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Papua New Guinea — Labor participation
Labor Force Participation Rate for Papua New Guinea, 1990–2025.
Latest value · 2025
52.07%
Labor Force Participation Rate · % of population ages 15+ · +7.1% since 1990
Labor participation for Papua New Guinea was 52.07% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 36 years, from 1990 to 2025. The latest year is also the highest value on record for this series. The lowest was 47.95% in 1994 (about 1.1× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 0.20% per year.
Papua New Guinea ranks 152 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 81%. The median for East Asia & Pacific is 64.35%, so Papua New Guinea sits below it. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved up 5%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
52.07%
First (1990)
48.60%
Change
+7.1%
Highest
52.07%
in 2025
Lowest
47.95%
in 1994
Average
49.34%
Annual growth (CAGR)
0.20%
Years of data
36
Recent years
| Year | % of population ages 15+ |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 52.07% |
| 2024 | 51.96% |
| 2023 | 51.96% |
| 2022 | 51.99% |
| 2021 | 51.67% |
| 2020 | 51% |
| 2019 | 51.14% |
| 2018 | 50.83% |
| 2017 | 50.42% |
| 2016 | 50.09% |
| 2015 | 49.8% |
| 2014 | 49.53% |
Reading this correctly. Proportion of the population aged 15 and above that is economically active: supplying labor for the production of goods and services. Figures are in % of population ages 15+. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SL.TLF.CACT.ZS — Labor Force Participation Rate. Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.