Papua New Guinea

Pacific

Country Profile: Papua New Guinea

Statistics

Human development index (for 2005)
Human development index rank	145 (UNDP 2007)
GDP per capital (PPP)	$2 563 (UNDP 2007)a
Life Expectancy at birth (years)	56.9 (UNDP 2007)
Combined gross enrolment ratio for primary, secondary and tertiary education	40.7 per cent (UNDP 2007)b
Demography
Total population mid-2007	6 331 000 (United Nations 2006)
Population of persons with disabilities	No response provided (ESCAP 2006, Q 18)
Proportion of persons with disabilities to total population	No response provided (ESCAP 2006, Q 18)
definition of disability	WHO definition (ESCAP 2006, Q 19)
definition of persons with disabilities	“[P]eople with special needs who require special attention, care and support in their families and communities, and encouragement to determine the full potential in life and refers to the needs created by the interaction between a person with an impairment and the environmental and attitudinal barriers he/she may face.” (Papua New Guinea 2005, Background)
Employment rate of persons with disabilities	Not available (ESCAP 2006, Q 12.1)
Access to education	Not available (ESCAP 2006, Q 6/7.1)
Institutional framework
National coordination mechanism or disability focal point	National Board for Disabled Persons, established in 1979 (ESCAP 2006, Qs 1(i), (ii))
Number of members and composition of the mechanism	A total of 25 representatives from Government departments, disability agencies, persons with disabilities, individuals nominated as community representatives (ESCAP 2006, Q 1(ii))
Legislative and policy framework
Mention on disability in constitution	A law that complies with Section 38 of the Constitution must, among other things, take “account of the National Goals and Directive Principles and the Basic Social Obligations, for the purpose of giving effect to the public interest in”, among other things, “the protection of…persons under (sic) disability (whether legal or practical) …” (Papua New Guinea 1975, sect. 38); “(2) To be eligible for naturalization, a person must— (a) be of good character; and (b) intend to reside permanently in the country; and (c) unless prevented by physical or mental disability, speak and understand Pisin or Hiri Motu, or a vernacular of the country, sufficiently for normal conversational purposes.” (Papua New Guinea 1975, sect. 67)
comprehensive disability law	No (ESCAP 2006, Q 9)
Disabilitiy-specific anti discrimination law	No (ESCAP 2006, Q 10)
Sectoral disbility laws	Cover: building code (ESCAP 2006, Q 8(i))
National plan of action on disability	Papua New Guinea National Policy on Disability 2005 (Papua New Guinea 2005; ESCAP 2006, Q 2(ii))
National efforts to promote an Inclusive Society
Employment quota scheme	Not available (ESCAP 2004c, Q 30-a)
National accessibility standard	No response provided (ESCAP 2006, Q 13.1)
Standardized sign language	Yes, 1994 (ESCAP 2006, Q 19.1)
ICT accessibility guideline	No (ESCAP 2006, Qs 17.1, 18.1)
Financial commitment
Proportion of disability (social) spending to GDP or entire national budget	Not available
Annual budget allocated to the national coordination mechanism	Not available (ESCAP 2006, Q 1(ii))
Commitment to regional and international instruments on disability
Signatory to the Proclamation of the Decade	2003 (ESCAP 2004b)
Ratification of ILO Convention159	No (ILO 2009)
Ratification or signatiory of the conventions on the Rights of Person with Disabilities, and its Optional Protocol	No (United Nations 2009)
	No (United Nations 2009)
* World Bank estimate based on regression. ** National or UNESCO Institute for Statistics estimate; data refer to a year other than that specified.