Source: Radio Australia

Papua New Guinea is planning to implement a national identity card system to address the problem of unregistered citizens.

80 percent of the country's population remains unregistered.

EMTV reports that the national planning minister, Charles Abel, says the questionable integrity and accuracy of the National Statistics Office's data is also affecting the country's national development.

Mr Abel says the NSO is trying to address the outdated statistics through various reforms and initiatives including improving efforts to complete the census, and concluding a household income and expenditure report as the basis of the consumer price index.