Papua New Guinea

Where is Papua New Guinea?

Located in Oceania, Papua New Guinea has a 824.00 km border with Indonesia. It has a 5,152.00 km coastline. Papua New Guinea relies on assistance from Australia in order to keep out illegal cross-border activities.

The capital city of Papua New Guinea is Port Moresby, located in the southwestern part of the country. As the name implies, the city is a port town, constructed on the Gulf of Papua. The city emerged as a major trading port of the region in the later stages of the 19th century but had been previously inhabited for thousands of years by the indigenous peoples of the country. The climate of Port Moresby is classed as a tropical savanna climate with temperatures remaining relatively consistent throughout the year. Average high temperatures will range from 28-32 degrees Celsius (82.4-89.6 degrees Fahrenheit) and the average year-round lows are around 23 degrees Celsius (73.4 degrees Fahrenheit). Port Moresby is the largest city in the South Pacific, outside of Australia and New Zealand, and approximately 310,000 people live in the area. Port Moresby experienced an annual growth rate of 2.1% over a nine-year period (2002-2011) but still remains relatively spacious in terms of population density. The most well-known attractions in the city include the National Museum and Art Gallery, the Ela Beach Craft Market, and the Port Moresby Nature Park.

Papua New Guinea is an Oceanian country covering 462,840.00 km² of which 2.16% is water and 452,860.00 km² is land. This makes it the 54th largest country in the world and slightly larger than California. Its geographic coordinates are 6 00 S, 147 00 E and Port Moresby is the capital city.

The name Papua New Guinea comes from the Malay "papuah", which was used to describe frizzy hair of Melanesian people.

Its ISO code is PG.

Geography

Papua New Guinea has a mean elevation of 667 m above sea level.

It has a subtropical to temperate climate, ranging from heavy rainfall in the eastern portions and semiarid in the far west. Its terrain is mostly mountainous with coastal lowlands and rolling foothills.

Population

Papua New Guinea has a population of 6,791,317 making it the 105th largest in the world.

Tok Pisin, English, and Hiri Motu are all official languauges; over 839 indigenous languages are also spoken. The major ethnic groups reported are Melanesian, Papuan, Negrito, and Micronesian. The majority of the country is either Roman Catholic or Protestant.

The official languages of Papua New Guina are English, Hiri Motu, sign language, and Tok. All four of these languages were adopted in 1975 after the country gained independence from Australia. The official languages of the country serve to promote communications between citizens as well as somewhat of a nationalistic unity among the population. Papua New Guinea is the most linguistically diverse country in the world with over 850 living languages, and amazingly, the nation accounts for almost an eighth of the world's total languages. Tok is spoken by roughly 12.5% of the country as a fluent language, but up to 5 million people (62.5%) use the language on a daily basis. Although English is an official language of the nation only 1-2% of the population speak it natively. Minority languages include Austronesian languages that developed as far away as Taiwan and Madagascar, Papuan languages that are also used in East Timor, Indonesia, and the Solomon Islands, as well as Unserdeutsch, which is this only creole language to develop from colonial German. The language families of Papua New Guinea are highly regionalised, for example, Austronesian languages are often spoken in the eastern part of the country.

The dialing code for the country is 675.

Government

Papua New Guinea is an independent country. It gained independence from Australian-administered UN trusteeship in 1975. Its constitution was last ratified in 1975.

Papua New Guinea's political system operates within the framework of a representative parliamentary democracy, allowing multiple parties to exist. The Prime Minister of the country is the head of the government which holds executive power. Legislative power is held by the government as well as the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea. The National Parliament of Papua New Guinea is located on Independence Drive in Port Moresby, the capital city. Close to Jacksons International Airport and the Royal Port Moresby Golf Course, the parliament is home to 111 representatives, elected every five years. The Constitution of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, enacted in 1975, safeguards fundamental human rights in the country such as freedom of association, media, religion, and speech. The nation is also an independent Commonwealth realm, meaning that their Governor General (who observes parliamentary procedure) is the representative of the Queen in Papua New Guinea.

Economy

Factoring in Purchasing Power Parity, Papua New Guinea's GDP is $28,020,000,000.00 (USD) with $3,500.00 (USD) per capita. This makes it the 134th largest economy and its citizens the 176th richest in the world. The currency of Papua New Guinea is the Kina (PGK).

Its major export partners are Japan, Australia, and China. Its main exports are oil, gold, copper ore, logs, palm oil, and coffee. Its major import partners are Australia, China, and Singapore. Its major imports include machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, and food.

Flag

The flag of Papua New Guinea consists of a diagonally divided field where the left-hand side of the field is black, and the right side of the field is coloured in red. The black, left side of the flag also consists of the Southern Cross constellation in white, and the red, right-hand side contains a yellow silhouette of a Raggiana bird-of-paradise. The red and black in this flag are representative of traditional tribal colours of the region as well as being associated with the German Empire which had colonised parts of the nation in the late 19th century. The Raggiana bird-of-paradise is also found on the national coat of arms and has been an official symbol of Papua New Guinea since 1971. The Southern Cross Constellation is seen only from the Southern Hemisphere, and it is also found on the flags on Australia and New Zealand. The modern flag was designed through a nationwide competition won by 15-year-old Susan Karike. This high school student designed a meaningful flag that has lasted for over 45 years and counting.