Misplaced Pages

Independent State of Papua New Guinea Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini (Tok Pisin) Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini (Hiri Motu)
Flag National emblem
Motto: 'Unity in diversity'
Anthem: "O Arise, All You Sons"
Location of Papua New Guinea (green)
Capitaland largest city	Port Moresby 09°28′44″S 147°08′58″E / 9.47889°S 147.14944°E / -9.47889; 147.14944
Official languages	English Hiri Motu PNG Sign Language Tok Pisin
Indigenous languages	851 languages
Ethnic groups	Papuan
Religion (2011 census)	95.5% Christianity 64.3% Protestantism 26.0% Catholicism 5.2% other Christian 3.1% unspecified 1.4% others / none
Demonym(s)	Papua New Guinean • Papuan
Government	Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
• Monarch	Charles III
• Governor-General	Bob Dadae
• Prime Minister	James Marape
Legislature	National Parliament
Independence from Australia
• Papua and New Guinea Act 1949	1 July 1949
• Declared and recognised	16 September 1975
Area
• Total	462,840 km (178,700 sq mi) (54th)
• Water (%)	2
Population
• 2021 estimate	11,781,559 (82nd)
• 2011 census	7,257,324
• Density	15/km (38.8/sq mi) (201st)
GDP (PPP)	2023 estimate
• Total	$41.785 billion (124th)
• Per capita	$3,403 (145th)
GDP (nominal)	2023 estimate
• Total	$31.692 billion (110th)
• Per capita	$2,581 (129th)
Gini (2009)	41.9 medium inequality
HDI (2022)	0.568 medium (154th)
Currency	Kina (PGK)
Time zone	UTC+10, +11 (PNGST)
Drives on	Left
Calling code	+675
ISO 3166 code	PG
Internet TLD	.pg

Papua New Guinea is a country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia. It has a land border with Indonesia to the west and neighbours Australia to the south and the Solomon Islands to the east. Its capital, on its southern coast, is Port Moresby. The country is the world's third largest island country, with an area of 462,840 km (178,700 sq mi).

The nation was split in the 1880s between German New Guinea in the North and the British Territory of Papua in the South, the latter of which was ceded to Australia in 1902. All of present-day Papua New Guinea came under Australian control following World War I, with the legally distinct Territory of New Guinea being established out of the former German colony as a League of Nations mandate. The nation was the site of fierce fighting during the New Guinea campaign of World War II. Papua New Guinea became an independent Commonwealth realm in 1975 with Elizabeth II as its Queen. Since Elizabeth II's death in 2022, Charles III has been the King.

There are 840 known languages of Papua New Guinea (including English), making it the most linguistically diverse country in the world. It is also one of the most rural countries, with only 13.25% of its population living in urban centres in 2019. Most of its people live in customary communities. Although government estimates reported the country's population to be 11.8 million, it was reported in December 2022 that its population was in fact closer to 17 million. Papua New Guinea is the most populous Pacific island country.

The country is believed to be the home of many undocumented species of plants and animals.

Papua New Guinea is classified as a developing economy by the International Monetary Fund; nearly 40% of the population are subsistence farmers, living relatively independently of the cash economy. Their traditional social groupings are explicitly acknowledged by the Papua New Guinea Constitution, which expresses the wish for "traditional villages and communities to remain as viable units of Papua New Guinean society" and protects their continuing importance to local and national community life. Papua New Guinea has been an observer state in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) since 1976, and has filed its application for full membership status. It is a full member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the Pacific Community, the Pacific Islands Forum, and the United Nations.

Etymology

Papua is derived from a local term of uncertain origin. Regarding the islands of New Guinea, the Portuguese captain and geographer António Galvão wrote that:

The people of all these islands are blacke, and have their haire frisled, whom the people of Maluco do call Papuas.

"New Guinea" (Nueva Guinea) was the name coined by the Spanish explorer Yñigo Ortiz de Retez. In 1545, he noted the resemblance of the people to those he had earlier seen along the Guinea coast of Africa. Guinea, in its turn, is etymologically derived from the Portuguese word Guiné. The name is one of several toponyms sharing similar etymologies, ultimately meaning "land of the blacks" or similar meanings, in reference to the dark skin of the inhabitants.

History

Archaeological evidence indicates that humans first arrived in Papua New Guinea around 42,000 to 45,000 years ago. They were descendants of migrants out of Africa, in one of the early waves of human migration. A 2016 study at the University of Cambridge by Christopher Klein et al. suggests that it was about 50,000 years ago that these peoples reached Sahul (the paleocontinent consisting of present-day Australia and New Guinea). The sea levels rose and isolated New Guinea about 10,000 years ago, but Aboriginal Australians and Papuans diverged from each other genetically earlier, about 37,000 years BP. Evolutionary geneticist Svante Pääbo found that people of New Guinea share 4%–7% of their genome with the Denisovans, indicating that the ancestors of Papuans interbred in Asia with these archaic hominins.

Agriculture was independently developed in the New Guinea highlands around 7000 BC, making it one of the few areas in the world where people independently domesticated plants. A major migration of Austronesian-speaking peoples to coastal regions of New Guinea took place around 500 BC. This has been correlated with the introduction of pottery, pigs, and certain fishing techniques.

In the 18th century, traders brought the sweet potato to New Guinea, where it was adopted and became a staple food. Portuguese traders had obtained it from South America and introduced it to the Moluccas. The far higher crop yields from sweet potato radically transformed traditional agriculture and societies. Sweet potato largely supplanted the previous staple, taro, and resulted in a significant increase in population in the highlands.

Although by the late 20th century headhunting and cannibalism had been practically eradicated, in the past they were practised in many parts of the country as part of rituals related to warfare and taking in enemy spirits or powers. In 1901, on Goaribari Island in the Gulf of Papua, missionary Harry Dauncey found 10,000 skulls in the island's long houses, a demonstration of past practices. According to Marianna Torgovnick, writing in 1991, "The most fully documented instances of cannibalism as a social institution come from New Guinea, where head-hunting and ritual cannibalism survived, in certain isolated areas, into the Fifties, Sixties, and Seventies, and still leave traces within certain social groups."

European encounters

Little was known in Europe about the island until the 19th century, although Portuguese and Spanish explorers, such as Dom Jorge de Menezes and Yñigo Ortiz de Retez, had encountered it as early as the 16th century. Traders from Southeast Asia visited New Guinea beginning 5,000 years ago to collect bird-of-paradise plumes.

Missionaries

Christianity was introduced to New Guinea on 15 September 1847 when a group of Marist missionaries came to Woodlark Island. They established their first mission on Umboi Island. Following that year, they were forced to withdraw their mission endeavour. Five years later on 8 October 1852, the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, a pontifical institute, reestablished the mission on Woodlark Island, encountering sickness and resistance from local people.

Colonialism

The country's dual name results from its complex administrative history before independence. Beginning in 1884, the region was split between two colonial powers. Germany ruled the northern half of the country for several decades as a colony named German New Guinea, while the southern part of the country became a British protectorate.

In 1888, the British protectorate, as well as some adjacent islands, were annexed by Britain as British New Guinea. In 1902, Papua was effectively transferred to the authority of the new British dominion of Australia. With the passage of the Papua Act 1905, the area was officially renamed the Territory of Papua, and the Australian administration became formal in 1906.

Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Australian forces captured German New Guinea and occupied it throughout the war. After Germany and the Central Powers were defeated in the war, the League of Nations authorised Australia to administer this area as a League of Nations mandate territory, which became the Territory of New Guinea.

In contrast to establishing an Australian mandate in former German New Guinea, the League of Nations determined that Papua was an external territory of the Australian Commonwealth; as a matter of law it remained a British possession. The difference in legal status meant that until 1949, Papua (former British protectorate Territory of Papua) and New Guinea (former German territory German New Guinea) had entirely separate administrations, both controlled by Australia. These conditions contributed to the complexity of organising the country's post-independence legal system.

The highland valleys were first explored by Australians in the 1930s and were found to be inhabited by over a million people.

World War II

During World War II, the New Guinea campaign (1942–1945) was one of the major military campaigns and conflicts between Japan and the Allies. Approximately 216,000 Japanese, Australian, and U.S. servicemen died. After World War II and the victory of the Allies, the two territories were combined into the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. This was later referred to as "Papua New Guinea."

Australian rule and independence

After World War II, Australia administered the two newly combined territories of Papua and New Guinea. By 1951, a 28-member Legislative Council was instituted, although this was largely dominated by Australian administrative members, with only 3 seats allocated to Papua New Guineans. Sir Donald Cleland, an Australian soldier, became the first administrator of this new council.

In 1964, the Council was replaced by the 64-member House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea, which for the first time had a majority of Papua New Guinean members. The Assembly increased to 84 members in 1967 and 100 by 1971.

Debate began over Australian administration both in Papua New Guinea and Australia, with the Bougainville independence movement pushing for greater autonomy as Australian mining company Rio Tinto's exploitative practices became extremely controversial to the region's indigenous landowners, with demands for compensation being made.

Australian Opposition Leader Gough Whitlam visited Papua New Guinea in 1970 and 1971, amid further calls for independence by the Tolai people in Gazelle Peninsula. He called for self-governance for the Territory as early as 1972.

At the 1972 Papua New Guinean general election in July, Michael Somare was elected as the first Papua New Guinean Chief Minister of the Territory. In December, Whitlam was elected as Prime Minister at the 1972 Australian federal election. The Whitlam Government then instituted self-governance under the rule of Somare in late 1973.

Over the next two years, further arguments for independence were forwarded, culminating in the Whitlam Government passing the Papua New Guinea Independence Act 1975 in September 1975, citing the 16th of September 1975 as the date of independence.

Whitlam and then-Prince Charles attended the independence ceremony, with Somare continuing as the country's first Prime Minister.

Bougainville

A secessionist revolt in 1975–76 on Bougainville Island resulted in an eleventh-hour modification of the draft Constitution of Papua New Guinea to allow for Bougainville and the other eighteen districts to have quasi-federal status as provinces. A renewed uprising on Bougainville started in 1988 and claimed 20,000 lives until it was resolved in 1997. Bougainville had been the primary mining region of the country, generating 40% of the national budget. The native peoples felt they were bearing the adverse environmental effects of the mining, which contaminated the land, water and air, without gaining a fair share of the profits.

The government and rebels negotiated a peace agreement that established the Bougainville Autonomous District and Province. The autonomous Bougainville elected Joseph Kabui as president in 2005, who served until he died in 2008. He was succeeded by his deputy John Tabinaman as acting president while an election to fill the unexpired term was organised. James Tanis won that election in December 2008 and served until the inauguration of John Momis, the winner of the 2010 elections. As part of the current peace settlement, a non-binding independence referendum was held, between 23 November and 7 December 2019. The referendum question was a choice between greater autonomy within Papua New Guinea and full independence for Bougainville, and voters voted overwhelmingly (98.31%) for independence. Negotiations between the Bougainville government and national Papua New Guinea on a path to Bougainville independence began after the referendum, and are ongoing.

Geography

At 462,840 km (178,704 sq mi), Papua New Guinea is the world's 54th-largest country and the third-largest island country. Papua New Guinea is part of the Australasian realm, which also includes Australia, New Zealand, eastern Indonesia, and several Pacific island groups, including the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. Including all its islands, it lies between latitudes 0° and 12°S, and longitudes 140° and 160°E. It has an exclusive economic zone of 2,402,288 km (927,529 sq mi). The mainland of the country is the eastern half of New Guinea island, where the largest towns are also located, including Port Moresby (capital) and Lae; other major islands within Papua New Guinea include New Ireland, New Britain, Manus and Bougainville.

Located north of the Australian mainland, the country's geography is diverse and, in places, extremely rugged. A spine of mountains, the New Guinea Highlands, runs the length of the island of New Guinea, forming a populous highlands region mostly covered with tropical rainforest, and the long Papuan Peninsula, known as the 'Bird's Tail'. Dense rainforests can be found in the lowland and coastal areas as well as very large wetland areas surrounding the Sepik and Fly rivers. This terrain has made it difficult for the country to develop transportation infrastructure. This has made it so that air travel is often the most efficient and reliable means of transportation. The highest peak is Mount Wilhelm at 4,509 metres (14,793 ft). Papua New Guinea is surrounded by coral reefs which are under close watch, in the interests of preservation. Papua New Guinea's largest rivers are in New Guinea and include Sepik, Ramu, Markham, Musa, Purari, Kikori, Turama, Wawoi and Fly.

The country is situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire, at the point of collision of several tectonic plates. Geologically, the island of New Guinea is a northern extension of the Indo-Australian tectonic plate, forming part of a single land mass which is Australia-New Guinea (also called Sahul or Meganesia). It is connected to the Australian segment by a shallow continental shelf across the Torres Strait, which in former ages lay exposed as a land bridge, particularly during ice ages when sea levels were lower than at present. As the Indo-Australian Plate (which includes landmasses of India, Australia, and the Indian Ocean floor in between) drifts north, it collides with the Eurasian Plate. The collision of the two plates pushed up the Himalayas, the Indonesian islands, and New Guinea's Central Range. The Central Range is much younger and higher than the mountains of Australia, so high that it is home to rare equatorial glaciers.

There are several active volcanoes, and eruptions are frequent. Earthquakes are relatively common, sometimes accompanied by tsunamis. On 25 February 2018, an earthquake of magnitude 7.5 and depth of 35 kilometres struck the middle of Papua New Guinea. The worst of the damage was centred around the Southern Highlands region. Papua New Guinea is one of the few regions close to the equator that experience snowfall, which occurs in the most elevated parts of the mainland.

The border between Papua New Guinea and Indonesia was confirmed by a treaty with Australia before independence in 1974. The land border comprises a segment of the 141° E meridian from the north coast southwards to where it meets the Fly River flowing east, then a short curve of the river's thalweg to where it meets the 141°01'10" E meridian flowing west, then southwards to the south coast. The 141° E meridian formed the entire eastern boundary of Dutch New Guinea according to its 1828 annexation proclamation. By the Treaty of The Hague (1895) the Dutch and British agreed to a territorial exchange, bringing the entire left bank of the Fly River into British New Guinea and moving the southern border east to the Torasi Estuary. The maritime boundary with Australia was confirmed by a treaty in 1978. In the Torres Strait it runs close to the mainland of New Guinea, keeping the adjacent North Western Torres Strait Islands (Dauan, Boigu and Saibai) under Australian sovereignty. Maritime boundaries with the Solomon Islands were confirmed by a 1989 treaty.

Earthquakes

Papua New Guinea is famous for its frequent seismic activity, being on the Ring of Fire. On 17 July 1998, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck north of Aitape. It triggered a 50-foot-high tsunami, which killed over 2,180 people in one of the worst natural disasters in the country.

In September 2002, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck off the coast of Wewak, Sandaun Province, killing six people.

From March to April 2018, a chain of earthquakes hit Hela Province, causing widespread landslides and the deaths of 200 people. Various nations from Oceania and Southeast Asia immediately sent aid to the country.

Another severe earthquake occurred on 11 September 2022, killing seven people and causing damaging shaking in some of the country's largest cities, such as Lae and Madang, it was also felt in the capital Port Moresby.

On May 24, 2024, a landslide hit the village of Kaokalam in Enga Province, about 600 kilometers (372 miles) northwest of the capital, Port Moresby, at about 3 a.m. local time. The landslide buried more than 2000 people alive, caused major destruction to buildings, and food gardens and caused major impact on the economic lifeline of the country. The casualty figure surpasses the 2006 Southern Leyte mudslide tragedy where a total of 1,126 people lost their lives as the debris flow from a landslide followed 10 days of heavy rain. With over 2,000 reported dead by the Papua New Guinea government, this disaster has now emerged as the deadliest landslide of the 21st century.

Climate

The climate on the island is essentially tropical, but it varies by region. The maximum mean temperature in the lowlands is 30 to 32 °C, and the minimum 23–24 °C. In the highlands above 2100 metres, colder conditions prevail and night frosts are common there, while the daytime temperature exceeds 22 °C, regardless of the season.

Biodiversity

Many species of birds and mammals found on New Guinea have close genetic links with corresponding species found in Australia. One notable feature in common for the two landmasses is the existence of several species of marsupial mammals, including some kangaroos and possums, which are not found elsewhere. Papua New Guinea is a megadiverse country.

Many of the other islands within PNG territory, including New Britain, New Ireland, Bougainville, the Admiralty Islands, the Trobriand Islands, and the Louisiade Archipelago, were never linked to New Guinea by land bridges. As a consequence, they have their own flora and fauna; in particular, they lack many of the land mammals and flightless birds that are common to New Guinea and Australia.

Australia and New Guinea are portions of the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana, which started to break into smaller continents in the Cretaceous period, 65–130 million years ago. Australia finally broke free from Antarctica about 45 million years ago. All the Australasian lands are home to the Antarctic flora, descended from the flora of southern Gondwana, including the coniferous podocarps and Araucaria pines, and the broad-leafed southern beech (Nothofagus). These plant families are still present in Papua New Guinea. New Guinea is part of the humid tropics, and many Indomalayan rainforest plants spread across the narrow straits from Asia, mixing with the old Australian and Antarctic floras. New Guinea has been identified as the world's most floristically diverse island in the world, with 13,634 known species of vascular plants.

Papua New Guinea includes several terrestrial ecoregions:

• Admiralty Islands lowland rain forests – forested islands to the north of the mainland, home to a distinct flora.
• Central Range montane rain forests

  

• Huon Peninsula montane rain forests
• Louisiade Archipelago rain forests
• New Britain-New Ireland lowland rain forests
• New Britain-New Ireland montane rain forests
• New Guinea mangroves
• Northern New Guinea lowland rain and freshwater swamp forests
• Northern New Guinea montane rain forests
• Solomon Islands rain forests (includes Bougainville Island and Buka)
• Southeastern Papuan rain forests
• Southern New Guinea freshwater swamp forests
• Southern New Guinea lowland rain forests
• Trobriand Islands rain forests
• Trans-Fly savanna and grasslands
• Central Range sub-alpine grasslands

Three new species of mammals were discovered in the forests of Papua New Guinea by an Australian-led expedition in the early 2010s. A small wallaby, a large-eared mouse and a shrew-like marsupial were discovered. The expedition was also successful in capturing photographs and video footage of some other rare animals such as the Tenkile tree kangaroo and the Weimang tree kangaroo. Nearly one-quarter of Papua New Guinea's rainforests were damaged or destroyed between 1972 and 2002. Papua New Guinea had a Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 8.84/10, ranking it 17th globally out of 172 countries. Mangrove swamps stretch along the coast, and in the inland it is inhabited by nipa palm (Nypa fruticans), and deeper in the inland the sago palm tree inhabits areas in the valleys of larger rivers. Trees such as oaks, red cedars, pines, and beeches are becoming predominant in the uplands above 3,300 feet. Papua New Guinea is rich in various species of reptiles, indigenous freshwater fish and birds, but it is almost devoid of large mammals.

Government and politics

Papua New Guinea is a Commonwealth realm with Charles III as King of Papua New Guinea. The monarch's representative is the governor-general of Papua New Guinea, who is elected by the unicameral National Parliament of Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands are the only realms in which the governor-general is elected by parliament, although the governor-general is still formally appointed by the monarch in accordance with the parliamentary vote.

The national constitution provides for the executive to be responsible to parliament as the representative of the Papua New Guinean people. The prime minister of Papua New Guinea is elected by the National Parliament, while the other ministers are appointed by the governor-general on the prime minister's advice and form the National Executive Council, which acts as the country's cabinet. The National Parliament has 111 seats, of which 22 are occupied by the governors of the 22 provinces and the National Capital District. Candidates for members of parliament are voted upon when the prime minister asks the governor-general to call a national election, a maximum of five years after the previous national election.

In the early years of independence, the instability of the party system led to frequent votes of no confidence in parliament, with resulting changes of the government, but with referral to the electorate, through national elections only occurring every five years. In recent years, successive governments have passed legislation preventing such votes sooner than 18 months after a national election and within 12 months of the next election. In 2012, the first two (of three) readings were passed to prevent votes of no confidence occurring within the first 30 months. This restriction on votes of no confidence has arguably resulted in greater stability, although perhaps at the cost of reducing the accountability of the executive branch of government.

Elections in PNG attract numerous candidates. After independence in 1975, members were elected by the first-past-the-post system, with winners frequently gaining less than 15% of the vote. Electoral reforms in 2001 introduced the Limited Preferential Vote system (LPV), a version of the alternative vote. The 2007 general election was the first to be conducted using LPV.

Under a 2002 amendment, the leader of the party winning the largest number of seats in the election is invited by the governor-general to form the government, if they can muster the necessary majority in parliament. The process of forming such a coalition in PNG, where parties do not have much ideology, involves considerable "horse-trading" right up until the last moment. Peter O'Neill emerged as Papua New Guinea's prime minister after the July 2012 election, and formed a government with Leo Dion, the former Governor of East New Britain Province, as deputy prime minister.

In 2011 there was a constitutional crisis between the parliament-elect Prime Minister, Peter O'Neill (voted into office by a large majority of MPs), and Sir Michael Somare, who was deemed by the supreme court to retain office. The stand-off between parliament and the supreme court continued until the July 2012 national elections, with legislation passed effectively removing the chief justice and subjecting the supreme court members to greater control by the legislature, as well as a series of other laws passed, for example limiting the age for a prime minister. The confrontation reached a peak, with the deputy prime minister entering the supreme court during a hearing, escorted by police, ostensibly to arrest the chief justice. There was strong pressure among some MPs to defer the national elections for a further six months to one year, although their powers to do that were highly questionable. The parliament-elect prime minister and other cooler-headed MPs carried the votes for the writs for the new election to be issued, slightly late, but for the election itself to occur on time, thereby avoiding a continuation of the constitutional crisis.

In May 2019, O'Neill resigned as prime minister and was replaced through a vote of Parliament by James Marape. Marape was a key minister in O'Neill's government and his defection from the government to the opposition camp had finally led to O'Neill's resignation from office. Davis Steven was appointed deputy prime minister, justice Minister and Attorney General. After an election widely criticised by observers for its inadequate preparation (including failure to update the electoral roll), abuses and violence, in July 2022, Prime Minister James Marape's PANGU Party secured the most seats of any party in the election, enabling James Marape to be invited to form a coalition government, which he succeeded in doing and he continued as PNG's Prime Minister. In the 2022 Election two women were elected into the eleventh Parliament, one, Rufina Peter, also became Provincial governor of Central Province.

Administrative divisions

Papua New Guinea is divided into four regions, which are not the primary administrative divisions but are quite significant in many aspects of government, commercial, sporting and other activities. The nation has 22 province-level divisions: twenty provinces, the Autonomous Region of Bougainville and the National Capital District. Each province is divided into one or more districts, which in turn are divided into one or more Local-Level Government areas. Provinces are the primary administrative divisions of the country. Provincial governments are branches of the national government as Papua New Guinea is not a federation of provinces. The province-level divisions are as follows:

Central Chimbu (Simbu) Eastern Highlands East New Britain East Sepik Enga Gulf Madang Manus Milne Bay Morobe

New Ireland Northern (Oro Province) Bougainville (autonomous region) Southern Highlands Western Province (Fly) Western Highlands West New Britain West Sepik (Sandaun) National Capital District (Port Moresby) Hela Jiwaka

In 2009, Parliament approved the creation of two additional provinces: Hela Province, consisting of part of the existing Southern Highlands Province, and Jiwaka Province, formed by dividing Western Highlands Province. Jiwaka and Hela officially became separate provinces on 17 May 2012. The declaration of Hela and Jiwaka is a result of the largest liquefied natural gas project in the country that is situated in both provinces. The government set 23 November 2019 as the voting date for a non-binding independence referendum in the Bougainville autonomous region. In December 2019, the autonomous region voted overwhelmingly for independence, with 97.7% voting in favour of obtaining full independence and around 1.7% voting in favour of greater autonomy.

Foreign relations

Papua New Guinea is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, Pacific Community, Pacific Islands Forum, and the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) of countries. It was accorded observer status within ASEAN in 1976, followed later by special observer status in 1981. It is also a member of APEC and an ACP country, associated with the European Union.

Papua New Guinea has been a member of the Forum of Small States (FOSS) since the group's founding in 1992.

Papua New Guinea supported Indonesia's control of Western New Guinea, the focus of the Papua conflict where numerous human rights violations have reportedly been committed by the Indonesian security forces.

Military

The Papua New Guinea Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Papua New Guinea. It consists of three wings. The Land Element has 7 units: the Royal Pacific Islands Regiment, a special forces unit, a battalion of engineers, three other small units primarily dealing with signals and health, and a military academy. The Air Element consists of one aircraft squadron, which transports the other military wings. The Maritime Element consists of four Pacific-class patrol boats, three ex-Australian Balikpapan-class landing craft, and one Guardian-class patrol boat. One of the landing craft is used as a training ship. Three more Guardian-class patrol boats are under construction in Australia, to replace the old Pacific-class vessels. The main tasks of the Maritime Element are to patrol inshore waters and to transport the Land Element. Papua New Guinea has a very large exclusive economic zone because of its extensive coastline. The Maritime Element relies heavily on satellite imagery to surveil the country's waters. Patrolling is generally ineffective because underfunding often leaves the patrol boats unserviceable. This problem will be partially corrected when the larger Guardian-class patrol boats enter service.

Law

The unicameral Parliament enacts legislation in the same manner as in other Commonwealth realms that use the Westminster system of government. The cabinet collectively agrees on government policy, and then the relevant minister introduces bills to Parliament, depending on which government department is responsible for the implementation of a particular law. Backbench members of parliament can also introduce bills. Parliament debates bills, and (section 110.1 of the Constitution) they become enacted laws when the Speaker certifies that Parliament has passed them. There is no Royal assent.

All ordinary statutes enacted by Parliament must be consistent with the Constitution. The courts have jurisdiction to rule on the constitutionality of statutes, both in disputes before them and on a reference where there is no dispute but only an abstract question of law. Unusually among developing countries, the judicial branch of government in Papua New Guinea has remained remarkably independent, and successive executive governments have continued to respect its authority.

The "underlying law" (Papua New Guinea's common law) consists of principles and rules of common law and equity in English common law as it stood on 16 September 1975 (the date of independence), and thereafter the decisions of PNG's own courts. The courts are directed by the Constitution and, latterly, the Underlying Law Act, to take note of the "custom" of traditional communities. They are to determine which customs are common to the whole country and may be declared also to be part of the underlying law. In practice, this has proved difficult and has been largely neglected. Statutes are largely adapted from overseas jurisdictions, primarily Australia and England. Advocacy in the courts follows the adversarial pattern of other common-law countries. This national court system, used in towns and cities, is supported by a village court system in the more remote areas. The law underpinning the village courts is 'customary law'.

Crime and human rights

Papua New Guinea is often ranked as likely the worst place in the world for violence against women. A 2013 study in The Lancet found that 27% of men on Bougainville Island reported having raped a non-partner, while 14.1% reported having committed gang rape. According to UNICEF, nearly half of reported rape victims are under 15 years old, and 13% are under 7 years old. A report by ChildFund Australia, citing former Parliamentarian Dame Carol Kidu, claimed 50% of those seeking medical help after rape are under 16, 25% are under 12, and 10% are under 8. Under Dame Carol's term as Minister for Community Development, Parliament passed the Family Protection Act (2013) and the Lukautim Pikini Act (2015), although the Family Protection Regulation was not approved until 2017, delaying its application in the Courts.

The 1971 Sorcery Act imposed a penalty of up to 2 years in prison for the practice of "black" magic, until the act was repealed in 2013. An estimated 50–150 alleged witches are killed each year in Papua New Guinea. A Sorcery and Witchcraft Accusation Related National Action Plan (SNAP) was approved by the Government in 2015, although funding and application has been deficient. There are also no protections given to LGBT citizens in the country. Homosexual acts are prohibited by law in Papua New Guinea.

While tribal violence has long been a way of life in the highlands regions, an increase in firearms has led to greater loss of life. In the past, rival groups had been known to utilise axes, bush knives and traditional weapons, as well as respecting rules of engagement that prevented violence while hunting or at markets. These norms have been changing with a greater uptake of firearms. These are believed to be sourced from smuggling operations over the border into Indonesia, as well as losses from government armouries. Only 1/5th of 5000 Australian-made Self Loading Rifles and half of the 2000 M16s delivered to the PNGDF from the 1970s-1990s were found in government armouries during an audit in 2004 and 2005. The smuggling and theft of ammunition have also increased violence in these regions, leading to the police force and military finding it difficult to maintain control, often finding themselves outgunned and only able to retrieve bodies. Village massacres have increased with 69 villagers killed in a single attack in February 2024 in Enga Province, the largest killings since the Bougainville conflict of the 1980s and 90s.

Papua New Guinea received a score of 5.6 out of 10 for safety from the state from the Human Rights Measurement Initiative.

Royal PNG Constabulary

The Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary has been troubled in recent years by infighting, political interference and corruption. It was recognised from early after Independence (and hitherto) that a national police force alone could never have the capacity to administer law and order across the country, and that it would also require effective local-level systems of policing and enforcement, notably the village court magisterial service. The weaknesses of police capacity, poor working conditions and recommendations to address them were the subject of the 2004 Royal PNG Constabulary Administrative Review to the Minister for Internal Security. In 2011, Commissioner for Police Anthony Wagambie took the unusual step of asking the public to report police asking for payments for performing their duties. In September 2020, Minister for Police Bryan Jared Kramer launched a broadside on Facebook against his own police department, which was subsequently reported in the international media. In the post, Kramer accused the Royal PNG Constabulary of widespread corruption, claiming that "Senior officers based in Police Headquarters in Port Moresby were stealing from their own retired officers’ pension funds. They were implicated in organised crime, drug syndicates, smuggling firearms, stealing fuel, insurance scams, and even misusing police allowances. They misused tens of millions of kina allocated for police housing, resources, and welfare. We also uncovered many cases of senior officers facilitating the theft of Police land." Commissioner for Police David Manning, in a separate statement, said that his force included "criminals in uniform."

Economy

Papua New Guinea is richly endowed with natural resources, including mineral and renewable resources, such as forests, marine resources (including a large portion of the world's major tuna stocks), and in some parts agriculture. The rugged terrain (including high mountain ranges and valleys, swamps and islands) and the high cost of developing infrastructure, combined with other factors (including law and order problems in some centres and the system of customary land title) make it difficult for outside developers. Local developers are hindered by years of deficient investment in education, health, and access to finance. Agriculture, for subsistence and cash crops, provides a livelihood for 85% of the population and continues to provide some 30% of GDP. Mineral deposits, including gold, oil, and copper, account for 72% of export earnings. In 2015, Papua New Guinea's gold production was 60 tonnes. Oil palm production has grown steadily over recent years (largely from estates and with extensive outgrower output), with palm oil now the main agricultural export. Coffee remains the major export crop (produced largely in the Highlands provinces); followed by cocoa and coconut oil/copra from the coastal areas, each largely produced by smallholders; tea, produced on estates; and rubber. The Iagifu/Hedinia Field was discovered in 1986 in the Papuan fold and thrust belt.

Former Prime Minister Sir Mekere Morauta tried to restore integrity to state institutions, stabilise the kina, restore stability to the national budget, privatise public enterprises where appropriate, and ensure ongoing peace on Bougainville following the 1997 agreement which ended Bougainville's secessionist unrest. The Morauta government had considerable success in attracting international support, specifically gaining the backing of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in securing development assistance loans.

As of 2019, PNG's real GDP growth rate was 3.8%, with an inflation rate of 4.3% This economic growth has been primarily attributed to strong commodity prices, particularly mineral but also agricultural, with the high demand for mineral products largely sustained even during the crisis by the buoyant Asian markets, a booming mining sector and by a buoyant outlook and the construction phase for natural gas exploration, production, and exportation in liquefied form (liquefied natural gas or "LNG") by LNG tankers, all of which will require multibillion-dollar investments (exploration, production wells, pipelines, storage, liquefaction plants, port terminals, LNG tanker ships).

The first major gas project was the PNG LNG joint venture. ExxonMobil is operator of the joint venture, also comprising PNG company Oil Search, Santos, Kumul Petroleum Holdings (Papua New Guinea's national oil and gas company), JX Nippon Oil and Gas Exploration, the PNG government's Mineral Resources Development Company and Petromin PNG Holdings. The project is an integrated development that includes gas production and processing facilities in the Hela, Southern Highlands and Western Provinces of Papua New Guinea, including liquefaction and storage facilities (located northwest of Port Moresby) with capacity of 6.9 million tonnes per year. There are over 700 kilometres (430 mi) of pipelines connecting the facilities. It is the largest private-sector investment in the history of PNG. A second major project is based on initial rights held by the French oil and gas major TotalEnergies and the U.S. company InterOil Corp. (IOC), which have partly combined their assets after TotalEnergies agreed in December 2013 to purchase 61.3% of IOC's Antelope and Elk gas field rights, with the plan to develop them starting in 2016, including the construction of a liquefaction plant to allow export of LNG. TotalEnergies has separately another joint operating agreement with Oil Search.

Further gas and mineral projects are proposed (including the large Wafi-Golpu copper-gold mine), with extensive exploration ongoing across the country.

The PNG government's long-term Vision 2050 and shorter-term policy documents, including the 2013 Budget and the 2014 Responsible Sustainable Development Strategy, emphasise the need for a more diverse economy, based upon sustainable industries and avoiding the effects of Dutch disease from major resource extraction projects undermining other industries. This occurred in many countries experiencing oil or other mineral booms, notably in Western Africa, undermining much of their agriculture sector, manufacturing and tourism, and with them broad-based employment prospects. Measures have been taken to mitigate these effects, including through the establishment of a sovereign wealth fund, partly to stabilise revenue and expenditure flows, but much will depend upon the readiness to make real reforms to effective use of revenue, tackling rampant corruption and empowering households and businesses to access markets, services and develop a more buoyant economy, with lower costs, especially for small to medium-sized enterprises. One major project conducted through the PNG Department for Community Development suggested that other pathways to sustainable development should be considered.

The Institute of National Affairs, a PNG independent policy think tank, provides a report on the business and investment environment of Papua New Guinea every five years, based upon a survey of large and small, local and overseas companies, highlighting law and order problems and corruption, as the worst impediments, followed by the poor state of transport, power and communications infrastructure.

Land tenure

The PNG legislature has enacted laws in which a type of tenure called "customary land title" is recognised, meaning that the traditional lands of the indigenous peoples have some legal basis for inalienable tenure. This customary land notionally covers most of the usable land in the country (some 97% of total land area); alienated land is either held privately under state lease or is government land. Freehold title (also known as fee simple) can only be held by Papua New Guinean citizens.

Only some 3% of the land of Papua New Guinea is in private hands; this is privately held under a 99-year state lease, or it is held by the State. There is virtually no freehold title; the few existing freeholds are automatically converted to state leases when they are transferred between vendor and purchaser. Unalienated land is owned under customary title by traditional landowners. The precise nature of the seisin varies from one culture to another. Many writers portray land as the communal ownership of traditional clans; however, closer studies usually show that the smallest portions of land whose ownership cannot be further divided are held by the individual heads of extended families and their descendants or their descendants alone if they have recently died.

This is a matter of vital importance because a problem of economic development is identifying the membership of customary landowning groups and the owners. Disputes between mining and forestry companies and landowner groups often devolve on the issue of whether the companies entered into contractual relations for the use of land with the true owners. Customary property—usually land—cannot be devised by will. It can only be inherited according to the custom of the deceased's people. The Lands Act was amended in 2010 along with the Land Group Incorporation Act, intended to improve the management of state land, mechanisms for dispute resolution over land, and to enable customary landowners to be better able to access finance and possible partnerships over portions of their land if they seek to develop it for urban or rural economic activities. The Land Group Incorporation Act requires more specific identification of the customary landowners than hitherto and their more specific authorisation before any land arrangements are determined; (a major issue in recent years has been a land grab, using, or rather misusing, the Lease-Leaseback provision under the Land Act, notably using 'Special Agricultural and Business Leases' (SABLs) to acquire vast tracts of customary land, purportedly for agricultural projects, but in almost all cases as a back-door mechanism for securing tropical forest resources for logging—circumventing the more exacting requirements of the Forest Act, for securing Timber Permits (which must comply with sustainability requirements and be competitively secured, and with the customary landowners' approval). Following a national outcry, these SABLs have been subject to a Commission of Inquiry, established in mid-2011, for which the report is still awaited for initial presentation to the Prime Minister and Parliament.

Gold discovery

Traces of gold were first found in 1852, in pottery from Redscar Bay on the Papuan Peninsula.

Science and technology

Papua New Guinea's National Vision 2050 was adopted in 2009. This has led to the establishment of the Research, Science and Technology Council. At its gathering in November 2014, the Council re-emphasised the need to focus on sustainable development through science and technology.

Vision 2050's medium-term priorities are:

• emerging industrial technology for downstream processing;
• infrastructure technology for the economic corridors;
• knowledge-based technology;
• science and engineering education; and
• to reach the target of investing 5% of GDP in research and development by 2050. (Papua New Guinea invested 0.03% of GDP in research and development in 2016.)

In 2016, women accounted for 33.2% of researchers in Papua New Guinea.

According to Thomson Reuters' Web of Science, Papua New Guinea had the largest number of publications (110) among Pacific Island states in 2014, followed by Fiji (106). Nine out of ten scientific publications from Papua New Guinea focused on immunology, genetics, biotechnology and microbiology. Nine out of ten were also co-authored by scientists from other countries, mainly Australia, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Spain and Switzerland. In 2019, Papua New Guinea took second place among Pacific Island states with 253 publications, behind Fiji with 303 publications, in the Scopus (Elsevier) database of scientific publications. Health sciences accounted for 49% of these publications. Papua New Guinea's top scientific collaborators from 2017 to 2019 were Australia, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, France and India.

Forestry is an important economic resource for Papua New Guinea, but the industry uses low and semi-intensive technological inputs. As a result, product ranges are limited to sawed timber, veneer, plywood, block board, moulding, poles and posts and wood chips. Only a few limited finished products are exported. Lack of automated machinery, coupled with inadequately trained local technical personnel, are some of the obstacles to introducing automated machinery and design.

Renewable energy sources represent two-thirds of the total electricity supply. In 2015, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community observed that, 'while Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Samoa are leading the way with large-scale hydropower projects, there is enormous potential to expand the deployment of other renewable energy options such as solar, wind, geothermal and ocean-based energy sources'. The European Union funded the Renewable Energy in Pacific Island Countries Developing Skills and Capacity programme (EPIC) over 2013 to 2017. The programme developed a master's programme in renewable energy management, accredited in 2016, at the University of Papua New Guinea and helped to establish a Centre of Renewable Energy at the same university.

Papua New Guinea is one of the 15 beneficiaries of a programme on Adapting to Climate Change and Sustainable Energy worth €37.26 million. The programme resulted from the signing of an agreement in February 2014 between the European Union and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. The other beneficiaries are the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Transport

The country's mountainous terrain impedes transport. Aeroplanes opened up the country during its colonial period and continue to be used for most travel and most high-density/value freight. The capital, Port Moresby, has no road links to any of PNG's other major towns. Similarly, many remote villages are reachable only by light aircraft or on foot.

Jacksons International Airport is the major international airport in Papua New Guinea, located 8 kilometres (5 mi) from Port Moresby. In addition to two international airfields, Papua New Guinea has 578 airstrips, most of which are unpaved. The national airline is Air Niugini, operating out of Jacksons International.

Demographics

Papua New Guinea is one of the most heterogeneous nations in the world with an estimated 8.95 million inhabitants as of 2020. There are hundreds of ethnic groups indigenous to Papua New Guinea, the majority being from the group known as Papuans, whose ancestors arrived in the New Guinea region tens of thousands of years ago. The other indigenous peoples are Austronesians, their ancestors having arrived in the region less than four thousand years ago.

There are also numerous people from other parts of the world now resident, including Chinese, Europeans, Australians, Indonesians, Filipinos, Polynesians, and Micronesians (the last four belonging to the Austronesian family). Around 50,000 expatriates, mostly from Australia and China, were living in Papua New Guinea in 1975, but most of these had moved by the 21st century. Data from the World Bank indicates that about 0.3% of the Papua New Guinean population is made up of international migrants as of 2015.

With the National Census deferred during 2020/2021, ostensibly on the grounds of the COVID-19 pandemic, an interim assessment was conducted using satellite imagery. In December 2022, a report by the UN, based upon a survey conducted with the University of Southampton using satellite imagery and ground-truthing, suggested a new population estimate of 17 million, nearly double the country's official estimate.

Urbanisation

According to the CIA World Factbook (2018), Papua New Guinea has the second lowest urban population percentage in the world, with 13.2%, only behind Burundi. The geography and economy of Papua New Guinea are the main factors behind the low percentage. Papua New Guinea has an urbanisation rate of 2.51%, measured as the projected change in urban population from 2015 to 2020.

Largest cities and towns in Papua New Guinea www.geonames.org/PG/largest-cities-in-papua-new-guinea.html
	Rank	Name	Province	Pop.
Port Moresby Lae	1	Port Moresby	National capital district	513,918
	2	Lae	Morobe	110,911
	3	Mount Hagen	Western Highlands	47,064
	4	Kokopo	East New Britain	40,231
	5	Popondetta	Oro Province (Northern province)	28,198
	6	Madang	Madang	27,419
	7	Arawa	Bougainville	33,623
	8	Mendi	Southern Highlands	26,252
	9	Kimbe	West New Britain	18,847
	10	Goroka	Eastern Highlands	18,503

Immigration

Chinese

Numerous Chinese have worked and lived in Papua New Guinea, establishing Chinese-majority communities. Anti-Chinese rioting involving tens of thousands of people broke out in May 2009. The initial spark was a fight between ethnic Chinese and indigenous workers at a nickel factory under construction by a Chinese company. Native resentment against Chinese ownership of numerous small businesses and their commercial monopoly in the islands led to the rioting.

African

There is an existing collaboration between Papua New Guinea and African countries. Papua New Guinea is part of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) forum. There is a thriving community of Africans who live and work in the country.

Languages

Papua New Guinea has more languages than any other country, with over 820 indigenous languages, representing 12% of the world's total, but most have fewer than 1,000 speakers. With an average of only 7,000 speakers per language, Papua New Guinea has a greater density of languages than any other nation on earth except Vanuatu. The most widely spoken indigenous language is Enga, with about 200,000 speakers, followed by Melpa and Huli. Indigenous languages are classified into two large groups, Austronesian languages and non-Austronesian, or Papuan, languages. There are four languages in Papua New Guinea with some statutory recognition: English, Tok Pisin, Hiri Motu, and, since 2015, sign language (which in practice means Papua New Guinean Sign Language).

English is the language of government and the education system, but it is not spoken widely. The primary lingua franca of the country is Tok Pisin (commonly known in English as New Guinean Pidgin or Melanesian Pidgin), in which much of the debate in Parliament is conducted, many information campaigns and advertisements are presented, and a national weekly newspaper, Wantok, is published. The only area where Tok Pisin is not prevalent is the southern region of Papua, where people often use the third official language, Hiri Motu. Although it lies in the Papua region, Port Moresby has a highly diverse population that primarily uses Tok Pisin, and to a lesser extent English, with Motu spoken as the indigenous language in outlying villages.

Religion

Citizen population in Papua New Guinea by religion, based on the 2011 census

The government and judiciary uphold the constitutional right to freedom of speech, thought, and belief, and no legislation to curb those rights has been adopted. The 2011 census found that 95.6% of citizens identified themselves as Christian, 1.4% were not Christian, and 3.1% gave no answer. Virtually no respondent identified as being non-religious. Religious syncretism is high, with many citizens combining their Christian faith with some traditional indigenous religious practices. Most Christians in Papua New Guinea are Protestants, constituting roughly 70% of the total population. They are mostly represented by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, diverse Pentecostal denominations, the United Church in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, the Evangelical Alliance Papua New Guinea, and the Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea. Apart from Protestants, there is a notable Roman Catholic minority with approximately 25% of the population.

There are approximately 5,000 Muslims in the country. The majority belong to the Sunni group. Non-traditional Christian churches and non-Christian religious groups are active throughout the country. The Papua New Guinea Council of Churches has stated that both Muslim and Confucian missionaries are highly active. Traditional religions are often animist. Some also tend to have elements of veneration of the dead, though generalisation is suspect given the extreme heterogeneity of Melanesian societies. Prevalent among traditional tribes is the belief in masalai, or evil spirits, which are blamed for "poisoning" people, causing calamity and death, and the practice of puripuri (sorcery).

The first Bahá'í in PNG was Violete Hoenke who arrived at Admiralty Island, from Australia, in 1954. The PNG Bahá'í community grew so quickly that in 1969 a National Spiritual Assembly (administrative council) was elected. As of 2020 there are over 30,000 members of the Bahá'í Faith in PNG. In 2012 the decision was made to erect the first Bahá'í House of Worship in PNG. Its design is that of a woven basket, a common feature of all groups and cultures in PNG. It is, therefore, hoped to be a symbol for the entire country. Its nine entrances are inspired by the design of Haus Tambaran (Spirit House). Construction began in Port Moresby in 2018.

Education

A large proportion of the population is illiterate, with women predominating in this area. Much of the education in PNG is provided by church institutions. This includes 500 schools of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea has six universities as well as other tertiary institutions. The two founding universities are the University of Papua New Guinea, based in the National Capital District, and the Papua New Guinea University of Technology, based outside of Lae, in Morobe Province.

The four other universities were once colleges but have since been recognised by the government. These are the University of Goroka in the Eastern Highlands province, Divine Word University (run by the Catholic Church's Divine Word Missionaries) in Madang Province, Vudal University in East New Britain Province, and Pacific Adventist University (run by the Seventh-day Adventist Church) in the National Capital District.

The Human Rights Measurement Initiative reports that Papua New Guinea is achieving 68.5% of what should be possible for the right to education, based on their level of income.

Health

As of 2019, life expectancy in Papua New Guinea at birth was 63 years for men and 67 for women. Government expenditure health in 2014 accounted for 9.5% of total government spending, with total health expenditure equating to 4.3% of GDP. There were five physicians per 100,000 people in the early 2000s. The 2010 maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births for Papua New Guinea was 250. This is compared with 311.9 in 2008 and 476.3 in 1990. The under-5 mortality rate, per 1,000 births is 69 and the neonatal mortality as a percentage of under-5s' mortality is 37. In Papua New Guinea, the number of midwives per 1,000 live births is 1 and the lifetime risk of death for pregnant women is 1 in 94.

The Human Rights Measurement Initiative finds that Papua New Guinea is achieving 71.9% of what should be possible for the right to health, based on their level of income.

Culture

It is estimated that more than one thousand cultural groups exist in Papua New Guinea. Because of this diversity, many styles of cultural expression have emerged. Each group has created its own expressive forms in art, dance, weaponry, costumes, singing, music, architecture and much more. Most of these cultural groups have their own language. People typically live in villages that rely on subsistence farming. In some areas people hunt and collect wild plants (such as yam roots and karuka) to supplement their diets. Those who become skilled at hunting, farming and fishing earn a great deal of respect.

Seashells are no longer the currency of Papua New Guinea, as they were in some regions—sea shells were abolished as currency in 1933. This tradition is still present in local customs. In some cultures, to get a bride, a groom must bring a certain number of golden-edged clam shells as a bride price. In other regions, the bride price is paid in lengths of shell money, pigs, cassowaries or cash. Elsewhere, it is brides who traditionally pay a dowry.

People of the highlands engage in colourful local rituals that are called "sing sings." They paint themselves and dress up with feathers, pearls and animal skins to represent birds, trees or mountain spirits. Sometimes an important event, such as a legendary battle, is enacted at such a musical festival.

The country possesses one UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Kuk Early Agricultural Site, which was inscribed in 2008. The country, however, has no elements inscribed yet in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists, despite having one of the widest arrays of intangible cultural heritage elements in the world.

Media

Sport

Sport is an important part of Papua New Guinean culture, and rugby league is by far the most popular sport. In a nation where communities are far apart and many people live at a minimal subsistence level, rugby league has been described as a replacement for tribal warfare as a way of explaining the local enthusiasm for the game. Many Papua New Guineans have become celebrities by representing their country or playing in an overseas professional league. Even Australian rugby league players who have played in the annual State of Origin series, which is celebrated every year in PNG, are among the most well-known people throughout the nation. State of Origin is a highlight of the year for most Papua New Guineans, although the support is so passionate that many people have died over the years in violent clashes supporting their team. The Papua New Guinea national rugby league team usually plays against the Australian Prime Minister's XIII (a selection of NRL players) each year, normally in Port Moresby.

Although not as popular, Australian rules football is significant in another way, as the national team is ranked second, only after Australia. Other major sports that have a part in the Papua New Guinea sporting landscape are netball, association football, rugby union, basketball and, in eastern Papua, cricket.

See also

• Economy of Papua New Guinea
• Outline of Papua New Guinea
• Western New Guinea

Notes

1. abbreviated PNG; /ˈpæp(j)uə ... ˈɡɪni, ˈpɑː-/ , also US: /ˈpɑːpwə-, ˈpɑːp(j)ə-/
2. Tok Pisin: Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; Hiri Motu: Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini
3. The Constitution of Papua New Guinea sets out the names of the 19 provinces at the time of Independence. Several provinces have changed their names; such changes are not strictly speaking official without a formal constitutional amendment, though "Oro," for example, is universally used in reference to that province.
4. There is no specific legislation proclaiming official languages in Papua New Guinea. In the constitution of Papua New Guinea, section 2(11) (literacy) of its preamble mentions '...all persons and governmental bodies to endeavour to achieve universal literacy in Pisin, Hiri Motu or English' as well as "tok ples" and "ita eda tano gado." In addition, section 67 (2)(c) mentions "speak and understand Pisin or Hiri Motu, or a vernacular of the country, sufficiently for normal conversational purposes" as a requirement for citizenship by nationalisation; this is again mentioned in section 68(2)(h).

References

1. Somare, Michael (6 December 2004). "Stable Government, Investment Initiatives, and Economic Growth". Keynote address to the 8th Papua New Guinea Mining and Petroleum Conference. Archived from the original on 28 June 2006. Retrieved 9 August 2007.
2. "Never more to rise". The National. 6 February 2006. Archived from the original on 13 July 2007. Retrieved 19 January 2005.
3. ^ "Papua New Guinea". The World Factbook. Langley, Virginia: Central Intelligence Agency. 2012. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
4. "Sign language becomes an official language in PNG". Radio New Zealand. 21 May 2015. Archived from the original on 28 May 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
5. ^ Papua New Guinea Archived 3 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Ethnologue
6. ^ Koloma. Kele, Roko. Hajily. "Papua New Guinea 2011 National Report-National Statistical Office". sdd.spc.int. Archived from the original on 12 August 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
7. "Population | National Statistical Office | Papua New Guinea". Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
8. "2011 National Population and Housing Census of Papua New Guinea – Final Figures". National Statistical Office of Papua New Guinea. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
9. ^ "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (PG)". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2023. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
10. "GINI index (World Bank estimate)". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Archived from the original on 7 April 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
11. "HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2023-24" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. pp. 274–277. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 May 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
12. Jones, Daniel (2003) , Peter Roach; James Hartmann; Jane Setter (eds.), English Pronouncing Dictionary, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-3-12-539683-8
13. "Constitution of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
14. ^ "Island Countries of the World". WorldAtlas.com. Archived from the original on 7 December 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
15. "Urban population (% of total population) – Papua New Guinea". data.worldbank.org. Archived from the original on 20 July 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
16. James, Paul; Nadarajah, Yaso; Haive, Karen; Stead, Victoria (2012). Sustainable Communities, Sustainable Development: Other Paths for Papua New Guinea. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press. Archived from the original on 9 August 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
17. https://www.nso.gov.pg/
18. ^ Lagan, Bernard (5 December 2022). "Papua New Guinea finds real population is almost double official estimates". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
19. Fildes, Nic (5 December 2022). "Papua New Guinea's population size puzzles prime minister and experts". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
20. Gelineau, Kristen (26 March 2009). "Spiders and frogs identified among 50 new species". The Independent. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2009.
21. World Economic Outlook Database, October 2015 Archived 1 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine, International Monetary Fund Archived 14 February 2006 at Archive-It. Database updated on 6 October 2015. Accessed on 6 October 2015.
22. World Bank. 2010. World Development Indicators. Washington DC.
23. "Constitution of Independent State of Papua New Guinea (consol. to amendment #22)". Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute. Archived from the original on 26 August 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2005.
24. "Papua New Guinea keen to join ASEAN". The Brunei Times. 7 March 2016. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016.
25. "Profile: The Commonwealth". 1 February 2012. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2018 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
26. "About Us – Forum Sec". Archived from the original on 29 December 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
27. Pickell, David & Müller, Kal (2002). Between the Tides: A Fascinating Journey among the Kamoro of New Guinea. Tuttle Publishing. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-7946-0072-3. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
28. Galvão, António (1862). The discoveries of the world, from their first original unto the year of Our Lord 1555, London: Printed for the Hakluyt society, p. 203.
29. O'Connell, J. F.; Allen, J. (2007). "Pre-LGM Sahul (Australia-New Guinea) and the archaeology of early modern humans" (PDF). Rethinking the Human Revolution: New Behavioural and Biological Perspectives on the Origin and Dispersal of Modern Humans: 395–410.
30. Klein, Christopher (23 September 2016). "DNA Study Finds Aboriginal Australians World's Oldest Civilization". History. Archived from the original on 26 June 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022. Updated Aug 22, 2018
31. Carl Zimmer (22 December 2010). "Denisovans Were Neanderthals' Cousins, DNA Analysis Reveals". NYTimes.com. Archived from the original on 1 January 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
32. Diamond, J. (March 1997). Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-03891-2.
33. Swadling, p. 282
34. Knauft, Bruce M. (1999) From Primitive to Postcolonial in Melanesia and Anthropology Archived 7 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine. University of Michigan Press. p. 103. ISBN 0-472-06687-0
35. "Cannibalism Normal For Early Humans? Archived 30 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine." National Geographic News. 10 April 2003.
36. Goldman, Laurence (1999).The Anthropology of Cannibalism. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 19. ISBN 0-89789-596-7
37. Torgovnick, Marianna (1991). Gone Primitive: Savage Intellects, Modern Lives, University of Chicago Press. p. 258 ISBN 0-226-80832-7
38. Swadling: "Such trade links and the nominal claim of the Sultan of Ceram over New Guinea constituted the legal basis for the Netherlands' claim over West New Guinea and ultimately that of Indonesia over what is now West Papua."
39. "The colonial period". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
40. Fenton, Damien. "How many died? (QnA)". Archived from the original on 5 July 2009. Retrieved 9 August 2012.. Australian War Memorial.
41. "The Legislative Council & the creation of the state of PNG - Keith Jackson & Friends: PNG ATTITUDE". Archived from the original on 2 March 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
42. May, Ronald (2004). "13. The Bougainville Crisis". State and society in Papua New Guinea: the first twenty-five years. Melbourne. ISBN 9781863332040. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
43. Dorney, Sean (19 February 2016). "Australia's ignorance about Papua New Guinea is a loss for both nations". The Guardian.
44. "Timeline of key events: Papua New Guinea's road to independence". ABC News. 15 September 2015. Archived from the original on 2 March 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
45. "New report doubles death toll on Bougainville to 20,000 Archived 21 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine." Radio Australia. 19 March 2012.
46. Lyons, Kate (11 December 2019). "Bougainville referendum: region votes overwhelmingly for independence from Papua New Guinea". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
47. Harriman, Bethanie (5 January 2023). "Airlines grounded across Papua New Guinea due to fuel shortage". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 15 February 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
48. "Major earthquake strikes Papua New Guinea". CBC News. Archived from the original on 26 February 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
49. "State of Emergency declared as PNG earthquake toll rises to 31". SBS News. Sydney, NSW. 1 March 2018. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
50. ^ "Agreement between Australia and Indonesia concerning Certain Boundaries between Papua New Guinea and Indonesia (1974) ATS 26". www3.austlii.edu.au. Austraasian Legal Information Institute, Australian Treaties Library. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
51. ^ Van der Veur, Paul W. (2012) . Documents and Correspondence on New Guinea's Boundaries. Springer Science & Business Media. §§ A1, D1–D5. ISBN 9789401537063. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
52. "Treaty between Australia and the Independent State of Papua New Guinea concerning Sovereignty and Maritime Boundaries in the area between the two Countries, including the area known as Torres Strait, and Related Matters [1985] ATS 4". www3.austlii.edu.au. Australasian Legal Information Institute, Australian Treaties Library. Archived from the original on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
53. "Earthquake leaves 3,000 homeless". smh.com.au. 10 September 2002. Archived from the original on 21 September 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
54. Ainge Roy, Eleanor (5 April 2018). "Papua New Guinea earthquake: UN pulls out aid workers from violence-hit region". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
55. Ainge Roy, Eleanor (8 March 2018). "Papua New Guinea earthquake: anger grows among 'forgotten victims'". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
56. "Volunteers lead desperate bid to reach Papua New Guinea quake victims". Agence France-Presse. CNA. 13 September 2022. Archived from the original on 13 September 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
57. ^ "Papua New Guinea – Climate". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
58. Cámara-Leret; Frodin; Adema (2020). "New Guinea has the world's richest island flora". Nature. 584 (7822): 579–583. Bibcode:2020Natur.584..579C. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2549-5. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 32760001. S2CID 220980697. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
59. Australian Geographic (July 2014). "New and rare species found in remote PNG". Archived from the original on 10 November 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
60. "Satellite images uncover rapid PNG deforestation Archived 29 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine." ABC News. 2 June 2008.
61. Grantham, H. S.; et al. (2020). "Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity – Supplementary Material". Nature Communications. 11 (1): 5978. Bibcode:2020NatCo..11.5978G. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 7723057. PMID 33293507.
62. Lyons, Kate (30 May 2019). "Papua New Guinea MPs elect James Marape to be next prime minister". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
63. "Davis Steven named Deputy PM". PNG Report. 9 June 2019. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
64. "James Marape returned as PNG's prime minister after tense election". ABC News. 9 August 2022. Archived from the original on 23 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
65. "Highlights of General Election 2022". the National. 30 December 2022. Archived from the original on 30 December 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
66. Kolo, Pearson (15 July 2009). "Jiwaka, Hela set to go!". Postcourier.com.pg. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
67. "Hela, Jiwaka declared". The National (Papua New Guinea). 17 May 2012. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
68. LNG
69. Gorethy, Kenneth (5 August 2019). "B'ville Referendum Dates Changed". Papua New Guinea Post-Courier. Archived from the original on 4 August 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
70. "Bougainville referendum not binding – PM". Radio New Zealand. 11 March 2019. Archived from the original on 14 March 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
71. Westbrook, Tom (1 March 2019). "Bougainville independence vote delayed to October". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2 March 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
72. "Bougainville referendum: PNG region votes overwhelmingly for independence". BBC News. 11 December 2019. Archived from the original on 12 December 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
73. 50 Years of Singapore and the United Nations. World Scientific. 2015. ISBN 978-981-4713-03-0..
74. Namorong, Martyn (3 March 2017). "Can the next #PNG Government do better on West Papua?". Medium. Archived from the original on 17 May 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
75. Doherty, Ben; Lamb, Kate (30 September 2017). "West Papua independence petition is rebuffed at UN". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 30 September 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
76. Gawler, Virginia (19 August 2005). "Report claims secret genocide in Indonesia". University of Sydney. Archived from the original on 2 June 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
77. "Goodbye Indonesia". Al-Jazeera. 31 January 2013. Archived from the original on 30 July 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
78. Mench, Paul (1975). The Role of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force. Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-909150-10-5. Archived from the original on 7 April 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
79. Papua New Guinea Constitution Schedule 2.2.2
80. Davidson, Helen (5 July 2013). "Médecins Sans Frontières opens Papua New Guinea clinic for abuse victims". Guardian News and Media Limited. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
81. Davidson, Helen (19 July 2013). "Papua New Guinea: a country suffering spiralling violence". Guardian News and Media Limited. Archived from the original on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
82. Jewkes, Rachel; Fulu, Emma; Roselli, Tim; Garcia-Moreno, Claudia (2013). "Prevalence of and factors associated with non-partner rape perpetration: findings from the UN Multi-country Cross-sectional Study on Men and Violence in Asia and the Pacific". The Lancet. 323 (4): e208-18. doi:10.1016/S2214-109X(13)70069-X. PMID 25104346.
83. Niles, Chris (18 August 2008). "UNICEF strives to help Papua New Guinea break cycle of violence". New York City: UNICEF. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
84. Wiseman H (August 2013). "Stop Violence Against Women and Children in Papua New Guinea" (PDF). ChildFund. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 August 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
85. "No. 45 of 2015 Lukautim Pikinini Act 2015" (PDF). National Parliament of Papua New Guinea. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
86. "Survivors have legal rights: Family Protection Act". Loop PNG. 14 May 2020. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
87. "PNG repeals sorcery law and expands death penalty". BBC News. 29 May 2013. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
88. Oakford, Samuel (6 January 2015). "Papua New Guinea's 'Sorcery Refugees': Women Accused of Witchcraft Flee Homes to Escape Violence". Vice News. Archived from the original on 20 March 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
89. Kuku, Rebecca (14 November 2020). "'They just slaughter them': how sorcery violence spreads fear across Papua New Guinea". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 July 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
90. ""The state of gay rights around the world". The Washington Post. 14 June 2016. Archived from the original on 28 November 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
91. "Heavily armed highlands". ABC. Archived from the original on 2 March 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
92. "Tribal fighting over PNG election leaves dozens dead and villages deserted". ABC. Archived from the original on 27 February 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
93. . ABC. Retrieved 1 March 2023. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
94. "Papua New Guinea". HRMI Rights Tracker. Archived from the original on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
95. Clifford, William; Morauta, Louise; Stuart, Barry (September 1984). Law and Order in Papua New Guinea. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea: Institute of National Affairs. ISBN 9980770023. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
96. "RPNGC Administrative Review" (PDF). Government of Papua New Guinea and the Institute of National Affairs. September 2004. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
97. Fox, Liam (18 July 2011). "PNG top cop says no to bribe police". ABC News (Australia). Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
98. ^ "One year in – why so quiet?". Facebook. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
99. ^ Doherty, Ben (18 September 2020). "Papua New Guinea police accused of gun running and drug smuggling by own Minister". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
100. "Gold production". Our World in Data. Archived from the original on 29 November 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
101. Matzke, R.H., Smith, J.G., and Foo, W.K., 1992, Iagifu/Hedinia Field, In Giant Oil and Gas Fields of the Decade, 1978–1988, AAPG Memoir 54, Halbouty, M.T., editor, Tulsa: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, ISBN 0-89181-333-0
102. "Data". International Monetary Fund. Archived from the original on 13 October 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
103. ^ "Papua New Guinea". ExxonMobil. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
104. "Voters in Papua New Guinea head to the polls". The Economist. 29 June 2017. Archived from the original on 30 June 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
105. "Project Overview". pnglng.com. Archived from the original on 6 April 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
106. James, P.; Nadarajah, Y.; Haive, K. and Stead, V. (2012) Sustainable Communities, Sustainable Development: Other Paths for Papua New Guinea Archived 12 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press.
107. Archived 17 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine Institute of National Affairs (2013)
108. Archived 31 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine Institute of National Affairs (2018).
109. Armitage, Lynne. "Customary Land Tenure in Papua New Guinea: Status and Prospects". Queensland University of Technology. Archived from the original on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2005.
110. HBW International Inc. (10 September 2003). "Facilitating Foreign Investment through Property Lease Options" (PDF). p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 September 2007. Retrieved 28 August 2007.
111. Exploration for gold / Papua New Guinea: forty years of independence, State Library of NSW, Australia, 16 December 2019, archived from the original on 20 June 2022, retrieved 16 June 2022, For thousands of years, the indigenous people of Papua New Guinea have mined and traded stone implements and ochre, and used clay to make pottery. Gold was first discovered in Papua New Guinea in 1852 as accidental traces in pottery from Redscar Bay on the Papuan Peninsula. The NSW library's article further references the following primary sources (publications): * Drew, Philip, Leaves of Iron Glen Murcutt: pioneer of Australian Architectural Form, Harper Collins, Sydney 1985 * Nelson, Hank, Taim Bilong Masta, The Australian involvement in Papua New Guinea, Australian Broadcasting Commission, Sydney 1982 * Levien, Cecil John (1874–1932), Australian Dictionary of Biography.
112. ^ UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030 (PDF). Paris: UNESCO. 2015. pp. 693–731. ISBN 978-92-3-100129-1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 June 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
113. ^ Scott-Kemmis; Intarakumnerd; Rasiah; Amaradasa (11 June 2021). Schneegans, S.; Straza, T.; Lewis, J. (eds.). Southeast Asia and Oceania. In UNESCO Science Report: the Race Against Time for Smarter Development. Paris: UNESCO. pp. 674–715. ISBN 978-92-3-100450-6. Archived from the original on 16 September 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
114. "Pacific-first centre of excellence for renewable energy and energy efficiency takes shape". Secretariat of Pacific Community press release. 18 June 2015. Archived from the original on 18 March 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
115. "Our History". airniugini.com.pg. 24 April 2015. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
116. "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
117. "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
118. James Fearon (2003). "Ethnic and Cultural Diversity by Country" (PDF). Journal of Economic Growth. 8 (2): 195–222. doi:10.1023/A:1024419522867. S2CID 152680631. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
119. "Total Population-Both Sexes (XLSX, 2.4 MB)". Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Archived from the original on 4 June 2020.
120. "Chinese targeted in PNG riots – report Archived 7 September 2012 at archive.today." News.com.au. 15 May 2009.
121. "Papua New Guinea | Culture, History, & People | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 24 March 2024. Archived from the original on 4 October 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
122. "International migrant stock (% of population) – Papua New Guinea". worldbank.org. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
123. "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". Archived from the original on 22 January 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
124. Callick, Rowan (23 May 2009). "Looters shot dead amid chaos of Papua New Guinea's anti-Chinese riots". The Australian. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
125. "Overseas and under siege" Archived 25 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine, The Economist, 11 August 2009
126. "Leaders of African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries to meet in Papua New Guinea for pivotal summit this month | ACP". www.acp.int. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
127. Seetharaman, G. (13 August 2017). "Seven decades after Independence, many small languages in India face extinction threat". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
128. Translations, Pangeanic. "The country with the highest level of language diversity: Papua New Guinea – Pangeanic Translations". Pangeanic.com. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
129. Fèlix Marti; Paul Ortega; Itziar Idiazabal; Andoni Barrenha; Patxi Juaristi; Carme Junyent; Belen Uranga; Estibaliz Amorrortu (2005). Words and worlds: world languages review. Multilingual Matters. p. 76. ISBN 1853598275. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
130. "Languages on Papua vanish without a whisper". 21 July 2011. Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). AFP via dawn.com (21 July 2011)
131. "Papua New Guinea". International Religious Freedom Report 2003. US Department of State. Archived from the original on 1 September 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
132. "Papua New Guinea". U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
133. "Islam in Papua New Guinea" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 December 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
134. Salak, Kira (2004). Four Corners: A Journey into the Heart of Papua New Guinea. National Geographic Society. ISBN 978-0-7922-7417-9.
135. puripuri Archived 1 May 2005 at the Wayback Machine. coombs.anu.edu.au (26 January 2005)
136. ^ "Papua New Guinea HDI Rank – 145". 2007/2008 Human Development Report, Hdrstats.undp.org. Archived from the original on 29 April 2009. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
137. "Kichte-in-not.de". Kirche-in-not.de. 6 March 2009. Archived from the original on 20 November 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
138. "Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Papua-Neuguinea". NMZ-mission.de. Archived from the original on 31 December 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
139. Vahau, Alfred (5 January 2007). "University of Papua New Guinea". Upng.ac.pg. Archived from the original on 5 January 2009. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
140. "Papua New Guinea". HRMI Rights Tracker. Archived from the original on 13 May 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
141. ^ "Papua New Guinea". WHO. Archived from the original on 18 October 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
142. "Human Development Report 2009". Archived from the original on 29 April 2009. Retrieved 19 February 2010.
143. "The State of the World's Midwifery – Papua New Guinea" (PDF). United Nations Population Fund. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 October 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
144. "Papua New Guinea – HRMI Rights Tracker". rightstracker.org. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
145. "Papua New Guinea – culture". Datec Pty Ltd. Archived from the original on 10 February 1999. Retrieved 16 December 2005.
146. Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Kuk Early Agricultural Site". whc.unesco.org. Archived from the original on 24 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
147. "Papua New Guinea – intangible heritage – Culture Sector – UNESCO". ich.unesco.org. Archived from the original on 3 July 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
148. Hadfield, Dave (8 October 1995). "Island gods high in a dream world". The Independent. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
149. "Three dead in PNG after State of Origin violence". BrisbaneTimes.com.au. 26 June 2009. Archived from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2010.

Sources

 This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC BY-SA IGO 3.0. Text taken from UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030​, 535–555, UNESCO, UNESCO Publishing.

Further reading

• Biskup, Peter, B. Jinks and H. Nelson. A Short History of New Guinea (1970)
• Connell, John. Papua New Guinea: The Struggle for Development (1997) online Archived 8 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine
• Dorney, Sean. Papua New Guinea: People, Politics and History since 1975 (1990)
• Dorney, Sean. The Sandline Affair: Politics and Mercenaries and the Bougainville Crisis (1998)
• Dorney, Sean. The Embarrassed Colonialist (2016)
• Gash, Noel. A Pictorial History of New Guinea (1975)
• Golson, Jack. 50,000 years of New Guinea history (1966)
• Griffin, James. Papua New Guinea: A political history (1979)
• James, Paul; Nadarajah, Yaso; Haive, Karen; Stead, Victoria (2012). Sustainable Communities, Sustainable Development: Other Paths for Papua New Guinea. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. Archived from the original on 9 August 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
• Institute of National Affairs. PNG at 40 Symposium: Learning from the Past and Engaging with the Future (2015)
• Knauft, Bruce M. South Coast New Guinea Cultures: History, Comparison, Dialectic (1993) excerpt and text search Archived 30 October 2021 at the Wayback Machine
• McCosker, Anne. Masked Eden: A History of the Australians in New Guinea (1998)
• Mckinnon, Rowan, et al. Papua New Guinea & Solomon Islands (Country Travel Guide) (2008) excerpt and text search Archived 26 April 2020 at the Wayback Machine
• Rynkiewich, Michael and Roland Seib eds. Politics in Papua New Guinea. Continuities, Changes and Challenges (2000)
• Swadling, Pamela (1996). Plumes from Paradise. Papua New Guinea National Museum. ISBN 978-9980-85-103-1.
• Waiko. John. Short History of Papua New Guinea (1993)
• Waiko, John Dademo. Papua New Guinea: A History of Our Times (2003)
• Zimmer-Tamakoshi, Laura. Modern Papua New Guinea (1998) online Archived 8 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine

Primary sources

• Jinks, Brian, ed. Readings in New Guinea history (1973)
• Tim Flannery Throwim' Way Leg: Tree-Kangaroos, Possums, and Penis Gourds (2000) memoir excerpt and text search Archived 13 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
• Malinowski, Bronislaw. Argonauts of the Western Pacific: An Account of Native Enterprise and Adventure in the Archipelagoes of Melanesian New Guinea (2002) famous anthropological account of the Trobriand Islanders; based on fieldwork in the 1910s online Archived 8 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine
• Visser, Leontine, ed. Governing New Guinea: An Oral History of Papuan Administrators, 1950–1990 (2012)
• Whitaker, J.L. et al. eds. Documents and readings in New Guinea history: Pre-history to 1889 (1975)

External links

Government

• Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Archived 11 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
• National Parliament of Papua New Guinea
• National Economic & Fiscal Commission Archived 25 January 2022 at the Wayback Machine

General information

• Papua New Guinea. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.
• Papua New Guinea at UCB Libraries GovPubs (archived 7 April 2008)
• Wikimedia Atlas of Papua New Guinea
• Geographic data related to Papua New Guinea at OpenStreetMap

v t e Papua New Guinea articles
History	Headhunting Colonial governors British New Guinea German New Guinea North Solomon Islands New Guinea campaign Bougainville campaign Australian occupation Australian mandate Japanese occupation Territorial merger Bougainville history
Geography	Border Cities and towns Conservation Deforestation Earthquakes Geology Kuk Swamp Lakes Mount Wilhelm New Guinea Rivers Volcanoes Wildlife
Politics	Administrative divisions Cabinet Elections Foreign relations Governor-General Human rights Law enforcement Military Monarchy Parliament Political parties Prime Minister Supreme Court
Economy	Agriculture Central bank Kina (currency) Mining Stock exchange Telecommunications Tourism Transport
Society	Demographics Education Ethnic groups Health Homelessness Languages LGBT rights Postal service Religion Culture Anthem Cinema National emblem Flag Literature Melanesia Music Sing-sing (gathering) Sports Visual art
New Guinea portal Outline Category

v t e Islands of Papua New Guinea
Ali Brumer D'Entrecasteaux Islands Dobu Fergusson Goodenough Normanby Sanaroa Wagifa Dart Reefs Daru Goaribari Kiwai Mailu New Guinea Nuakata Nukumanu Purutu Seleo Trobriands Kiriwina Tumleo Vitu Islands Unea Wabuda Woodlark Boagis Madau Marshall Bennett Nubara Nusam Yule
Bismarck Archipelago	Admiralty Islands Baluan Big Ndrova Bipi Little Ndrova Los Negros Lou Manus Pak Pam Islands Pityilu Island Ponam Island Purdy St. Andrews Islands Rambutyo Tong Baudisson Bagabag Duke of York Islands Duke of York Island Kabakon Kerawara Makada Mioko Mualim Ulu Dyaul Feni Islands Ambitle Babase Karkar Lihir Group Lihir Island Long Manam Manne New Britain New Hanover New Ireland Patio Ritter St Matthias Islands Emirau Mussau Sakar Schouten Islands Bam Blup Blup Kadovar Mut Mut Vial Selapiu Tabar Group Simberi Tabar Tatau Tanga Islands Boang Lif Malendok Tefa Tolokiwa Tsoilaunung Umboi Western Islands Aua Hermit Islands Kaniet Islands Ninigo Islands Sae Wuvulu
Louisiade Archipelago	Bonvouloir Islands East Hastings Strathord Islands Calvados Chain Bagaman Gulewa Hemenahei Kuwanak Motorina Pana Wina Utian Conflict Group Auriroa Lunn Daloloia Group Deboyne Islands Panaeati Panapompom Duchateau Islands Dumoulin Islands Engineer Islands Misima Jomard Islands Panarairai Pana Tinani Pocklington Reef Renard Islands Rossel (Yela) Samarai Islands Basilaki Gonubalabala Kui Samarai Sideia Vanatinai Yeina
North Solomon Islands	Bougainville Buka Carteret Islands Green Islands Barahun Nissan Pinipel Sirot Takuu
New Guinea portal • Islands portal

Related articles

v t e Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Nations Australia Brunei Canada Chile China Hong Kong¹ Indonesia Japan South Korea Malaysia Mexico New Zealand Papua New Guinea Peru Philippines Russia Singapore Taiwan Thailand United States Vietnam Summits 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Other APEC Business Travel Card APEC blue APEC Climate Center APEC Sculpture Garden APEC Youth Science Festival 1. A special administrative region of China, participates as "Hong Kong, China" v t e Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Politics Charter Customs union Founding document Organisations Secretary General Treaty of Amity and Cooperation Visa policies Symbols Anthem Emblem Flag Hymn Members Membership Brunei Cambodia Indonesia Laos Malaysia Myanmar Philippines Singapore Thailand Vietnam Observers East Timor status Papua New Guinea status Events Summits ASEAN Summit 2017 East Asia Summit ASEAN–Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit ASEAN–India Commemorative Summit Others ASEAN Plus Three ASEAN Regional Forum Asia–Europe Meeting Sports SEA Games University Games School Games Para Games Football Federation Football Championship Armies Rifle Meet Economy Asian Monetary Unit Chiang Mai Initiative Comprehensive Economic Partnership for East Asia Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership ASEAN Free Trade Area ASEAN–China Free Trade Area ASEAN–India Free Trade Area ASEAN–Australia Development Cooperation Program Initiatives Centre for Biodiversity Disaster Relief Exercise Smart Cities Network Commissions Human Rights ASEAN Human Rights Declaration Rights of Women Others Common Time 'ASEAN Rise' EU relations Outstanding Scientist and Technologist Award Lists Airport Banks Cities by population GDP HDI Minimum wage Mountains Places Science Olympiad Stock exchanges Subdivisions by GDP Universities v t e Commonwealth realms and dominions Current Antigua and Barbuda (monarchy) Australia (monarchy) Bahamas (monarchy) Belize (monarchy) Canada (monarchy) Grenada (monarchy) Jamaica (monarchy) Realm of New Zealand Cook Islands New Zealand Niue Papua New Guinea (monarchy) Saint Kitts and Nevis (monarchy) Saint Lucia (monarchy) Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (monarchy) Solomon Islands (monarchy) Tuvalu (monarchy) United Kingdom (monarchy) Former Barbados (monarchy) Ceylon (monarchy) Fiji (monarchy) The Gambia (monarchy) Ghana (monarchy) Guyana (monarchy) India Ireland (monarchy) Kenya (monarchy) Malawi (monarchy) Malta (monarchy) Mauritius (monarchy) Newfoundland Nigeria (monarchy) Pakistan (monarchy) Rhodesia (monarchy) Sierra Leone (monarchy) South Africa (monarchy) Tanganyika (monarchy) Trinidad and Tobago (monarchy) Uganda (monarchy) Annexed by Canada in 1949 Rhodesia unilaterally declared independence in 1965, but this was not recognised internationally. Declared itself a republic in 1970. v t e Countries and territories of Oceania List of Oceanian countries by area List of Oceanian countries by population Sovereign states Entire Australia Fiji Kiribati Marshall Islands Micronesia Nauru New Zealand Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu In part Chile Easter Island Juan Fernández Islands Ecuador Galápagos Islands Indonesia Central Papua Highland Papua Papua South Papua Southwest Papua West Papua United States Hawaii Palmyra Atoll Associated states Cook Islands Niue Dependencies and other territories Australia Ashmore and Cartier Islands Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Coral Sea Islands Norfolk Island France Clipperton Island French Polynesia New Caledonia Wallis and Futuna New Zealand Tokelau United Kingdom Pitcairn Islands United States American Samoa Baker Island Guam Howland Island Jarvis Island Johnston Atoll Kingman Reef Midway Atoll Northern Mariana Islands Wake Island British Overseas Territories Overseas France Overseas collectivity Overseas country of France Realm of New Zealand Political status of the Cook Islands and Niue States and territories of Australia Australian Indian Ocean Territories Territories of the United States Commonwealth (U.S. insular area) Insular area United States Minor Outlying Islands v t e Countries of the Malay Archipelago Brunei East Timor Indonesia Malaysia Philippines Singapore Papua New Guinea v t e East Asia Summit (EAS) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th Australia Brunei Cambodia China India Indonesia Japan Laos Malaysia Myanmar New Zealand Philippines Russia Singapore South Korea Thailand United States Vietnam v t e Melanesia Sovereign states Fiji Papua New Guinea Solomon Islands Vanuatu Other territories Aru Islands Bougainville New Caledonia Rotuma Western New Guinea Central Papua Highland Papua Papua South Papua Southwest Papua West Papua Culture People Languages Music Mythology Universities Geography Island Melanesia New Guinea Louisiade Archipelago Bismarck Archipelago Santa Cruz Islands Loyalty Islands Lau Islands d'Entrecasteaux Islands Raja Ampat Islands Schouten Islands Torres Strait Islands Trobriand Islands Woodlark Island Organizations Melanesian Spearhead Group Melanesia 2000 Politics Political parties Sports Melanesia Cup Melanesian Super Cup Category v t e Non-Aligned Movement Members and the NAM Cyprus ‡ Egypt Ghana India Malta ‡ Sri Lanka Tanzania Yugoslavia ‡ Structure Bureau Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement Organizations Centre for South-South Technical Cooperation Centre for Science and Technology of the Non-aligned and Other Developing Countries Center for Human Rights and Cultural Diversity NAM Youth NAM News Network (News Agencies Pool) "Josip Broz Tito" Art Gallery of the Nonaligned Countries Principles Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence Summits Bandung Conference Brioni Meeting 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 16th 18th 19th Founders Josip Broz Tito (Yugoslavia) Sukarno (Indonesia) Jawaharlal Nehru (India) Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana) Gamal Abdel Nasser (Egypt) People Houari Boumediene Fidel Castro Nelson Mandela Mohamed Morsi Nicolás Maduro Sirimavo Bandaranaike ‡ denotes a former member state of the Non-Aligned Movement v t e Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Members Australia Cook Islands Fiji French Polynesia Kiribati Marshall Islands Micronesia Nauru New Zealand Niue Palau Papua New Guinea New Caledonia Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu Associate members American Samoa Guam Tokelau Wallis and Futuna Observers East Timor Northern Mariana Islands Observer Organisations ACP Secretariat Asian Development Bank Commonwealth Secretariat International Organization for Migration United Nations Secretariat Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) World Bank Dialogue partners Canada Chile China Cuba European Union France Germany India Indonesia Italy Japan Malaysia Norway Philippines Singapore South Korea Spain Thailand Turkey United Kingdom United States Development partner Taiwan Meetings 45th 51st v t e Members of the Commonwealth of Nations Sovereign states (members) Antigua and Barbuda Australia Bahamas Bangladesh Barbados Belize Botswana Brunei Cameroon Canada Cyprus Dominica Eswatini (Swaziland) Fiji Gabon Gambia Ghana Grenada Guyana India Jamaica Kenya Kiribati Lesotho Malawi Malaysia Maldives Malta Mauritius Mozambique Namibia Nauru New Zealand Nigeria Pakistan Papua New Guinea Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Solomon Islands South Africa Sri Lanka Tanzania Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tuvalu Uganda United Kingdom Vanuatu Zambia Associated states Cook Islands Niue Dependent territories Australia Ashmore and Cartier Islands Australian Antarctic Territory Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Coral Sea Islands Heard Island and McDonald Islands Norfolk Island New Zealand Ross Dependency Tokelau United Kingdom Akrotiri and Dhekelia Anguilla Bermuda British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Falkland Islands Gibraltar Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey Montserrat Pitcairn Islands Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Turks and Caicos Islands Source: Commonwealth Secretariat – Member Countries v t e World Trade Organization System Accession and membership Appellate Body Dispute Settlement Body International Trade Centre Chronology of key events Issues Criticism Doha Development Round Singapore issues Quota Elimination Peace Clause Agreements General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Agriculture Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Technical Barriers to Trade Trade-Related Investment Measures Trade in Services Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Government Procurement Information Technology Marrakesh Agreement Doha Declaration Bali Package Ministerial Conferences 1st (1996) 2nd (1998) 3rd (1999) 4th (2001) 5th (2003) 6th (2005) 7th (2009) 8th (2011) 9th (2013) 10th (2015) 11th (2017) 12th (2022) People Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Director-General) Roberto Azevêdo Pascal Lamy Supachai Panitchpakdi Alejandro Jara Rufus Yerxa Members Afghanistan Albania Algeria Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belize Benin Bolivia Botswana Brazil Brunei Burkina Faso Myanmar Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Costa Rica Ivory Coast Cuba Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Eswatini Fiji Gabon The Gambia Georgia Ghana Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Iceland India Indonesia Israel Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lesotho Liberia Liechtenstein Macau Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Moldova Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Namibia Nepal New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Macedonia Norway Oman Pakistan Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Qatar Russia Rwanda St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa Saudi Arabia Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Solomon Islands South Africa Sri Lanka Suriname Switzerland Tajikistan Taiwan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Venezuela Vietnam Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe European Union Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China, participating as "Hong Kong, China" and "Macao, China". Officially the Republic of China, participates as "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu", and "Chinese Taipei" in short. World portal

6°S 147°E / 6°S 147°E / -6; 147

• Papua New Guinea
• States and territories established in 1975
• 1975 establishments in Oceania
• 1975 establishments in Papua New Guinea
• Commonwealth realms
• Countries in Australasia
• Countries in Melanesia
• Countries in Oceania
• Countries and territories where English is an official language
• Island countries
• Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations
• Member states of the United Nations
• New Guinea
• Small Island Developing States