Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a Governor-General. Prime minister : Peter O'Neill
Population
83,688,164
6,310,129
Life Expectancy
72.930 years
66.460 years
Capital City
Cairo
Port Moresby
Largest city
Cairo (population: 7,734,610)
Port Moresby (population: 283,733)
Human Development Index
0.716
0.516
GDP per capita
$6,600 US
$2,600 US
Literacy Rate
71.4%
57.3%
Corruption Perception Index
2.8
2
Percentage of Women in Parliament
3.7%
0.9%
Wealthiest Citizens
Nassef Sawiris ($3.1bn US)
NA
Unemployment Rate
12.200%
1.900%
Death Penalty
Legal
Abolished in practice
Political System
republic
constitutional parliamentary democracy
Independence date
28 February 1922 (from UK)
16 September 1975 (from the Australian-administered UN trusteeship)
Religions
Muslim (mostly Sunni) 90%, Coptic 9%, other Christian 1%
Roman Catholic 27%, 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%, Bahai 0.3%, indigenous beliefs and other 3.3% (2000 census)
Languages
Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated classes
Melanesian Pidgin serves as the lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2%, Motu spoken in Papua region note: 820 indigenous languages spoken (over one-tenth of the world's total)
Exports
crude oil and petroleum products, cotton, textiles, metal products, chemicals
Egyptian pounds (EGP) per US dollar - 5.4 (2008 est.), 5.67 (2007), 5.725 (2006), 5.78 (2005), 6.1962 (2004)
kina (PGK) per US dollar - 2.6956 (2008 est.), 3.03 (2007), 3.0643 (2006), 3.08 (2005), 3.2225 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
3.400%
1.400%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
1
0
Location
Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and the Gaza Strip, and the Red Sea north of Sudan, and includes the Asian Sinai Peninsula
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
Area
1,001,450 km sq
462,840 km sq
Coastline
2,450 km
5,152 km
Climate
desert; hot, dry summers with moderate winters
tropical; northwest monsoon (December to March), southeast monsoon (May to October); slight seasonal temperature variation
