Papua New Guinea Government

Map showing the location of Papua New Guinea

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 maintained by the government as well as the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea. 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.

Elections in Papua New Guinea take place every five years, with the most recent taking place in June of 2017. Representatives for the national legislature are elected to the 111 seats in parliament for a five-year term. The multi-party system in the country is diverse and usually ensures that no one party can gain power alone. This phenomenon leads to the formation of governments that must work together to achieve political goals.

The National Parliament of the country 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.

In Papua New Guinea, there are a number of active parties who must form coalition governments in order to be successful. There are over 20 active parties in the country.

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 Government

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