PORT MORESBY, Mar. 23, 2026 - Papua New Guinea has the potential to build a strong, job-rich economy but to deliver on this potential, it must unlock more value from its resources. This means ramping up investment in the health, education, and skills of its people, according to a new World Bank Public Finance Review released today.
The review, Converting Resource Wealth into Human Capital, highlights how stronger public finances and smarter investment in people can help Papua New Guinea turn its natural wealth into opportunities for its rapidly growing young population.
Papua New Guinea has set ambitious national targets including creating one million jobs, growing the economy to K200 billion by 2030, and achieving a balanced budget by 2027 but meeting these goals will depend on stronger fiscal systems that translate this resource wealth into results.
The review identifies three priorities to help Papua New Guinea unlock stronger growth and job creation: capturing stronger returns from the resource sector and broadening the tax base, improving how public funds are spent, and increasing investment in health, education, and social protection.
Papua New Guinea's resource sector has expanded rapidly in the past decade. Yet the government's revenue share has remained relatively small. Between 2013 and 2024, resource revenues averaged just 1.9 percent of GDP, even as production from the sector nearly doubled.
At the same time, underinvestment in people is holding back productivity and job creation. The available data show that nearly half of young children are stunted, one in 25 children dies before the age of five, and education outcomes remain among the weakest globally. A child born in Papua New Guinea today is expected to reach only 42 percent of their potential productivity. According to the review, addressing these issues will require an increase in annual spending of approximately 4.5 percent of GDP to support smarter education programs, expanded primary healthcare, and the development of a national social safety net.
"The future of any country depends on the health, skills, and energy of its young people," said Han Fraeters, World Bank Division Director for Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. "With focused actions, Papua New Guinea can turn its natural wealth into stronger services, a more diverse economy, and more jobs for the next generation."
