The introduction of an official national policy for the population of PNG was for the first time considered in the mid-1970s. Based on 1966 and 1971 census results, it had become

clear that, during the years before Independence, PNG’s mortality transition had started but that the level of fertility had remained largely unchanged.2 Based on this evidence, it was concluded that the rate of natural increase (RNI) of the population, which was already high, would probably reach an even higher level in the immediate future.