Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of was 7,727 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of in Papua New Guinea, 1978–2025
Source: Statizoid (derived).
Analysis
The most recent figure for refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of in Papua New Guinea is 7,727, measured in 2025.
The figure is down 0.1% on the previous year and down 18.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of in Papua New Guinea peaked at 11,839 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 150, in 1981.
That places Papua New Guinea 97th out of 179 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 48 years of available data.
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | 1,000 | — |
| 1979 | 1,000 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 1,000 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 150 | -85.0% |
| 1982 | 2,200 | +1366.7% |
| 1983 | 1,230 | -44.1% |
| 1984 | 10,950 | +790.2% |
| 1985 | 11,750 | +7.3% |
| 1986 | 11,290 | -3.9% |
| 1987 | 9,620 | -14.8% |
| 1988 | 9,241 | -3.9% |
| 1989 | 7,732 | -16.3% |
| 1990 | 7,099 | -8.2% |
| 1991 | 6,098 | -14.1% |
| 1992 | 6,686 | +9.6% |
| 1993 | 7,670 | +14.7% |
| 1994 | 8,461 | +10.3% |
| 1995 | 9,600 | +13.5% |
| 1996 | 10,175 | +6.0% |
| 1997 | 8,198 | -19.4% |
| 1998 | 8,198 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 6,664 | -18.7% |
| 2000 | 5,862 | -12.0% |
| 2001 | 4,941 | -15.7% |
| 2002 | 4,941 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 7,491 | +51.6% |
| 2004 | 7,626 | +1.8% |
| 2005 | 10,001 | +31.1% |
| 2006 | 10,182 | +1.8% |
| 2007 | 10,000 | -1.8% |
| 2008 | 10,005 | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 9,704 | -3.0% |
| 2010 | 9,699 | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 9,378 | -3.3% |
| 2012 | 9,378 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 9,373 | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 9,503 | +1.4% |
| 2015 | 9,503 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 9,529 | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 10,018 | +5.1% |
| 2018 | 10,022 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 9,698 | -3.2% |
| 2020 | 10,781 | +11.2% |
| 2021 | 11,839 | +9.8% |
| 2022 | 10,524 | -11.1% |
| 2023 | 10,523 | -0.0% |
| 2024 | 7,732 | -26.5% |
| 2025 | 7,727 | -0.1% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 7,727 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 11,476, 67% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 7,727 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 155, 49.9× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | +1366.7% | 150 | 2,200 |
| 1984 | +790.2% | 1,230 | 10,950 |
| 1981 | -85.0% | 1,000 | 150 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 2 |
| 1980s | 6,516 | 150 | 11,750 | 10 |
| 1990s | 7,885 | 6,098 | 10,175 | 10 |
| 2000s | 8,075 | 4,941 | 10,182 | 10 |
| 2010s | 9,610 | 9,373 | 10,022 | 10 |
| 2020s | 9,854 | 7,727 | 11,839 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
More social development data for Papua New Guinea
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 7,727 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 644 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 4 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 4 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 644 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0007 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of in Papua New Guinea?
- Refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of in Papua New Guinea was 7,727 in 2025, according to Statizoid (derived).
- What is the highest refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 11,839 in 2021.
- What is the lowest refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 150 in 1981.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 97th out of 179 countries with data for 2025.
- Is refugees under the mandate of the unhcr by country or territory of rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea data come from?
- The figures come from Statizoid (derived), published as part of Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asylum, gaps filled. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 48 observations, free to reuse under Derived by Statizoid from the sources named on the page.
How this figure is calculated
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asylum with 148 missing years estimated by linear interpolation between the nearest real observations. Only gaps of 4 years or fewer are filled, and never beyond the first or last actual measurement — these are filled holes, not forecasts.
Computed from
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of Refugee Population Statistics Database, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Statizoid computes this series; the underlying measurements belong to the publishers named above. The arithmetic is applied to every country and year where both inputs report, and nothing is estimated unless the page says so.
About this data
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asylum with 148 missing years estimated by linear interpolation between the nearest real observations. Only gaps of 4 years or fewer are filled, and never beyond the first or last actual measurement — these are filled holes, not forecasts.