tal Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
shares island of New Guinea with Indonesia; one of world's largest
swamps along southwest coast

People Papua New Guinea

Population:
5,420,280 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 38.3% (male 1,053,940; female 1,019,492)
15-64 years: 58% (male 1,622,124; female 1,519,104)
65 years and over: 3.8% (male 96,638; female 108,982) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 21 years
male: 21.1 years
female: 20.8 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.3% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
30.52 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
7.5 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female
total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 53.15 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 48.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 57.39 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 64.56 years
male: 62.41 years
female: 66.81 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
4.04 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.6% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
16,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
600 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:
typhoid fever, dengue fever, malaria
overall degree of risk: very high (2004)

Nationality:
noun: Papua New Guinean(s)
adjective: Papua New Guinean

Ethnic groups:
Melanesian, Papuan, Negrito, Micronesian, Polynesian

Religions:
Roman Catholic 22%, Lutheran 16%, Presbyterian/Methodist/London
Missionary Society 8%, Anglican 5%, Evangelical Alliance 4%,
Seventh-Day Adventist 1%, other Protestant 10%, indigenous beliefs
34%

Languages:
Melanesian Pidgin serves as the lingua franca, English spoken by
1%-2%, Motu spoken in Papua region
note: 715 indigenous languages -- many unrelated

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 64.6%
male: 71.1%
female: 57.7% (2002)

Government Papua New Guinea

Country name