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.
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
- Spring temperature anomalies 0.1159 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies -0.0178 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.504 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Democracy 7 (2025)
- Chief executive of the government is elected 1 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Elected parliament 1 (2025)
- Civil liberties rating 3 (2025)
- Free country 1 (2025)
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.
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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.