Papua New Guinea

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.

• tropical;
• northwest monsoon (December to March), southeast monsoon (May to October);
• slight seasonal temperature variation

total:

0.1 cu km/yr (56%/43%/1%)

per capita:

17 cu m/yr (1987)

• active volcanism;
• situated along the Pacific "Ring of Fire";
• the country is subject to frequent and sometimes severe earthquakes;
• mud slides;
• tsunamis

volcanism:

• Papua New Guinea experiences severe volcanic activity;
• Ulawun (elev. 2,334 m), one of Papua New Guinea's potentially most dangerous volcanoes, has been deemed a "Decade Volcano" by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations;
• Rabaul (elev. 688 m) destroyed the city of Rabaul in 1937 and 1994;
• Lamington erupted in 1951 killing 3,000 people;
• Manam's 2004 eruption forced the island's abandonment;
• other historically active volcanoes include
  • Bam,
  • Bagana,
  • Garbuna,
  • Karkar,
  • Langila,
  • Lolobau,
  • Long Island,
  • Pago,
  • St. Andrew Strait,
  • Victory,
  • and Waiowa

• rain forest subject to deforestation as a result of growing commercial demand for tropical timber;
• pollution from mining projects;
• severe drought

party to:

Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

noun:

Papua New Guinean(s)

adjective:

Papua New Guinean

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

1.2 male(s)/female

total population:

1.06 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

degree of risk:

very high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

dengue fever and malaria (2009)

• the indigenous population of Papua New Guinea is one of the most heterogeneous in the world;
• PNG has several thousand separate communities, most with only a few hundred people;
• divided by language, customs, and tradition, some of these communities have engaged in low-scale tribal conflict with their neighbors for millennia;
• the advent of modern weapons and modern migrants into urban areas has greatly magnified the impact of this lawlessness

conventional long form:

Independent State of Papua New Guinea

conventional short form:

Papua New Guinea

local short form:

Papuaniugini

former:

Territory of Papua and New Guinea

abbreviation:

PNG

name:

Port Moresby

geographic coordinates:

9 30 S, 147 10 E

time difference:

UTC+10 (15 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

• 18 provinces, 1 autonomous region*, and 1 district**;
• 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

chief of state:

Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor Michael OGIO (since 25 February 2011)

head of government:

Prime Minister Peter Paire O'NEILL (since 2 August 2011); Deputy Prime Minister Belden NAMAH (since 9 August 2011)

cabinet:

National Executive Council appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• the monarchy is hereditary;
• the governor general nominated by parliament and appointed by the chief of state;
• following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of the majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the governor general acting in accordance with a decision of the parliament

• National Alliance Party or NA [Don POLYE];
• Papua and Niugini Union Party or PANGU PATI [Andrew KUMBAKOR];
• Papua New Guinea Party or PNGP [Beldan NEMAH];
• People's Action Party or PAP [Gabriel KAPRIS];
• People's Democratic Movement or PDM;
• United Resources Party or URP [William DUMA]

note: as of December 2011, 33 political parties are registered

• Ahora [Andrew MAMOKO] (represents local tribes);
• Centre for Environment Law and Community Rights or Celcor [Damien ASE];
• Community Coalition Against Corruption

chief of mission:

Ambassador Evan Jeremy PAKI

chancery:

1779 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 805, Washington, DC 20036

telephone:

[1] (202) 745-3680

FAX:

[1] (202) 745-3679

chief of mission:

Ambassador Teddy B. TAYLOR

embassy:

Douglas Street, Port Moresby, N.C.D.

mailing address:

4240 Port Moresby PI, US Department of State, Washington DC 20521-4240

telephone:

[675] 321-1455

FAX:

[675] 321-3423

• 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;
• red, black, and yellow are traditional colors of Papua New Guinea;
• the bird of paradise - endemic to the island of New Guinea - is an emblem of regional tribal culture and represents the emergence of Papua New Guinea as a nation;
• the Southern Cross, visible in the night sky, symbolizes Papua New Guinea's connection with Australia and several other countries in the South Pacific

name:

"O Arise All You Sons"

lyrics/music:

Thomas SHACKLADY

note: adopted 1975

agriculture:

85%

industry:

NA%

services:

NA% (2005 est.)

lowest 10%:

1.7%

highest 10%:

40.5% (1996)

• coffee, cocoa, copra, palm kernels, tea, sugar, rubber, sweet potatoes, fruit, vegetables, vanilla;
• shell fish;
• poultry, pork

• copra crushing, palm oil processing, plywood production, wood chip production;
• mining of gold, silver, and copper;
• crude oil production, petroleum refining;
• construction, tourism

general assessment:

services are minimal; facilities provide radiotelephone and telegraph, coastal radio, aeronautical radio, and international radio communication services

domestic:

access to telephone services is not widely available; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity is about 15 per 100 persons

international:

• country code - 675;
• submarine cables to Australia and Guam;
• satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean);
• international radio communication service (2009)

• 2 television stations, 1 commercial station operating since the late 1980s and 1 state-run station launched in 2008;
• satellite and cable TV services are available;
• state-run National Broadcasting Corporation operates 3 radio networks with multiple repeaters and about 20 provincial stations;
• several commercial radio stations with multiple transmission points as well as several community stations;
• transmissions of several international broadcasters are accessible (2009)

total:

9,349 km

country comparison to the world: 136

paved:

3,000 km

unpaved:

6,349 km (2011)

males age 16-49:

1,568,210

females age 16-49:

1,478,965 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

1,130,951

females age 16-49:

1,137,753 (2010 est.)

male:

67,781

female:

65,820 (2010 est.)

current situation:

• Papua New Guinea is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor;
• women and children are subjected to sex trafficking and domestic servitude;
• trafficked men are forced to labor in logging and mining camps;
• migrant women and teenage girls from Malaysia, Thailand, China, and the Philippines are subjected to sex trafficking;
• men from China are transported to the country for forced labor

tier rating:

• Tier 3 - Papua New Guinea does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so;
• despite the government's acknowledgement of trafficking as a problem in the country, the government did not investigate any suspected trafficking offenses, prosecute or convict any trafficking offenders under existing laws, address allegations of officials complicit in human trafficking crimes, or identify or assist any trafficking victims (2011)