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| Introduction | Papua New Guinea |
| Background: | The eastern half of the island of New Guinea - second largest in the world - was divided between Germany (north) and the UK (south) in 1885. The latter area was transferred to Australia in 1902, which occupied the northern portion during World War I and continued to administer the combined areas until independence in 1975. A nine-year secessionist revolt on the island of Bougainville ended in 1997 after claiming some 20,000 lives. |
| People | Papua New Guinea |
| Population: | 5,420,280 (July 2004 est.) |
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: 38.3% (male 1,053,940; female 1,019,492) 15-64 years: 58% (male 1,622,124; female 1,519,104) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 96,638; female 108,982) (2004 est.) |
| Median age: | total: 21 years male: 21.1 years female: 20.8 years (2004 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | 2.3% (2004 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 30.52 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Death rate: | 7.5 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 53.15 deaths/1,000 live births female: 48.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 57.39 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 64.56 years male: 62.41 years female: 66.81 years (2004 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 4.04 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 0.6% (2003 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 16,000 (2003 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 600 (2003 est.) |
| Major infectious diseases: | typhoid fever, dengue fever, malaria overall degree of risk: very high (2004) |
| Nationality: | noun: Papua New Guinean(s) adjective: Papua New Guinean |
| Ethnic groups: | Melanesian, Papuan, Negrito, Micronesian, Polynesian |
| Religions: | Roman Catholic 22%, Lutheran 16%, Presbyterian/Methodist/London Missionary Society 8%, Anglican 5%, Evangelical Alliance 4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1%, other Protestant 10%, indigenous beliefs 34% |
| Languages: | Melanesian Pidgin serves as the lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2%, Motu spoken in Papua region note: 715 indigenous languages -- many unrelated |
| Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 64.6% male: 71.1% female: 57.7% (2002) |
| Government | Papua New Guinea |
| Country name: | conventional long form: Independent State of Papua New Guinea conventional short form: Papua New Guinea abbreviation: PNG former: Territory of Papua and New Guinea |
| Government type: | constitutional monarchy with parliamentary democracy |
| Capital: | Port Moresby |
| Administrative divisions: | 20 provinces; Bougainville, Central, Chimbu, Eastern Highlands, East New Britain, East Sepik, Enga, Gulf, Madang, Manus, Milne Bay, Morobe, National Capital, New Ireland, Northern, Sandaun, Southern Highlands, Western, Western Highlands, West New Britain |
| Independence: | 16 September 1975 (from the Australian-administered UN trusteeship) |
| National holiday: | Independence Day, 16 September (1975) |
| Constitution: | 16 September 1975 |
| Legal system: | based on English common law |
| Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch: | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by governor general Sir Paulius MATANE (since 29 June 2004) head of government: Prime Minister Sir Michael SOMARE (since 2 August 2002); deputy prime minister (vacant) cabinet: National Executive Council appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the National Executive Council; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition usually is appointed prime minister by the governor general |
| Legislative branch: | unicameral National Parliament - sometimes referred to as the House of Assembly (109 seats, 89 elected from open electorates and 20 from provincial electorates; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 15-29 June 2002 and April and May 2003; completed in May 2003 (voting in the Southern Highlands was not completed during the June 2002 election period); next to be held not later than June 2007 election results: percent of vote by party - National Alliance 18%, URP 13%, PDM 12%, PPP 8%, Pangu 6%, PAP 5%, PLP 4%, others 34%; seats by party - National Alliance 19, UPR 14, PDM 13, PPP 8, Pangu 6, PAP 5, PLP 4, others 40; note - association with political parties is fluid (2003) |
| Judicial branch: | Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the proposal of the National Executive Council after consultation with the minister responsible for justice; other judges are appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission) |
| Political parties and leaders: | Christian Democratic Party [Muki TARANUPI, party leader]; Melanesian Alliance Party or MAP [Bernard NAROKOBI, party leader]; National Alliance Party or NA [Michael SOMARE, party leader; George MANOA, party president]; National Party [John MUNNULL, party leader]; Papua and Niugini Union Party or PANGU [Rabbie NAMALU, party leader]; Papua New Guinea National Party [Robert LAK, party leader]; People's Action Party or PAP [Moses MALADINA, party leader]; People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Sir Mekere MORAUTA, party leader]; People's Labor Party or PLP [Peter YAMA, party leader]; People's National Congress or PNC [Bill SKATE, party leader]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Andrew BAING, party leader]; Pipol's First Party [Luther WENGE, party leader]; Rural People's Party [Peter NAMUS, party leader]; United Resources Party or URP [Tim NEVILLE, party leader] (2003) |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: | NA |
| International organization participation: | ACP, APEC, ARF, AsDB, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Evan Jeremy PAKI FAX: [1] (202) 745-3679 telephone: [1] (202) 745-3680 chancery: 1779 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 805, Washington, DC 20036 |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Robert W. FITTS embassy: Douglas Street, Port Moresby mailing address: 4240 Port Moresby PI, US Department of State, Washington DC 20521-4240 telephone: [675] 321-1455 FAX: [675] 321-3423 |
| Flag description: | divided diagonally from upper hoist-side corner; the upper triangle is red with a soaring yellow bird of paradise centered; the lower triangle is black with five, white, five-pointed stars of the Southern Cross constellation centered |
| Communications | Papua New Guinea |
| Telephones - main lines in use: | 62,000 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular: | 15,000 (2002) |
| Telephone system: | general assessment: services are adequate and being improved; facilities provide radiotelephone and telegraph, coastal radio, aeronautical radio, and international radio communication services domestic: mostly radiotelephone international: country code - 675; submarine cables to Australia and Guam; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); international radio communication service |
| Radio broadcast stations: | AM 8, FM 19, shortwave 28 (1998) |
| Radios: | 410,000 (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations: | 3 (all in the Port Moresby area) note: additional stations at Mt. Hagen, Goroka, Lae, and Rabaul are planned (2004) |
| Televisions: | 59,841 (1999) |
| Internet country code: | .pg |
| Internet hosts: | 389 (2003) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 3 (2000) |
| Internet users: | 75,000 (2002) |
| Transportation | Papua New Guinea |
| Highways: | total: 19,600 km paved: 686 km unpaved: 18,914 km (1999 est.) |
| Waterways: | 10,940 km (2003) |
| Pipelines: | oil 264 km (2004) |
| Ports and harbors: | Kieta, Lae, Madang, Port Moresby, Rabaul |
| Merchant marine: | total: 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 47,586 GRT/60,934 DWT foreign-owned: Singapore 2, United Kingdom 6 registered in other countries: 1 (2003 est.) by type: bulk 1, cargo 12, chemical tanker 1, combination ore/oil 2, container 1, petroleum tanker 4, roll on/roll off 2 |
| Airports: | 559 (2003 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways: | total: 21 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) 914 to 1,523 m: 4 |
| Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 550 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 62 under 914 m: 478 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: | 2 (2003 est.) |
| Military | Papua New Guinea |
| Military branches: | Papua New Guinea Defense Force: Ground Force, Maritime Operations Element, and Air Operations Element |
| Military manpower - availability: | males age 15-49: 1,403,467 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 15-49: 775,064 (2004 est.) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $16.9 million (2003) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 1.4% (FY02) |
| Transnational Issues | Papua New Guinea |
| Disputes - international: | seeks assistance from Australia to control illegal cross-border activities from primarily Indonesia, including smuggling, drug trafficking, and Indonesian squatters and secessionists |
| This page was last updated on 16 December, 2004 |
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