Papua New Guinea Economy 2001

Economy - overview: Papua New Guinea is richly endowed with natural resources, but exploitation has been hampered by the 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 3.4% average annual growth rate of GDP during 1979-1998 conceals considerable year-to-year variation resulting from external economic shocks, natural disasters, and economic management problems. There has been little growth in the last half of the 1990s, with real GDP in 1999 barely 3% higher than in 1994, not enough to compensate for population growth. A new administration under the leadership of Prime Minister Mekere MORAUTA in July 1999 has promised to restore integrity to state institutions, to stabilize the kina, to restore stability to the national budget, to privatize public enterprises where appropriate, and to 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 in maintaining the support from members of Parliament who after 15 July 2001 can dismiss him with a vote of no-confidence.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $12.2 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 2.9% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,500 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 30%
industry: 35%
services: 35% (1999 est.)

Population below poverty line: 37%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 17% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 1.941 million

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

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
revenues: $1.6 billion
expenditures: $1.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 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: 1.82 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 54.95%
hydro: 45.05%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 1.693 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1999)

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

Exports: $2.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

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

Exports - partners: Australia 30%, Japan 12%, Germany 7%, South Korea 4%, Philippines 3%, UK 3% (1999)

Imports: $1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

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

Imports - partners: Australia 53%, Singapore 13%, Japan 6%, US 4%, New Zealand 4%, Malaysia 4% (1999)

Debt - external: $2.9 billion (2000 est.)

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

Currency: kina (PGK)

Currency code: PGK

Exchange rates: kina per US dollar - 2.81 (October 2000), 2.696 (2000), 2.539 (1999), 2.058 (1998), 1.434 (1997), 1.318 (1996)

Fiscal year: calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Papua New Guinea on this page is re-published from the 2001 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Papua New Guinea Economy 2001 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Papua New Guinea Economy 2001 should be addressed to the CIA.