Fiatmap

MacroPapua New Guinea

Unemployment rate in Papua New Guinea

How hard is it to have a job there?

Papua New Guinea's unemployment rate is 2.57 % — #14 of 124 countries on the atlas (lower is better). Period 2025.

2.57%

Checked 8 Sept 2026Period 2025

Source: World Bank open data (GDP growth, GDP/capita, unemployment, government debt)

Unemployment rate in Papua New Guinea over time

3.03 %2.52 %2.00 %3.03 % · 20212.00 % · 20102000: 2.92 %2001: 2.80 %2002: 2.76 %2003: 2.63 %2004: 2.53 %2005: 2.38 %2006: 2.29 %2007: 2.17 %2008: 2.17 %2009: 2.09 %2010: 2.00 %2011: 2.62 %2012: 2.63 %2013: 2.70 %2014: 2.54 %2015: 2.51 %2016: 2.48 %2017: 2.58 %2018: 2.65 %2019: 2.65 %2020: 2.90 %2021: 3.03 %2022: 2.69 %2023: 2.65 %2024: 2.63 %2025: 2.57 %2000201220252.57 %
26 official observations, 2000 → 2025. Every point is a published value — never interpolated.
Rank
#14 of 124
lower is better
Ranked behind
89 %
110 of 124 countries
Latest move
▼ 0.05 pp
since 2024
Below its peak
0.46 pp
peak 3.03 % in 2021
Full series
▼ 0.35 pp
since 2000

vs median 5.25 %: −2.68 pp (better)

Among 124 countries

6 of 124 countries between 0.78 % and 1.53 %6 of 124 countries between 1.53 % and 2.28 %12 of 124 countries between 2.28 % and 3.03 %16 of 124 countries between 3.03 % and 3.78 %7 of 124 countries between 3.78 % and 4.53 %15 of 124 countries between 4.53 % and 5.28 %14 of 124 countries between 5.28 % and 6.02 %7 of 124 countries between 6.02 % and 6.77 %6 of 124 countries between 6.77 % and 7.52 %2 of 124 countries between 7.52 % and 8.27 %10 of 124 countries between 8.27 % and 9.02 %3 of 124 countries between 9.02 % and 9.77 %3 of 124 countries between 9.77 % and 10.52 %2 of 124 countries between 10.52 % and 11.27 %3 of 124 countries between 11.27 % and 12.02 %1 of 124 countries between 12.02 % and 12.77 %1 of 124 countries between 12.77 % and 13.51 %2 of 124 countries between 13.51 % and 14.26 %1 of 124 countries between 14.26 % and 15.01 %2 of 124 countries between 15.01 % and 15.76 %1 of 124 countries between 16.51 % and 17.26 %4 of 124 countries between 18.01 % and 18.76 %median 5.23 %Papua New Guinea: ahead of 89 % of the 124 countries with a published unemploymentPapua New Guinea 2.57 %0.78 %18.76 %
Half of all 124 countries sit between 3.30 % and 8.30 %. Papua New Guinea is ahead of 89 % of them. Axis trimmed to the 2nd–98th percentile; 5 values beyond it sit in the end bars.

The neighbourhood

#CountryUnemploymentvs Papua New Guinea
12 Philippines2.23 %−0.34 pp
13 Japan2.45 %−0.12 pp
14 Papua New Guinea2.57 %—
15 Guatemala2.60 %+0.03 pp
16 Mexico2.67 %+0.10 pp

Unemployment, share of the labour force (World Bank / ILO estimate).

How to read this figure

Share of the labour force without work but actively seeking it (World Bank / ILO harmonised estimate). People outside the labour force — students, carers, the discouraged — are not counted.

Next, about Papua New Guinea

GDP growthGDP per capita
Unemployment rate, all countries ranked →Compare Papua New Guinea with another country →Everything about Papua New Guinea →
Did this answer your question?