Papua New Guinea Demographics Profile 2008

Population

5,931,769 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 37.3% (male 1,124,174/female 1,086,478)
15-64 years: 58.7% (male 1,791,342/female 1,690,089)
65 years and over: 4% (male 111,023/female 128,663) (2008 est.)

Median age

total: 21.5 years
male: 21.6 years
female: 21.4 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate

2.118% (2008 est.)

Birth rate

28.14 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate

6.96 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate

NA

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 46.67 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 50.68 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 42.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 66 years
male: 63.76 years
female: 68.35 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate

3.71 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

0.6% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

60,000 (2005 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

600 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria (2008)

Nationality

noun: Papua New Guinean(s)
adjective: Papua New Guinean

Ethnic groups

Melanesian, Papuan, Negrito, Micronesian, Polynesian

Religions

Roman Catholic 22%, Lutheran 16%, Presbyterian/Methodist/London Missionary Society 8%, Anglican 5%, Evangelical Alliance 4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1%, other Protestant 10%, indigenous beliefs 34%

Languages

Melanesian Pidgin serves as the lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2%, Motu spoken in Papua region
note: 820 indigenous languages spoken (over one-tenth of the world's total)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 57.3%
male: 63.4%
female: 50.9% (2000 census)