Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required was 39.5% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in Papua New Guinea, 2008–2022
Source: Harvard Medical School Program in Global Surgery and Social Change (PGSSC), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of people at risk.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in Papua New Guinea is 39.5%, measured in 2022.
That represents a change of down 1.0% on the previous year and up 26.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in Papua New Guinea peaked at 54.7% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 22.3%, in 2013.
Papua New Guinea ranks 34th of 134 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.
Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | % of people at risk | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 35.1% | — |
| 2009 | 35.3% | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 39.4% | +11.6% |
| 2011 | 36.8% | -6.6% |
| 2012 | 31.2% | -15.2% |
| 2013 | 22.3% | -28.5% |
| 2014 | 24.1% | +8.1% |
| 2015 | 54.7% | +127.0% |
| 2016 | 53.6% | -2.0% |
| 2017 | 47.7% | -11.0% |
| 2018 | 49.2% | +3.1% |
| 2020 | 40.3% | -18.1% |
| 2021 | 39.9% | -1.0% |
| 2022 | 39.5% | -1.0% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 39.5% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 29.2%, 1.4× the median. (36 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 39.5% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 2.4%, 16.8× the median. (18 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in Papua New Guinea changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | +127.0% | 24.1% | 54.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 35.2% | 35.1% | 35.3% | 2 |
| 2010s | 39.9% | 22.3% | 54.7% | 9 |
| 2020s | 39.9% | 39.5% | 40.3% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
More population data for Papua New Guinea
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate 0.0564 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate -0.3478 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate 0.0564 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate 0.0669 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 05 - Demographic estimates 14,910 Persons (2050)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 1.58 Percent per annum (2030)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.5424 % change on previous year (2100)
- World population growth 0.0% (2100)
- Population density 41.16 people per km² (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 1.15 million people (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in Papua New Guinea?
- Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required in Papua New Guinea was 39.5% in 2022, according to Harvard Medical School Program in Global Surgery and Social Change (PGSSC), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 54.7% in 2015.
- What is the lowest share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.3% in 2013.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 34th out of 134 countries with data for 2022.
- Is share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 26.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea data come from?
- The figures come from Harvard Medical School Program in Global Surgery and Social Change (PGSSC), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of the population at risk of catastrophic spending when surgical care is required. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Catastrophic expenditure is defined as direct out-of-pocket payments for surgical and anaesthesia care exceeding 10% of total income.