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Papua New Guinea

Population

11,004,913

Estimated as of Oct 22, 2026View source
Population rank
89th
Share of world
0.13%
Annual change
+185,0311.80%

Population of Papua New Guinea

010M20M30M40M50M202611M2050 projection14.9M↑ 35% from 202619601980200020202040206020802100

Source: United Nations — World Population Prospects (2024 Revision)

95% prediction interval

Current population estimate: 11,004,913. 2050 projection: 14,906,590.Use the arrow keys on the chart to inspect individual years.

Historical population estimates for Papua New Guinea. Annual change is shown as a percentage.
202610,947,8481.80%89
202510,762,8171.86%90
20209,815,7462.15%93
20199,609,0102.28%94
20189,394,5132.35%95
20179,178,7142.42%96
20158,743,2462.75%95
20107,633,5233.15%97
20056,535,9053.37%101
20005,537,0643.58%102

Showing 10 of 19 years.

Population by City

Port Moresby is home to 594,535 people, 5.43% of Papua New Guinea's population.

City population500K200K90K
Port Moresby 594.5KLae 192.5KWewak 59.8KKimbe 44.1KMadang 41.6KMount Hagen 32.5KGoroka 29.3KVanimo 22.7KPopondetta 20.1KDaru 18.8K
Largest cities by 2026 population and share of the national population.
1Port Moresby594.5K5.43%
2Lae192.5K1.76%
3Wewak59.8K0.55%
4Kimbe44.1K0.40%
5Madang41.6K0.38%
6Mount Hagen32.5K0.30%
7Goroka29.3K0.27%
8Vanimo22.7K0.21%
9Popondetta20.1K0.18%
10Daru18.8K0.17%

Papua New Guinea by the Numbers

Estimated as of Oct 22, 2026

Population
Papua New Guinea is home to an estimated 11,004,913 people, the 89th largest population in the world.
Daily change
Papua New Guinea has a net population change of approximately 505 people per day, driven by 705 births, 199 deaths, and net emigration of 1 people.
Share of world
Papua New Guinea makes up 0.13% of the world's population and 23.23% of Oceania's.
Density
24.2 people per km² of land (62.6 per mi²), ranking 195th among countries and territories.
Urban living
15.78% of people live in urban areas.

Papua New Guinea Demographics

Age & longevity

MaleFemale100+ years, male: 15100+ years, female: 1995–99 years, male: 13995–99 years, female: 17890–94 years, male: 90990–94 years, female: 1,20585–89 years, male: 4,16685–89 years, female: 5,18680–84 years, male: 13,03280–84 years, female: 14,59575–79 years, male: 30,11375–79 years, female: 31,09470–74 years, male: 58,05770–74 years, female: 56,17265–69 years, male: 100,45165–69 years, female: 91,81060–64 years, male: 147,12460–64 years, female: 137,50455–59 years, male: 187,15455–59 years, female: 185,15250–54 years, male: 231,58750–54 years, female: 236,57645–49 years, male: 275,64645–49 years, female: 285,26840–44 years, male: 324,75740–44 years, female: 334,18935–39 years, male: 386,13135–39 years, female: 380,79730–34 years, male: 434,49930–34 years, female: 409,52725–29 years, male: 479,20025–29 years, female: 440,26920–24 years, male: 524,95420–24 years, female: 475,22415–19 years, male: 562,52415–19 years, female: 511,82110–14 years, male: 597,17410–14 years, female: 551,3445–9 years, male: 622,5965–9 years, female: 581,2400–4 years, male: 640,2220–4 years, female: 598,236100+95–9990–9485–8980–8475–7970–7465–6960–6455–5950–5445–4940–4435–3930–3425–2920–2415–1910–145–90–4200K200K400K400K

Hover or tap an age group to see exact counts. Use the up and down arrow keys to inspect age groups.

Median age

24 yrs

World: 31

Life expectancy

66.5 yrs

World: 73.8

Male

51.34%

Female

48.66%

Life expectancy 64Life expectancy 69.5

Ethnicity

Percentages are not reported for these groups.

  • MelanesianNot reported
  • PapuanNot reported
  • NegritoNot reported
  • MicronesianNot reported
  • PolynesianNot reported

Some groups have no reported percentage.

Data notes

Source estimate: est.

no percentages available

Religion

64.3%

Protestant, the largest religion

  • Protestant64.3%
  • Roman Catholic26%
  • Other Christian5.3%
  • Unspecified3.1%
  • non-Christian1.4%
Data notes

Source estimate: 2011 est.

Protestant: Evangelical Lutheran 18.4%, Seventh Day Adventist 12.9%, Pentecostal 10.4%, United Church 10.3%, Evangelical Alliance 5.9%, Anglican 3.2%, Baptist 2.8%, Salvation Army 0.4%

Related Pages

Sources

  1. World Population Prospects (2024 Revision) - United Nations population estimates and projections.
  2. World Population Prospects (2024 Revision) - Papua New Guinea United Nations Graphs/Profiles
  3. World Bank / UN World Urbanization Prospects - 2025: Urban population (% of total population), using national definitions.
  4. National Statistical Office of Papua New Guinea