KEY FACTS Joined Commonwealth: 1975 Population: 7,321,000 (2013) GDP p.c. growth: 1.9% p.a. 1990–2013 GNI p.c.: US$2,010 (2013) UN HDI 2014: World ranking 157 Life expectancy: 62 years (2013) Under-five mortality rate (per 1,000 live births): 61 (2013) Largest contribution to mortality: Respiratory infections Government health expenditure: 4.3% of GDP (2012) General information The Independent State of Papua New Guinea in the South Pacific shares a land border with Indonesia; its other near neighbours are Australia to the south and Solomon Islands to the east. Papua New Guinea includes the eastern half of the world’s second biggest island, New Guinea, bordering the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya to the west. The rest of the country is made up of about 600 small islands, the chief of which are the Bismarck Archipelago, the Trobriands, the Louisiade Archipelago, the D’Entrecasteaux Islands and some of the islands in the Solomons group, including Bougainville. The country comprises 22 provinces, including the National Capital District (greater Port Moresby) and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville. Climate: Tropical monsoon type, hot and humid all year, though somewhat cooler in the highlands. Rainfall is chiefly in December–March. High mountains receive occasional frost and even snow. Environment: The most significant environmental issues are rainforest deforestation as a result of growing commercial demand for tropical timber; pollution from mining projects; and severe drought. Population: 7,321,000 (2013); 13 per cent of people live in urban areas. The population growth rate stood at 2.5 per cent p.a. between the years of 1990 and 2013. In 2013 the birth rate was 29 per 1,000 people (42 in 1970) and life expectancy was 62 years (43 in 1970). The people are of mixed (mostly Melanesian) race, with small communities of Polynesians on outlying atolls. There is a declining non-indigenous population (several thousand Australians and a small Chinese population). Economy: Papua New Guinea is classified as a lower-middleincome economy by the World Bank. Health Child and maternal health: Infant mortality in Papua New Guinea was 47 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013, with an underfive mortality rate of 61 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2012. There has been a consistent decline in the under-five mortality rate since 1990. Although this decline is encouraging, the under-five mortality rate is not yet in line with the country’s target of 30 deaths per 1,000 live births, as defined by Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4). In 2010 the three most prominent causes of death for children below the age of five years were acute respiratory infections (17 per cent), prematurity (13 per cent) and intrapartum-related complications (13 per cent). Other contributory causes were malaria (11 per cent), diarrhoea (nine per cent), neonatal sepsis (seven per cent), injuries (seven per cent), HIV/AIDS (one per cent) and measles (one per cent). In 2013 Papua New Guinea had an adjusted maternal mortality ratio of 220 deaths per 100,000 live births (this figure was estimated at 230 deaths per 100,000 by UN agencies/World Bank in 2010). Burden of disease: Communicable diseases along with maternal, perinatal and nutritional conditions in Papua New Guinea accounted for an estimated 48 per cent of all mortality in 2012. The prevalence of HIV in Papua New Guinea, as a percentage of the population aged 15–49 years, stood at 0.7 per cent in 2012. There has been no notable decrease in the prevalence of HIV/AIDS since records began in the country in 1990. In 2012 there were 150,195 reported cases of malaria in the country, a sharp increase from 84,060 in 2011, before which time it was largely consistent. The number of deaths from malaria has experienced an overall decline by more than a third in the period 2006–11. There has been an overall increase in the estimated incidence of tuberculosis (TB) in Papua New Guinea since 1990, although this has been accompanied by an overall decrease in estimated mortality (when mortality data excludes cases comorbid with HIV) from the disease. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Papua New Guinea accounted for an estimated 42 per cent of all mortality in 2012. The most prevalent NCDs in Papua New Guinea are cancer and cardiovascular diseases, which accounted for nine and eight per Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015 237 Papua New Guinea
Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015
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