Friday, Jul 24, 2026 The claims desk. Receipts included. POWERED BY LENZ ↗
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POLITICS

The Claim

Papua New Guinea has very few female members of parliament.

Verified by Lenz ·

The Short Version

Papua New Guinea's female parliamentary representation is among the lowest in the world, with only 2–3 women holding seats out of 118 — under 3%, compared to a global average of roughly 26%. Multiple high-authority sources, including the World Bank, PNG's National Research Institute, and Pacific Women in Politics, consistently confirm this. The minor discrepancy between sources (2 vs. 3 women) reflects different election cycles and does not alter the core finding.

Caveats

  • The exact number of female MPs (2 or 3) varies depending on whether the reference point is the 2022 general election result or a later date reflecting by-election changes.
  • The phrase 'very few' is qualitative, but PNG's sub-3% representation is objectively among the lowest globally, making the characterization well-supported.
  • Some supporting sources (LLM Background Knowledge, GRIN) carry low independent authority, though the claim is amply supported by higher-authority data.

The Receipts

  1. Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%)

    World Bank Gender Data

  2. Challenges and prospects of women candidates in the National General Elections in Papua New Guinea

    PNG National Research Institute

  3. Papua New Guinea - PACWIP

    Pacific Women in Politics (PACWIP)

  4. Moving beyond now in women's political representation in Papua New Guinea

    Devpolicy Blog (ANU)

  5. Prime Minister Marape Proposes Stronger Parliamentary Representation for Women

    Prime Minister's Office, PNG

  6. Female Representation in the Politics of Papua New Guinea

    GRIN

Filed Under

National Parliament of Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea