Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a Governor-General. Prime minister : Peter O'Neill
Population
11,689,696
6,310,129
Life Expectancy
58.440 years
66.460 years
Capital City
Port Moresby
Largest city
Kigali (population: 745,261)
Port Moresby (population: 283,733)
Human Development Index
0.435
0.516
GDP per capita
$2,600 US
Literacy Rate
70.4%
57.3%
Corruption Perception Index
3
2
Percentage of Women in Parliament
50.9%
0.9%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
1.900%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished in practice
Political System
republic; presidential, multiparty system
constitutional parliamentary democracy
Independence date
16 September 1975 (from the Australian-administered UN trusteeship)
Religions
Roman Catholic 56.5%, Protestant 26%, Adventist 11.1%, Muslim 4.6%, indigenous beliefs 0.1%, none 1.7% (2001)
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
Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers
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)
