Economy - overview Papua New Guinea is richly endowed with natural resources, but exploitation has been hampered by rugged terrain and the high cost of developing infrastructure. Agriculture provides a subsistence livelihood for 85% of the population. Mineral deposits, including oil, copper, and gold, account for 72% of export earnings. The economy has declined over the past two years and will probably continue to falter in 2002. Prime Minister Mekere MORAUTA has tried to restore integrity to state institutions, stabilize the kina, restore stability to the national budget, privatize public enterprises where appropriate, and ensure ongoing peace on Bougainville. The government has had considerable success in attracting international support, specifically gaining the support of the IMF and the World Bank in securing development assistance loans. Significant challenges remain for MORAUTA, however, including gaining further investor confidence, specifically for the proposed Papua New Guinea-Australia oil pipeline, continuing efforts to privatize government assets, and maintaining the support of members of Parliament.

GDP purchasing power parity - $12.2 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate -2.5% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 30.4%
industry: 36.8%
services: 32.8% (2000 est.)

Population below poverty line 37%

Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%: 1.7%
highest 10%: 40.5% (1996)

Distribution of family income - Gini index 50.9 (1996)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 10.3% (2001 est.)

Labor force 2.3 million (1999)

Labor force - by occupation agriculture 85%, industry NA%, services NA%

Unemployment rate NA%

Budget
revenues: $894 million
expenditures: $1.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $344 million (2000 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 - production 1.65 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source
fossil fuel: 54.55%
hydro: 45.45%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption 1.535 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2000)

Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2000)

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

Exports $1.8 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)

Exports - commodities oil, gold, copper ore, logs, palm oil, coffee, cocoa, crayfish, prawns

Exports - partners Australia 30%, Japan 11%, China 6%, Germany 4%, South Korea 4%, UK 3%, Philippines 1%, US 1% (2000)

Imports $1.024 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)

Imports - commodities machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, fuels, chemicals

Imports - partners Australia 50%, Singapore 20%, Japan 4%, NZ 4%, Indonesia 3%, Malaysia 3%, US 2% (2000)

Debt - external $2.6 billion (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient $400 million (1999 est.)

Currency kina (PGK)

Currency code PGK

Exchange rates kina per US dollar - 3.706 (January 2002), 3.374 (2001), 2.765 (2000), 2.539 (1999), 2.058 (1998), 1.434 (1997)

Fiscal year calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Papua New Guinea on this page is re-published from the 2002 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Papua New Guinea Economy 2002 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Papua New Guinea Economy 2002 should be addressed to the CIA.