PNG Population Reaches 10.1 Million: Marape Warns of Economic Strain

Papua New Guinea’s population has reached 10.1 million, according to the official census figures revealed by Prime Minister James Marape. He said the National Statistical Office reported a total of 10,185,363 people as of June 16 this year.
Marape noted the population had grown significantly since independence, when the country had just three million people in 1975. “This is far from the three million in 1975,” he said, calling it a remarkable demographic shift.

He highlighted that about 4.3 million citizens were under the age of 18, underscoring PNG’s young population. “This tells us something very important — the majority of our people are young. That’s a lot of mouths to feed, schools to build, teachers to train, and jobs to create,” the Prime Minister said.
Marape said the 50-year increase to over 10 million people must influence how the country plans, budgets, and delivers services. He said such rapid growth demanded a rethink in the way government resources were allocated.
He warned that PNG’s population growth rate of more than three per cent per year had outpaced the economy, which has averaged below three per cent annually. “That is not sustainable,” he said. “If our population is growing faster than our economy, we are stretching limited resources thinner and thinner.”
The Prime Minister stressed the need to expand the economic base and improve productivity to match population growth. “Growing the economic basket is not optional — it is critical,” he said.
Marape added that government planning must now rely on accurate, evidence-based data to ensure funding, infrastructure, and staffing are distributed effectively across the country.

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