Air passengers in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Air passengers was 1.55 million in 2023. ▲ Rising
Air passengers in Papua New Guinea, 1975–2023
Source: International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Papua New Guinea recorded 1.55 million for air passengers in 2023.
That represents a change of up 4.9% on the previous year and down 17.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, air passengers in Papua New Guinea peaked at 2.07 million in 2014 and was at its lowest, 355,000, in 1975.
Papua New Guinea ranks 88th of 183 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 49 years of available data.
Air passengers in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 355,000 | — |
| 1976 | 405,300 | +14.2% |
| 1977 | 440,000 | +8.6% |
| 1978 | 532,300 | +21.0% |
| 1979 | 572,300 | +7.5% |
| 1980 | 558,600 | -2.4% |
| 1981 | 553,500 | -0.9% |
| 1982 | 560,400 | +1.2% |
| 1983 | 533,800 | -4.7% |
| 1984 | 711,400 | +33.3% |
| 1985 | 700,900 | -1.5% |
| 1986 | 807,400 | +15.2% |
| 1987 | 798,300 | -1.1% |
| 1988 | 886,600 | +11.1% |
| 1989 | 963,400 | +8.7% |
| 1990 | 931,200 | -3.3% |
| 1991 | 911,000 | -2.2% |
| 1992 | 954,000 | +4.7% |
| 1993 | 866,000 | -9.2% |
| 1994 | 1.11 million | +28.5% |
| 1995 | 970,000 | -12.8% |
| 1996 | 970,000 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 1.11 million | +14.8% |
| 1998 | 1.11 million | -0.3% |
| 1999 | 1.06 million | -4.7% |
| 2000 | 1.10 million | +3.9% |
| 2001 | 1.19 million | +8.0% |
| 2002 | 1.23 million | +3.9% |
| 2003 | 690,528 | -44.1% |
| 2004 | 762,784 | +10.5% |
| 2005 | 818,773 | +7.3% |
| 2006 | 918,640 | +12.2% |
| 2007 | 918,665 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 904,885 | -1.5% |
| 2009 | 847,353 | -6.4% |
| 2010 | 1.41 million | +65.8% |
| 2011 | 1.56 million | +11.3% |
| 2012 | 1.63 million | +4.3% |
| 2013 | 1.87 million | +14.8% |
| 2014 | 2.07 million | +10.9% |
| 2015 | 1.68 million | -19.0% |
| 2016 | 1.71 million | +1.9% |
| 2017 | 1.86 million | +9.0% |
| 2018 | 1.83 million | -1.8% |
| 2019 | 2.03 million | +10.8% |
| 2020 | 932,389 | -54.1% |
| 2021 | 1.04 million | +11.4% |
| 2022 | 1.48 million | +42.0% |
| 2023 | 1.55 million | +4.9% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 1.55 million is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 690,677, 2.2× the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 1.55 million is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 2.05 million, 75% of the median. (29 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Air passengers in Papua New Guinea changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | +65.8% | 847,353 | 1.41 million |
| 2020 | -54.1% | 2.03 million | 932,389 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 460,980 | 355,000 | 572,300 | 5 |
| 1980s | 707,430 | 533,800 | 963,400 | 10 |
| 1990s | 999,750 | 866,000 | 1.11 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 938,427 | 690,528 | 1.23 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.77 million | 1.41 million | 2.07 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.25 million | 932,389 | 1.55 million | 4 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
More reference data data for Papua New Guinea
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2042 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0498 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.3515 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0007 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.3515 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.6846 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.5295 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.2811 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.89 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0038 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is air passengers in Papua New Guinea?
- Air passengers in Papua New Guinea was 1.55 million in 2023, according to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest air passengers recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 2.07 million in 2014.
- What is the lowest air passengers recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 355,000 in 1975.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for air passengers?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 88th out of 183 countries with data for 2023.
- Is air passengers rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 17.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea data come from?
- The figures come from International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Air passengers. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 49 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Domestic and international passengers of airlines registered in the country. Passengers counted each time they travel.