughts caused by the El Nino weather pattern wreaked havoc on Papua New Guinea's coffee, cocoa, and coconut production, the mainstays of the agricultural-based economy and major sources of export earnings. The coffee crop was slashed by up to 50% in 1997. Moreover, droughts could bite into growth in 1998.

GDP purchasing power parity - $11.6 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 2.3% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $2,650 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 26.4%
industry: 41%
services: 32.6% (1996 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index 11.6% (1996)

Labor force
total: 1.941 million
by occupation: agriculture 64% (1993 est.)

Unemployment rate NA%

Budget
revenues: $1.5 billion
expenditures: $1.35 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)

Industries copra crushing, palm oil processing, plywood production, wood chip production; mining of gold, silver, and copper; crude oil production; construction, tourism

Industrial production growth rate NA%

Electricity - capacity 490,000 kW (1995)

Electricity - production 1.76 billion kWh (1995)

Electricity - consumption per capita 410 kWh (1995)

Agriculture - products coffee, cocoa, coconuts, palm kernels, tea, rubber, sweet potatoes, fruit, vegetables; poultry, pork

Exports
total value: $2.5 billion (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: gold, copper ore, oil, logs, coffee, palm oil, cocoa, lobster
partners: Australia, Japan, Germany, UK, South Korea

Imports
total value: $1.7 billion (c.i.f., 1996)
commodities: machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, fuels, chemicals
partners: Australia, US, Singapore, Japan, UK

Debt - external $3.2 billion (1995)

Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $291 million (1993); $240 million bilateral aid from Australia (FY96/97 est.); $4.1 million ODA from NZ (FY95/96)

Currency 1 kina (K) = 100 toea

Exchange rates kina (K) per US$1 - 0.6299 (November 1997), 0.7588 (1996), 0.7835 (1995), 0.9950 (1994), 1.0221 (1993); note - the government floated the kina on 10 October 1994

Fiscal year calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Papua New Guinea on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Papua New Guinea Economy 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Papua New Guinea Economy 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.