The population of PNG could well be over 8 million according to estimates based on the country’s growth rate.
This is according to Minister for National Planning and Monitoring, Charles Abel, when speaking to the media today.
According to the 2011 Census, the PNG population stood at 7.3 million people.
And with a population growth rate of 3.1 per cent, in the absence of a recent census, the population of the country could stand at over 8 million people.
According to data from the National Statistical Office (NSO), PNG’s population has risen by 40 per cent since the 2000 Census, at a growth rate of 3.1 per cent.
At this rate, PNG’s current population would stand at around 8.5 million.
Abel said there has to be management of the growth rate in a sustainable manner.
“We are struggling here at home to clothe, feed and job existing number of people, let along doubling the population every 20 year’s is not sustainable in many different ways,” said Abel.
“And you and I know that if a lady can delay having children she’ll get more educated, and she’ll make better choices. She’ll be healthier and the children will be healthier and the family will be stronger.”
“But we don’t focus on those fundamentals, we tend to focus on how much more money we can dig up, (through) the gas and the gold. We need to address other development aspects of those as well.