Papua New Guinea Flag

The flag of Papua New Guinea consists of a diagonally divided field, the left-hand side of the flag is black, and the right side of this flag 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. This flag was given official status on 1 July 1971, four years before full independence from Australia was granted.

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.

Before independence, the Australian administrators of the country came up with a design that consisted of three equal vertical fields in blue, yellow, and green, with the bird of paradise and the Southern Cross also included. This design was widely rejected, and the modern flag was designed through a nationwide competition, won by 15-year-old Susan Karike. This high school student created a meaningful flag that has lasted for over 45 years and counting.

Previous flags of the country include the flag of German New Guinea, the Australian-inspired flags of both the Territory of Papua and the Territory of New Guinea (which later merged to form Papua New Guinea), the Australian national flag, and a flag that was also used specifically for sporting events from 1965-1970. The various flags of Papua New Guinea throughout the country's rich history are very diverse and contain many different colour schemes.

This page was last modified on May 1st, 2018

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Published on 2019-11-06


Capital	Port Moresby
Languages	Tok Pisin (official), English (official), Hiri Motu (official), some 839 indigenous languages spoken (about 12% of the world's total); many languages have fewer than 1,000 speakers
Ethnic Groups	Melanesian, Papuan, Negrito, Micronesian, Polynesian
Religion	Roman Catholic 27%, Protestant 69.4% (Evangelical Lutheran 19.5%, United Church 11.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10%, Pentecostal 8.6%, Evangelical Alliance 5.2%, Anglican 3.2%, Baptist 2.5%, other Protestant 8.9%), Baha'i 0.3%, indigenous beliefs and other 3.3% (2000 census)
Government	Parliamentary democracy (National Parliament) under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm
Independance	16 September 1975 (from the Australian-administered UN trusteeship)
Area	462,840.00 km²
Water Area	9,980.00 km²
Land Area	452,860.00 km²
Population	6,791,317.00
Location	Oceania, group of islands including the eastern half of the island of New Guinea between the Coral Sea and the South Pacific Ocean, east of Indonesia
No. Bordering Countries	1
Bordering Countries	Indonesia 824 km
GDP(PPP)	$28,020,000,000.00 (USD)
GDP (Per Capita)	$3,500.00 (USD)
Export Partners	Its major export partners are Japan, Australia, and China.
Export Commodities	Its main exports are oil, gold, copper ore, logs, palm oil, and coffee.
Import Partners	Its major import partners are Australia, China, and Singapore.
Import Commodities	Its major imports include machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, and food.
Climate	Subtropical to temperate; substantial rainfall in the eastern portions, becoming semiarid in the far west
Terrain	Mostly mountains with coastal lowlands and rolling foothills
Learn More	Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea Flag

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