Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a Governor-General. Prime minister : Peter O'Neill
Population
4,327,944
6,310,129
Life Expectancy
80.710 years
66.460 years
Capital City
Wellington
Port Moresby
Largest city
Auckland (population: 417,910)
Port Moresby (population: 283,733)
Human Development Index
0.944
0.516
GDP per capita
$28,000 US
$2,600 US
Literacy Rate
99%
57.3%
Corruption Perception Index
9.3
2
Percentage of Women in Parliament
33.1%
0.9%
Wealthiest Citizens
Graeme Hart ($4.5bn US)
NA
Unemployment Rate
6.500%
1.900%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished in practice
Political System
parliamentary democracy
constitutional parliamentary democracy
Independence date
26 September 1907 (from UK)
16 September 1975 (from the Australian-administered UN trusteeship)
Religions
Anglican 14.9%, Roman Catholic 12.4%, Presbyterian 10.9%, Methodist 2.9%, Pentecostal 1.7%, Baptist 1.3%, other Christian 9.4%, other 3.3%, unspecified 17.2%, none 26% (2001 census)
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
English (official), Maori (official), Sign Language (official)
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
dairy products, meat, wood and wood products, fish, machinery
