After 25 years of independence and notwithstanding some economic and social progress, most of the people of PNG remain poor. During 1978-1998, per capita income grew at an average rate of about 1.1 percent. PNG's HDI for 1995 places the country 129th among 174 developing countries, and the HDI score for 1998 places it last in the list of Pacific developing member countries. In the health sector in particular, there is some evidence of regress during the 1990s. While women provide most of the subsistence agriculture workforce, their participation in the formal economy is low and they account for only one in five of the paid work force.
Females receive much less education and medical care than men.
Male children are allocated a far greater share of household income than female children. Female literacy and school enrollment rates lag well behind those of males. Female representation in politics and public service management is negligible. Matrimonial violence against women is common. Poverty in PNG has an important regional dimension.