Demographics of Papua New Guinea

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Demographics of Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea single age population pyramid 2020.png
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 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.

Contents

Huli Wigman from the Southern Highlands Province Huli wigman.jpg
Huli Wigman from the Southern Highlands Province

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:

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]

YearTotalUrbanRural
CBRTFRCBRTFRCBRTFR
2016-18294.2 (3.0)283.5 (2.6)294.3 (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 groupTotalPercent
Total8 151 300100
0–142 970 80036.45
15–241 641 40020.14
25-593 177 70038.98
60+361 4004.43

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)
19501 543 000  70 000  33 000  37 00045.321.623.75.71169.739.13
1951  1 574 000  72 000  38 000  35 00045.924.021.95.74170.336.49
1952  1 608 000  74 000  33 000  41 00046.220.825.45.76161.540.43
1953  1 648 000  77 000  34 000  43 00046.520.426.15.79157.541.12
1954  1 690 000  78 000  34 000  45 00046.319.826.45.78153.641.83
1955  1 735 000  80 000  34 000  47 00046.219.426.95.82149.942.46
1956  1 782 000  82 000  34 000  48 00046.018.927.15.84146.243.09
1957  1 831 000  84 000  34 000  50 00045.718.327.45.89142.543.83
1958  1 882 000  86 000  34 000  52 00045.417.827.65.93138.944.50
1959  1 933 000  87 000  34 000  53 00044.917.427.65.96135.345.08
1960  1 986 000  89 000  34 000  55 00044.716.927.86.02131.745.68
1961  2 036 000  91 000  34 000  57 00044.416.428.06.07128.246.29
1962  2 083 000  93 000  34 000  59 00044.516.228.36.14125.246.66
1963  2 129 000  95 000  33 000  61 00044.315.528.86.15121.447.60
1964  2 175 000  97 000  33 000  64 00044.315.129.26.19118.148.20
1965  2 222 000  99 000  33 000  66 00044.214.729.66.20114.848.82
1966  2 271 000  101 000  32 000  69 00044.314.230.16.23111.649.51
1967  2 323 000  103 000  32 000  71 00044.113.730.46.24108.550.14
1968  2 375 000  105 000  32 000  73 00044.113.330.86.25105.450.84
1969  2 431 000  107 000  31 000  76 00043.912.831.16.26102.451.41
1970  2 489 000  109 000  31 000  78 00043.712.431.36.2599.552.13
1971  2 549 000  111 000  31 000  80 00043.312.031.36.2396.852.58
1972  2 611 000  112 000  30 000  82 00042.811.631.36.2094.053.22
1973  2 672 000  113 000  30 000  83 00042.011.130.96.1691.453.87
1974  2 733 000  113 000  29 000  84 00041.210.730.66.1189.054.48
1975  2 794 000  114 000  29 000  85 00040.510.330.26.0786.655.04
1976  2 856 000  114 000  29 000  86 00039.910.029.96.0284.455.57
1977  2 918 000  115 000  28 000  87 00039.29.729.65.9682.256.04
1978  2 980 000  116 000  28 000  87 00038.69.429.25.8880.256.55
1979  3 042 000  116 000  28 000  88 00038.09.228.85.7978.357.00
1980  3 105 000  117 000  28 000  89 00037.59.028.55.7176.557.44
1981  3 169 000  119 000  28 000  91 00037.38.828.55.6574.857.83
1982  3 235 000  121 000  28 000  93 00037.28.728.55.5973.158.11
1983  3 304 000  124 000  29 000  95 00037.38.628.75.5671.858.37
1984  3 374 000  126 000  29 000  97 00037.38.528.85.5170.258.59
1985  3 448 000  129 000  29 000  100 00037.38.428.85.4768.958.87
1986  3 523 000  132 000  30 000  102 00037.28.428.85.4267.758.96
1987  3 600 000  134 000  30 000  104 00037.28.328.85.3666.559.21
1988  3 680 000  137 000  31 000  106 00037.18.328.85.3065.359.34
1989  3 764 000  139 000  31 000  109 00037.08.228.85.2464.159.58
1990  3 865 000  142 000  31 000  111 00036.78.128.65.1863.059.72
1991  3 991 000  144 000  32 000  112 00036.38.028.25.1162.159.91
1992  4 137 000  148 000  33 000  116 00036.07.928.05.0360.960.22
1993  4 292 000  153 000  33 000  120 00035.87.828.04.9660.060.51
1994  4 452 000  157 000  34 000  123 00035.47.727.74.8759.060.76
1995  4 616 000  161 000  35 000  126 00035.07.627.44.7858.161.05
1996  4 786 000  166 000  36 000  130 00034.97.627.34.7357.261.11
1997  4 960 000  172 000  37 000  134 00034.77.527.24.6856.461.38
1998  5 139 000  177 000  41 000  137 00034.67.926.74.6356.760.63
1999  5 321 000  183 000  40 000  143 00034.47.527.04.5954.761.67
2000  5 508 000  187 000  41 000  146 00034.27.526.74.5353.961.72
2001  5 698 000  193 000  42 000  150 00033.97.526.44.4753.161.77
2002  5 893 000  198 000  44 000  153 00033.77.526.14.4252.461.70
2003  6 091 000  203 000  46 000  157 00033.47.525.94.3651.561.80
2004  6 293 000  206 000  47 000  159 00032.97.625.34.2850.661.76
2005  6 499 000  211 000  49 000  162 00032.57.624.94.2249.761.80
2006  6 708 000  214 000  50 000  164 00032.17.524.54.1548.861.92
2007  6 921 000  218 000  52 000  166 00031.67.524.14.0847.962.03
2008  7 138 000  222 000  52 000  170 00031.27.323.94.0246.862.57
2009  7 359 000  226 000  53 000  173 00030.87.223.63.9445.962.79
2010  7 583 000  230 000  54 000  176 00030.47.123.33.8844.963.04
2011  7 807 000  234 000  54 000  180 00030.07.023.13.8243.963.53
2012  8 027 000  237 000  55 000  182 00029.66.922.73.7543.063.73
2013  8 246 000  240 000  56 000  183 00029.16.822.33.6842.063.96
2014  8 464 000  242 000  57 000  185 00028.76.722.03.6341.064.26
2015  8 682 000  244 000  57 000  187 00028.26.621.63.5640.064.70
2016  8 899 000  246 000  58 000  188 00027.76.621.13.5039.064.84
2017  9 115 000  248 000  59 000  188 00027.26.520.73.4338.065.10
2018  9 329 000  250 000  61 000  189 00026.86.520.33.3837.065.18
2019  9 542 000  251 000  62 000  190 00026.46.519.93.3235.965.47
2020  9 750 000  253 000  62 000  191 00026.06.419.63.2734.965.79
2021  9 949 000  254 000  66 000  187 00025.56.718.83.2233.965.35

CIA demographic statistics

Demographics of Papua New Guinea, Data of FAO, year 2005; Number of inhabitants in thousands. Papua-demography.png
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

Age structure

Population growth rate

Birth rate

Death rate

Net migration rate

Sex ratio

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate

Total fertility rate

Nationality

Ethnic groups

Religions

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

Languages

Literacy

See also

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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