Papua New Guinea's prime minister, Peter O'Neill, says the country's high population growth presents the government a mammoth challenge to deliver its infrastructure development programme.
Mr O'Neill has told the Post Courier that PNG's population has grown from just over two million some 30 years ago to seven million today.
He says since 2000 alone, the population has grown by 36 percent.
He says this massive increase places great stress on schools, hospitals, law enforcement agencies and other infrastructure.
Mr O'Neill says what they need to do now is improve on what they have, build more to accommodate the increase in the population otherwise they will be stretched to breaking point.
