PNG-AFNP Quarterly Newsletter April 2025

Household wellbeing in rural Papua New Guinea: Poverty analysis from the 2023 PNG Rural Household Survey: A new study using data from the 2023 PNG Rural Household Survey finds that, in the rural sample, 43% individuals are considered poor relative to standard poverty lines, and 64% of individuals are considered poor relative to healthy diet poverty lines. Poverty lines identify households that cannot afford to meet basic food and nonfood needs—households with consumption-expenditure (a proxy for income) below the poverty line are considered poor. The standard poverty line reflects the cost of acquiring adequate calories, while the healthy diet poverty line is set to meet adequate calories as well as reflects the cost of meeting nutritional guidelines for a balanced diet. Because the healthy diet poverty line incorporates a higher share of nutrient dense food groups (e.g., vegetables, fruits, meat and fish), it is about 1/3 more costly than the standard poverty line. Several factors are associated with higher household consumption expenditure, including smaller households, education completion, market access, income diversification, and cash crop sales (cocoa).

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