Employee compensation as share of government spending in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Employee compensation as share of government spending was 11.2% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Papua New Guinea, 1990–2023
Source: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of expense.
Analysis
The most recent figure for employee compensation as share of government spending in Papua New Guinea is 11.2%, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 23 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 22.5% on the previous year and down 31.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employee compensation as share of government spending in Papua New Guinea peaked at 40.9% in 1998 and was at its lowest, 11.2%, in 2023.
Papua New Guinea ranks 135th of 155 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 23 years of available data.
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | % of expense | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 38.2% | — |
| 1991 | 30.7% | -19.7% |
| 1992 | 36.7% | +19.4% |
| 1993 | 31.7% | -13.4% |
| 1994 | 36.3% | +14.5% |
| 1995 | 36.3% | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 28.6% | -21.1% |
| 1997 | 30.8% | +7.7% |
| 1998 | 40.9% | +32.7% |
| 1999 | 31.1% | -23.9% |
| 2000 | 25.0% | -19.6% |
| 2001 | 26.3% | +5.2% |
| 2002 | 27.8% | +5.6% |
| 2014 | 16.3% | -41.3% |
| 2015 | 17.5% | +7.6% |
| 2016 | 20.0% | +14.2% |
| 2017 | 19.0% | -5.1% |
| 2018 | 18.4% | -3.1% |
| 2019 | 16.4% | -10.9% |
| 2020 | 15.5% | -5.5% |
| 2021 | 16.4% | +6.1% |
| 2022 | 14.5% | -12.0% |
| 2023 | 11.2% | -22.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 34.1% | 28.6% | 40.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 26.4% | 25.0% | 27.8% | 3 |
| 2010s | 17.9% | 16.3% | 20.0% | 6 |
| 2020s | 14.4% | 11.2% | 16.4% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
More work & labour data for Papua New Guinea
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual 0.0564 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth 0.0424 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth 0.0705 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate 0.4419 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 3.49 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 3,326 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 10,546 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 9,357 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 9,284 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 18,640 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employee compensation as share of government spending in Papua New Guinea?
- Employee compensation as share of government spending in Papua New Guinea was 11.2% in 2023, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest employee compensation as share of government spending recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 40.9% in 1998.
- What is the lowest employee compensation as share of government spending recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.2% in 2023.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for employee compensation as share of government spending?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 135th out of 155 countries with data for 2023.
- Is employee compensation as share of government spending rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 31.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea data come from?
- The figures come from International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Employee compensation as share of government spending. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Employee compensation includes wages, in-kind payments, and government contributions to social insurance schemes such as social security and pensions.