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Exporting guide to

Papua New Guinea

Overview

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is in the southwestern Pacific and includes the eastern half of New Guinea and its offshore islands. The PNG mainland has around 600 islands with a total land area of 452,860 square kilometers. Over 800 languages are spoken. It has a population of approximately 8.4 million giving UK companies access to a good consumer market. Papua New Guinea is largely underdeveloped. It is dominated by the agricultural, forestry, and fishing sector and the minerals and energy extraction sector.

Trade statistics

£39.0 million total UK exports to Papua New Guinea for the four quarters to the end of Q3 2023

(Source: ONS UK total trade: all countries, seasonally adjusted
Last updated: January 2024)

167th largest UK export market

(Source: ONS UK total trade: all countries, seasonally adjusted
Last updated: January 2024)

less than 0.1% of total UK exports for the four quarters to the end of Q3 2023

(Source: ONS UK total trade: all countries, seasonally adjusted
Last updated: January 2024)

Strong service market

Papua New Guinea has a strong services market the top goods imported into the country from the rest of the world are business services, transport, travel, construction, insurance and pension services.

Top five UK goods exported to Papua New Guinea , in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2023

Goods Value (£ million )
General industrial machinery (intermediate) 1.7
Specialised machinery (capital) 0.5
Road vehicles other than cars (capital) 0.4
Scientific instruments (capital) 0.4
Specialised machinery (intermediate) 0.3

Source: ONS Trade in goods: country-by-commodity exports
Last updated: February 2024
Download the latest trade and investment factsheet for Papua New Guinea.

Papua New Guinea: at a glance

Economic growth

-3.2%

Actual figure (IMF, 2020)
The UK is -11.0% (IMF, 2020, actual figure)

GDP per capita

$2,716

Actual figure (IMF, 2020)
The UK is $40,347 (IMF, 2020, actual figure)

Currency

Papua New Guinean kina

Business language

English is widely spoken

Time zone

GMT +10

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