1. Papua New Guinea in 2015: at a crossroads and beyond
- Author:
- Jenny Hayward- Jones
- Publication Date:
- 05-2015
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Lowy Institute for International Policy
- Abstract:
- 2015 is a significant year for Papua New Guinea. The country will mark 40 years of independence from Australia, host the Pacific Islands Forum leaders’ meeting and the Pacific Games. The Papua New Guinea economy will record the highest GDP growth rate in the world in 2015 but will also formally fail to meet any of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals in their deadline year. The Papua New Guinea government has introduced tuition fee free education and free healthcare but faces major challenges in improving the living standards of its population of over seven million people. The resources boom has helped drive investment in infrastructure but catering for the nation’s growing youth bulge is proving a particularly difficult policy problem. Changes to the way different levels of government are being administered could improve service delivery in rural areas but have the potential to undermine national development planning. The next generation of leaders will face an even more complex set of challenges.
- Topic:
- Development, Education, Health Care Policy, and Economies
- Political Geography:
- Australia/Pacific and Papua New Guinea