Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 1, 2026
Who holds the health record in Papua New Guinea?
In 2026, Papua New Guinea scores 26 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is tied for 177th of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 157th to 193rd allowing for scoring error, in the Weak band (25 to 44). Who holds the keys: doctors, hospitals and insurers. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 1, 2026.
Doctors, hospitals and insurers decide. No right is above the typical country. The closest is control over who sees it (28 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country). The furthest behind is protection from sale and ads (20 out of 100, against 45 for the typical country).
Papua New Guinea has no data protection law in force, no patient portal, and electronic records in 4 of 3,234 health facilities.
Published · updated · this country's data as of October 1, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Weak band, 25 to 44
26/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 157th to 193rd, allowing for scoring error
In 2026, getting your full record scores 30 out of 100 in Papua New Guinea; the typical country scores 40 to 45. Section 51 of the Constitution gives citizens reasonable access to official documents, but no law sets a procedure, and the Right to Information Policy was only validated in June 2026. No health-specific right to a copy and no patient portal were verified. Source: Constitute Project, 2016, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in Papua New Guinea?
In 2026, doctors, hospitals and insurers hold the keys to your health record in Papua New Guinea. Control over who sees it scores 28 out of 100 in Papua New Guinea; the typical country scores 30. The Health Department decides who can use health data: access to the national eNHIS database is granted by health officials and, for partners, by the Health Secretary under an MOU. Only HIV information has a statutory consent rule for disclosure. Source: KELIN, 2003, and the other sources below.
How does Papua New Guinea compare?
In 2026, Papua New Guinea scores 26 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with Micronesia (25 out of 100), Solomon Islands (25 out of 100) and Fiji (29 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with Micronesia, Solomon Islands, Fiji and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
30
20 · 30 · 35
Control over who sees it20%
28
22 · 25 · 28
Privacy and security15%
30
22 · 25 · 30
One record across your care15%
20
34 · 20 · 30
Protection from sale and ads10%
20
15 · 20 · 20
Doctors see it when treating you10%
15
34 · 20 · 25
Your say over research use5%
43
49 · 43 · 43
Rules for AI in your care5%
20
20 · 18 · 18
Black dot: Papua New Guinea. Hollow dots: Micronesia, Solomon Islands, Fiji (scores out of 100 on the right, same order). Gray line: the typical country of all 198. Overall: Papua New Guinea 26 out of 100. Scores move in steps of about 5 points, so read a rank with its likely range.
What would Papua New Guinea need to change to score higher?
Papua New Guinea sits in Weak (25 to 44); Mixed starts at 45. Its two weakest rights, compared with the typical country and weighted by how much each counts, are one record across your care (20 out of 100, against 38 for the typical country) and protection from sale and ads (20 out of 100, against 45 for the typical country). Our scoring rules give more points for:
One record across your care: Family doctors, hospitals, labs, pharmacies, insurers and public health all linked to one record that is used across the country.
Protection from sale and ads: Clear limits on selling health data or using it for ads, covering apps and data brokers as well as doctors and hospitals.
Which laws give health record rights in Papua New Guinea?
Constitution of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, sections 49 and 51 (1975): Right to reasonable privacy; citizens' right of reasonable access to official documents, with no implementing law.
HIV/AIDS Management and Prevention Act 2003: Informed consent for HIV testing, confidentiality of HIV information with penalties, approval required for HIV research.
Digital Government Act 2022: Framework for whole-of-government digital services and infrastructure; not a personal data protection law.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
0.5 2024
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
8.1 2024
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
unknown
Record reaches private care?
unknown
Real cases
We found no real cases published in the last two years.
In 2026, Papua New Guinea scored 26 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, tied for 177th of 198 countries and territories (could be 157th to 193rd), in the Weak band. Who holds the keys: doctors, hospitals and insurers. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 1, 2026, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/papua-new-guinea/
The 15 sources for Papua New Guinea
Each source appears once, under the first right it supports. Titles are shown as our research agents recorded them, usually in the page's own language; text in square brackets is our machine translation. Links were checked on the date shown.
Getting your full record (3 sources)
“Constitution of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea 1975 (rev. 2016)”
Constitute Project (law or regulation) · Title in English
Dated 2016 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; Privacy and security
SuperTruth Inc. · 24 S. 24th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA · +1 215 918 4140 · supertruth.ai Something wrong? Tell us · Questions or a briefing: supertruth.ai/on-the-record#contact · Full index: healthrecordrights.com
OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (38 mostly high-income countries). DTI™: the Data Trust Index, which grades the evidence behind each score. SuperTruth makes it and publishes this index. Everything here comes from public information: laws, government and regulator pages, court decisions, published news, WHO, OECD and World Bank data. Full sources: https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/papua-new-guinea/#sources. SuperTruth built this index and sells health data verification products; no one paid to be included. Research tool, not legal advice. Our scores and our own words are CC BY 4.0; quoted law and source titles stay with their owners.
