Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Armed forces personnel as a share of total population was 0.0% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Papua New Guinea, 1985–2020
Source: The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank (2026); Population based on various sources (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Papua New Guinea recorded 0.0% for armed forces personnel as a share of total population in 2020.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.1% on the previous year and up 0.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Papua New Guinea peaked at 0.1% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 2015.
That places Papua New Guinea 165th out of 173 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 32 years of available data.
Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 0.1% | — |
| 1989 | 0.1% | -14.1% |
| 1990 | 0.1% | +29.9% |
| 1991 | 0.1% | -3.1% |
| 1992 | 0.1% | -3.5% |
| 1994 | 0.1% | -7.0% |
| 1995 | 0.1% | -8.4% |
| 1996 | 0.1% | -6.1% |
| 1997 | 0.1% | +12.1% |
| 1998 | 0.1% | -3.5% |
| 1999 | 0.1% | -3.4% |
| 2000 | 0.1% | -1.1% |
| 2001 | 0.1% | -3.3% |
| 2002 | 0.1% | -31.9% |
| 2003 | 0.1% | -3.3% |
| 2004 | 0.0% | -6.3% |
| 2005 | 0.0% | -3.2% |
| 2006 | 0.0% | -3.1% |
| 2007 | 0.0% | -3.1% |
| 2008 | 0.0% | -3.1% |
| 2009 | 0.0% | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 0.0% | -3.0% |
| 2011 | 0.0% | -2.9% |
| 2012 | 0.0% | -40.4% |
| 2013 | 0.0% | -2.7% |
| 2014 | 0.0% | -2.6% |
| 2015 | 0.0% | -2.5% |
| 2016 | 0.0% | +84.9% |
| 2017 | 0.0% | +8.5% |
| 2018 | 0.0% | -12.1% |
| 2019 | 0.0% | +8.6% |
| 2020 | 0.0% | -2.1% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 0.0% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.2%, 19% of the median. (43 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 0.0% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.5%, 8% of the median. (20 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Armed forces personnel as a share of total population 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | +84.9% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2012 | -40.4% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 1990 | +29.9% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| 2002 | -31.9% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 2 |
| 1990s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 9 |
| 2000s | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1 |
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 armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Papua New Guinea?
- Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Papua New Guinea was 0.0% in 2020, according to The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank (2026); Population based on various sources (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest armed forces personnel as a share of total population recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 0.1% in 1990.
- What is the lowest armed forces personnel as a share of total population recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 2015.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for armed forces personnel as a share of total population?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 165th out of 173 countries with data for 2020.
- Is armed forces personnel as a share of total population rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea data come from?
- The figures come from The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank (2026); Population based on various sources (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Armed forces personnel as a share of total population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 32 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Armed forces personnel are active duty military personnel, including paramilitary forces if their training, organization, equipment, and control suggest they may be used to support or replace regular military forces.