Demographics of Papua New Guinea

The indigenous population of Papua New Guinea is one of the most heterogeneous in the world. Papua New Guinea has several thousand separate communities, most with only a few hundred people. Divided by language, customs, and tradition, some of these communities have engaged in endemic warfare with their neighbors for centuries. It is the second most populous nation in Oceania, with a total population estimated variously as being between 9.5 and 10.1 million inhabitants.

Huli Wigman from the Southern Highlands Province

Demographics of Papua New Guinea
Population pyramid of Papua New Guinea in 2020
Population9,593,498 (2022 est.)
Growth rate2.35% (2022 est.)
Birth rate29.03 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate5.54 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Life expectancy69.43 years
Fertility rate3.92 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate33.59 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Nationality
NationalityPapua New Guinean

The isolation created by the mountainous terrain is so great that some groups, until recently, were unaware of the existence of neighboring groups only a few kilometers away. The diversity, reflected in a folk saying, "For each village, a different culture", is perhaps best shown in the local languages. The island of New Guinea contains about 850 languages. The languages that are neither Austronesian nor Australian are considered Papuan languages; this is a geographical rather than linguistic demarcation.[1] Of the Papuan languages, the largest linguistic grouping is considered to be Trans-New Guinean, with between 300 and 500 languages likely belonging to the group in addition to a huge variety of dialects.[2] The remainder of the Papuan languages belong to smaller, unrelated groupings as well as to isolates. Native languages are spoken by a few hundred to a few thousand, although Enga language, used in Enga Province, is spoken by some 130,000 people.

Tok Pisin serves as the lingua franca. English is the language of business and government, and all schooling from Grade 2 Primary is in English.

The overall population density is low, although pockets of overpopulation exist. Papua New Guinea's Western Province averages one person per square kilometer (3 per sq. mi.). The Simbu Province in the New Guinea highlands averages 20 persons per square kilometer (52 persons/sq mi) and has areas containing up to 200 people farming a square kilometer of land. The highlands have 40% of the population.

A considerable urban drift towards Port Moresby and other major centers has occurred in recent years. Between 1978 and 1988, Port Moresby grew nearly 8% per year, Lae 6%, Mount Hagen 6.5%, Goroka 4%, and Madang 3%. The trend toward urbanization accelerated in the 1990s, bringing in its wake squatter settlements, unemployment, and attendant social problems. Almost two-thirds of the population is Christian. Of these, more than 700,000 are Roman Catholic, more than 500,000 Lutheran, and the balance are members of other Protestant denominations. Although the major churches are under indigenous leadership, a large number of missionaries remain in the country. The non-Christian portion of the indigenous population practices a wide variety of indigenous religions that are an integral part of traditional culture. These religions are mainly types of animism and veneration of the dead.

The World Bank estimates the number of international migrants in Papua New Guinea to be about 0.3% of the population.[3] According to the 2000 and 2011 census, the most common places of origin for international migrants were the United States, Australia, the Philippines, and Indonesia.[4] Since independence, about 900 foreigners have become naturalized citizens as of August 1999.[5] An estimated 20,000 Chinese people live in Papua New Guinea.[6]

The traditional Papua New Guinea social structure includes the following characteristics:

  • The practice of subsistence economy;
  • Recognition of bonds of kinship with obligations extending beyond the immediate family group;
  • Generally egalitarian relationships with an emphasis on acquired, rather than inherited, status; and
  • A strong attachment of the people to land.

Most Papua New Guineans still adhere strongly to this traditional social structure, which has its roots in village life.

Fertility and births

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):[7]

Year CBR (Total) TFR (Total) CBR (Urban) TFR (Urban) CBR (Rural) TFR (Rural)
2016-18 29 4.2 (3.0) 28 3.5 (2.6) 29 4.3 (3.1)

Structure of the population
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2016) (Estimates are prepared by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community based on the last population and housing census.): [8]
Age group Total Percent
Total 8 151 300 100
0–14 2 970 800 36.45
15–24 1 641 400 20.14
25-59 3 177 700 38.98
60+ 361 400 4.43

Vital statistics

Registration of vital events in Papua New Guinea is not complete. The website Our World in Data prepared the following estimates based on statistics from the Population Department of the United Nations.[9]

Mid-year population (thousands) Live births (thousands) Deaths (thousands) Natural change (thousands) Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Total fertility rate (TFR) Infant mortality (per 1000 live births) Life expectancy (in years)
1950 1 543 000   70 000   33 000   37 000 45.3 21.6 23.7 5.71 169.7 39.13
1951   1 574 000   72 000   38 000   35 000 45.9 24.0 21.9 5.74 170.3 36.49
1952   1 608 000   74 000   33 000   41 000 46.2 20.8 25.4 5.76 161.5 40.43
1953   1 648 000   77 000   34 000   43 000 46.5 20.4 26.1 5.79 157.5 41.12
1954   1 690 000   78 000   34 000   45 000 46.3 19.8 26.4 5.78 153.6 41.83
1955   1 735 000   80 000   34 000   47 000 46.2 19.4 26.9 5.82 149.9 42.46
1956   1 782 000   82 000   34 000   48 000 46.0 18.9 27.1 5.84 146.2 43.09
1957   1 831 000   84 000   34 000   50 000 45.7 18.3 27.4 5.89 142.5 43.83
1958   1 882 000   86 000   34 000   52 000 45.4 17.8 27.6 5.93 138.9 44.50
1959   1 933 000   87 000   34 000   53 000 44.9 17.4 27.6 5.96 135.3 45.08
1960   1 986 000   89 000   34 000   55 000 44.7 16.9 27.8 6.02 131.7 45.68
1961   2 036 000   91 000   34 000   57 000 44.4 16.4 28.0 6.07 128.2 46.29
1962   2 083 000   93 000   34 000   59 000 44.5 16.2 28.3 6.14 125.2 46.66
1963   2 129 000   95 000   33 000   61 000 44.3 15.5 28.8 6.15 121.4 47.60
1964   2 175 000   97 000   33 000   64 000 44.3 15.1 29.2 6.19 118.1 48.20
1965   2 222 000   99 000   33 000   66 000 44.2 14.7 29.6 6.20 114.8 48.82
1966   2 271 000   101 000   32 000   69 000 44.3 14.2 30.1 6.23 111.6 49.51
1967   2 323 000   103 000   32 000   71 000 44.1 13.7 30.4 6.24 108.5 50.14
1968   2 375 000   105 000   32 000   73 000 44.1 13.3 30.8 6.25 105.4 50.84
1969   2 431 000   107 000   31 000   76 000 43.9 12.8 31.1 6.26 102.4 51.41
1970   2 489 000   109 000   31 000   78 000 43.7 12.4 31.3 6.25 99.5 52.13
1971   2 549 000   111 000   31 000   80 000 43.3 12.0 31.3 6.23 96.8 52.58
1972   2 611 000   112 000   30 000   82 000 42.8 11.6 31.3 6.20 94.0 53.22
1973   2 672 000   113 000   30 000   83 000 42.0 11.1 30.9 6.16 91.4 53.87
1974   2 733 000   113 000   29 000   84 000 41.2 10.7 30.6 6.11 89.0 54.48
1975   2 794 000   114 000   29 000   85 000 40.5 10.3 30.2 6.07 86.6 55.04
1976   2 856 000   114 000   29 000   86 000 39.9 10.0 29.9 6.02 84.4 55.57
1977   2 918 000   115 000   28 000   87 000 39.2 9.7 29.6 5.96 82.2 56.04
1978   2 980 000   116 000   28 000   87 000 38.6 9.4 29.2 5.88 80.2 56.55
1979   3 042 000   116 000   28 000   88 000 38.0 9.2 28.8 5.79 78.3 57.00
1980   3 105 000   117 000   28 000   89 000 37.5 9.0 28.5 5.71 76.5 57.44
1981   3 169 000   119 000   28 000   91 000 37.3 8.8 28.5 5.65 74.8 57.83
1982   3 235 000   121 000   28 000   93 000 37.2 8.7 28.5 5.59 73.1 58.11
1983   3 304 000   124 000   29 000   95 000 37.3 8.6 28.7 5.56 71.8 58.37
1984   3 374 000   126 000   29 000   97 000 37.3 8.5 28.8 5.51 70.2 58.59
1985   3 448 000   129 000   29 000   100 000 37.3 8.4 28.8 5.47 68.9 58.87
1986   3 523 000   132 000   30 000   102 000 37.2 8.4 28.8 5.42 67.7 58.96
1987   3 600 000   134 000   30 000   104 000 37.2 8.3 28.8 5.36 66.5 59.21
1988   3 680 000   137 000   31 000   106 000 37.1 8.3 28.8 5.30 65.3 59.34
1989   3 764 000   139 000   31 000   109 000 37.0 8.2 28.8 5.24 64.1 59.58
1990   3 865 000   142 000   31 000   111 000 36.7 8.1 28.6 5.18 63.0 59.72
1991   3 991 000   144 000   32 000   112 000 36.3 8.0 28.2 5.11 62.1 59.91
1992   4 137 000   148 000   33 000   116 000 36.0 7.9 28.0 5.03 60.9 60.22
1993   4 292 000   153 000   33 000   120 000 35.8 7.8 28.0 4.96 60.0 60.51
1994   4 452 000   157 000   34 000   123 000 35.4 7.7 27.7 4.87 59.0 60.76
1995   4 616 000   161 000   35 000   126 000 35.0 7.6 27.4 4.78 58.1 61.05
1996   4 786 000   166 000   36 000   130 000 34.9 7.6 27.3 4.73 57.2 61.11
1997   4 960 000   172 000   37 000   134 000 34.7 7.5 27.2 4.68 56.4 61.38
1998   5 139 000   177 000   41 000   137 000 34.6 7.9 26.7 4.63 56.7 60.63
1999   5 321 000   183 000   40 000   143 000 34.4 7.5 27.0 4.59 54.7 61.67
2000   5 508 000   187 000   41 000   146 000 34.2 7.5 26.7 4.53 53.9 61.72
2001   5 698 000   193 000   42 000   150 000 33.9 7.5 26.4 4.47 53.1 61.77
2002   5 893 000   198 000   44 000   153 000 33.7 7.5 26.1 4.42 52.4 61.70
2003   6 091 000   203 000   46 000   157 000 33.4 7.5 25.9 4.36 51.5 61.80
2004   6 293 000   206 000   47 000   159 000 32.9 7.6 25.3 4.28 50.6 61.76
2005   6 499 000   211 000   49 000   162 000 32.5 7.6 24.9 4.22 49.7 61.80
2006   6 708 000   214 000   50 000   164 000 32.1 7.5 24.5 4.15 48.8 61.92
2007   6 921 000   218 000   52 000   166 000 31.6 7.5 24.1 4.08 47.9 62.03
2008   7 138 000   222 000   52 000   170 000 31.2 7.3 23.9 4.02 46.8 62.57
2009   7 359 000   226 000   53 000   173 000 30.8 7.2 23.6 3.94 45.9 62.79
2010   7 583 000   230 000   54 000   176 000 30.4 7.1 23.3 3.88 44.9 63.04
2011   7 807 000   234 000   54 000   180 000 30.0 7.0 23.1 3.82 43.9 63.53
2012   8 027 000   237 000   55 000   182 000 29.6 6.9 22.7 3.75 43.0 63.73
2013   8 246 000   240 000   56 000   183 000 29.1 6.8 22.3 3.68 42.0 63.96
2014   8 464 000   242 000   57 000   185 000 28.7 6.7 22.0 3.63 41.0 64.26
2015   8 682 000   244 000   57 000   187 000 28.2 6.6 21.6 3.56 40.0 64.70
2016   8 899 000   246 000   58 000   188 000 27.7 6.6 21.1 3.50 39.0 64.84
2017   9 115 000   248 000   59 000   188 000 27.2 6.5 20.7 3.43 38.0 65.10
2018   9 329 000   250 000   61 000   189 000 26.8 6.5 20.3 3.38 37.0 65.18
2019   9 542 000   251 000   62 000   190 000 26.4 6.5 19.9 3.32 35.9 65.47
2020   9 750 000   253 000   62 000   191 000 26.0 6.4 19.6 3.27 34.9 65.79
2021   9 949 000   254 000   66 000   187 000 25.5 6.7 18.8 3.22 33.9 65.35

CIA demographic statistics
Demographics of Papua New Guinea, Data of FAO, year 2005; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook 2022[10]

Population
  • 9,593,498 (2022 estimate)

Age structure
  • 0–14 years: 31,98% (male 1,182,539/female 1,139,358)
  • 15–24 years: 19.87% (male 731,453/female 711,164)
  • 25–54 years: 37.68% (male 1,397,903/female 1,337,143)
  • 55–64 years: 5.83% (male 218,529/female 204,717)
  • 65 years and over: 4.64% (male 164,734/female 171,916) (2022 est.)

Population growth rate
  • 2.35% (2022)

Birth rate
  • 29.03 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)

Death rate
  • 5.54 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)

Net migration rate
  • 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)

Sex ratio
  • At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
  • 0–14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  • 15–24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  • 25–54 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  • 55–64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
  • 65 years and over: 1.0 male(s)/female
  • Total Population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2022 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio
  • 145 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate
  • Total: 33.59 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Male: 36.91 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Female: 30.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2022 est.)

Total fertility rate
  • 3.92 children born/woman (2022 est.)

Nationality
  • Papua New Guineans (noun)
  • Papua New Guinean (adjective)

Ethnic groups

Religions
See also: Religion in Papua New Guinea

2020 figures from the Association of Religion Data Archives (relying on the World Christian Encyclopedia)[11]

Languages
Main article: Languages of Papua New Guinea

Literacy
  • Total population: 64.2%
  • Male: 65.6%
  • Female: 62.8%

See also

References
  1. "Papua New Guinea | Ethnologue Free". Ethnologue (Free All).
  2. Pawley, Andrew; Hammarström, Harald (2018). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area (1st ed.). Berlin, Germany: De Gruyter Mouton. ISBN 9783110286427.
  3. "International migrant stock (% of population) - Papua New Guinea". worldbank.org. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  4. PAPUA NEW GUINEA 2011 NATIONAL REPORT, 2012, p. 36, retrieved 10 February 2023
  5. "Background Notes: Papua New Guinea, August 1999". U.S. Department of State Archive. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  6. "Syndicate spending $414m on Chinatown in Port Moresby as battle for PNG influence escalates". ABC. 2019-04-16.
  7. Papua New Guinea Demographic and Health Survey 2016-18 (PDF), 2019, retrieved 10 February 2023
  8. "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics". unstats.un.org. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  9. "Population & Demography Data Explorer". Our World in Data. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  10. "Papua New Guinea". CIA The World Factbook. 10 April 2023.
  11. World Religions Database at the ARDA website, retrieved 2023-08-08
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