Overview: Papua New Guinea is richly endowed with natural resources, but exploitation has been hampered by the rugged terrain and the high cost of developing an infrastructure. Agriculture provides a subsistence livelihood for 85% of the population. Mining of numerous deposits, including copper and gold, accounts for about 60% of export earnings. Budgetary support from Australia and development aid under World Bank auspices have helped sustain the economy. Robust growth in 1991-92 was led by the mining sector; the opening of a large new gold mine helped the advance.

National product: GDP - exchange rate conversion - $3.4 billion (1992)

National product real growth rate: 8.5% (1992)

National product per capita: $850 (1992)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.5% (1992-93)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget: revenues $1.33 billion; expenditures $1.49 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993 est.)

External debt: $2.2 billion (April 1991)

Industrial production: growth rate NA%; accounts for 21% of GDP

Electricity: 400,000 kW capacity; 1,600 million kWh produced, 400 kWh per capita (1992)

Industries: copra crushing, palm oil processing, plywood production, wood chip production, mining of gold, silver, and copper, construction, tourism

Agriculture: one-third of GDP; livelihood for 85% of population; fertile soils and favorable climate permits cultivating a wide variety of crops; cash crops - coffee, cocoa, coconuts, palm kernels; other products - tea, rubber, sweet potatoes, fruit, vegetables, poultry, pork; net importer of food for urban centers

Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $40.6 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $6.5 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $17 million

Currency: 1 kina (K)=100 toea

Exchange rates: kina (K) per US$1 - 1.0065 (January 1993), 1.0367 (1992), 1.0504 (1991), 1.0467 (1990), 1.1685 (1989), 1.1538 (1988)

Fiscal year: calendar year