By Tiri Kuimbakul PAPUA NEW GUINEA’S POPULATION WILL BE 24 MILLION IN 2050! Papua New Guinea’ population stood at 7.3 million in 2011. That is the official figure put out by the National Statistical Office. The number of people is said to have increased by 2.1 million in the 11 years between 2001 and 2011 – or 210,000 every year. The annual growth rate was 3.1%. The national population estimates are: 9.6 million in 2020; 13.1 million in 2030; 17.7 million in 2040; and 24 million in 2050! I have used the annual growth rate of 3.1% to extrapolate between 2012 and 2050. These figures are staggering. They should provide cause for great concern as to the future of the province and the country at large. 2050, which is the national government’s target year for its plans, is another 35 years away. We have come 38 years already – and we have so many problems providing efficient services for a relatively small population. Unemployment is very high (around 80%); poverty is also high (around 40% of the population live below the international poverty line); school drop-out rate is also high; lawlessness seems to be getting out of hand; our transport and other infrastructure is bursting at the seams and deteriorating faster than they are being built or repaired; corruption is systemic; our human development indicators are among the worst in the Asia/Pacific region, etc etc. And this is with a small population. Imagine how the country will be like in the next 35 years with 0ver 20 million people! Our leaders need to think strategically now. We just cannot go on doing the same things we have been doing in the past 38 years and expect to see different results. We must think outside the box. We must visualize what the country is going to be like in 2050, and do all that is necessary to position our country and people to live ‘healthy, wealthy and wise’ lives as the country’s Vision 2050 proclaims.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Feb 2014 07:02:35 +0000
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