Total natural resource rents in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Total natural resource rents was 27.4% in 2021. ▬ Flat
Total natural resource rents in Papua New Guinea, 1970–2021
Source: The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank staff estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2021, total natural resource rents in Papua New Guinea stood at 27.4%.
That represents a change of up 129.3% on the previous year and up 4.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, total natural resource rents in Papua New Guinea peaked at 31.2% in 2005 and was at its lowest, 1.8%, in 1971.
Papua New Guinea ranks 14th of 211 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
Total natural resource rents in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 1.9% | — |
| 1971 | 1.8% | -3.3% |
| 1972 | 16.7% | +805.6% |
| 1973 | 28.2% | +68.8% |
| 1974 | 30.6% | +8.4% |
| 1975 | 20.5% | -32.8% |
| 1976 | 19.7% | -3.9% |
| 1977 | 19.0% | -3.5% |
| 1978 | 18.4% | -3.6% |
| 1979 | 22.4% | +21.7% |
| 1980 | 25.2% | +12.5% |
| 1981 | 20.1% | -20.0% |
| 1982 | 19.9% | -1.0% |
| 1983 | 20.9% | +4.6% |
| 1984 | 15.5% | -25.6% |
| 1985 | 21.0% | +35.5% |
| 1986 | 20.4% | -3.0% |
| 1987 | 24.3% | +18.9% |
| 1988 | 25.5% | +4.9% |
| 1989 | 24.4% | -4.3% |
| 1990 | 23.0% | -5.5% |
| 1991 | 18.3% | -20.7% |
| 1992 | 21.1% | +15.6% |
| 1993 | 22.4% | +6.3% |
| 1994 | 21.1% | -5.8% |
| 1995 | 26.7% | +26.3% |
| 1996 | 21.0% | -21.5% |
| 1997 | 12.7% | -39.5% |
| 1998 | 14.0% | +10.1% |
| 1999 | 17.4% | +24.4% |
| 2000 | 25.7% | +48.0% |
| 2001 | 17.5% | -31.9% |
| 2002 | 19.8% | +13.4% |
| 2003 | 22.1% | +11.3% |
| 2004 | 28.8% | +30.4% |
| 2005 | 31.2% | +8.4% |
| 2006 | 27.4% | -12.2% |
| 2007 | 24.2% | -11.7% |
| 2008 | 25.4% | +4.8% |
| 2009 | 18.9% | -25.4% |
| 2010 | 27.9% | +47.5% |
| 2011 | 26.3% | -5.8% |
| 2012 | 15.8% | -39.8% |
| 2013 | 11.7% | -26.2% |
| 2014 | 14.0% | +20.2% |
| 2015 | 12.7% | -9.2% |
| 2016 | 14.3% | +12.5% |
| 2017 | 16.0% | +11.9% |
| 2018 | 16.9% | +5.5% |
| 2019 | 13.8% | -18.4% |
| 2020 | 11.9% | -13.6% |
| 2021 | 27.4% | +129.3% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 27.4% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.4%, 6.2× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 27.4% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.7%, 39.0× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Total natural resource rents 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | +805.6% | 1.8% | 16.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 17.9% | 1.8% | 30.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 21.7% | 15.5% | 25.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 19.8% | 12.7% | 26.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 24.1% | 17.5% | 31.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.0% | 11.7% | 27.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.7% | 11.9% | 27.4% | 2 |
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 total natural resource rents in Papua New Guinea?
- Total natural resource rents in Papua New Guinea was 27.4% in 2021, according to The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank staff estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest total natural resource rents recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 31.2% in 2005.
- What is the lowest total natural resource rents recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.8% in 1971.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for total natural resource rents?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 14th out of 211 countries with data for 2021.
- Is total natural resource rents rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea data come from?
- The figures come from The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank staff estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Total natural resource rents. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 52 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Natural resources rents are estimated as the difference between the price of a commodity and the average cost of producing it. Total natural resources rents are the sum of oil rents, natural gas rents, coal rents, mineral rents, and forest rents.