Papua New Guinea People - 1986

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Population: 3,395,000 (July 1986), average annual growth rate 2.1%

Nationality noun—Papua New Guinean(s); adjective—Papua New Guinean

Ethnic divisions: predominantly Melanesian and Papuan; some Negrito, Micronesian, and Polynesian

Religion: over half of population nominally Christian (490,000 Catholic, 320,000 Lutheran, other Protestant sects); remainder indigenous beliefs

Language: 715 indigenous languages; pidgin English in much of the country and Motu in Papua region are lingua franca; English spoken by 1-2% of population

Infant mortality rate 102/1 000>1985)

Life expectancy: 50

Literacy: 32%

Labor force: 1.66 million >1980); 732,806 (1980) in salaried employment; 54% agriculture 25% government, 9% industry and commerce, 8% services

NOTE: The information regarding Papua New Guinea on this page is re-published from the 1986 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Papua New Guinea 1986 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Papua New Guinea 1986 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.