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:

0.39 cu km/yr (57%/43%/0%)

per capita:

61.3 cu m/yr (2005)

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

volcanism:

• 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

• Tok Pisin (official), English (official), Hiri Motu (official), some 836 indigenous languages spoken (about 12% of the world's total);
• most languages have fewer than 1,000 speakers

note: Tok Pisin, a creole language, is widely used and understood; English is spoken by 1%-2%; Hiri Motu is spoken by less than 2%

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.07 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

1.14 male(s)/female

total population:

1.05 male(s)/female (2014 est.)

degree of risk:

very high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

dengue fever and malaria (2013)

• 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 27 S, 147 11 E

time difference:

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

• 20 provinces, 1 autonomous region*, and 1 district**;
• Bougainville*, Central, Chimbu, Eastern Highlands, East New Britain, East Sepik, Enga, Gulf, Hela, Jiwaka, Madang, Manus, Milne Bay, Morobe, National Capital**, New Ireland, Northern, Southern Highlands, Western, Western Highlands, West New Britain, West Sepik

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 Leo DION (since 9 August 2012)

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

election results:

• Peter Paire O'NEILL elected prime minister;
• parliamentary vote - 94 to 12;
• election last held on 3 August 2012 (next to be held NA 2017)

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice, deputy chief justice, and 28 other judges);
• National Courts (10 courts located in the province capitals, with a total of 16 resident judges )

judge selection and term of office:

• chief justice appointed by the governor-general upon advice of the National Executive Council (cabinet) after consultation with the National Justice Administration Minister;
• deputy chief justice and other justices appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, a 5-member body to include the Supreme Court chief and deputy chief justices, the chief ombudsman, and a member of the National Parliament;
• citizen judges appointed for 10-year renewable terms;
• non-citizen judges appointed for 3-year renewable terms;
• appointment and tenure of National Court resident judges NA

subordinate courts:

district, village, and juvenile courts

• National Alliance Party or NA [Patrick PRUAITCHI]
• Papua New Guinea Party or PNGP [Beldan NEMAH]
• People's National Congress Party or PNC [Peter Paire O'NEILL]
• People's Party or PP
• People's Progress Party or PPP
• Triumph Heritage Empowerment Party or THE [Don POYLE]
• United Resources Party or URP [William DUMA]

note: as of 13 March 2012, 41 political parties were registered

• Centre for Environment Law and Community Rights or Celcor [Damien ASE]
• Community Coalition Against Corruption
• National Council of Women
• Transparency International PNG

chief of mission:

Ambassador Rupa Abraham MULINA

chancery:

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

telephone:

[1] (202) 745-3680

FAX:

[1] (202) 745-3679

chief of mission:

Ambassador Walter E. NORTH (since 7 November 2012); note - also accredited to the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu

embassy:

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

mailing address:

4240 Port Moresby Place, 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

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

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

agriculture:

85%

industry:

NA%

services:

NA% (2005 est.)

lowest 10%:

1.7%

highest 10%:

40.5% (1996)

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 although combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity has increased to roughly 40 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 TV 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: 137

paved:

3,000 km

unpaved:

6,349 km (2011)

• 16 years of age for voluntary military service (with parental consent);
• no conscription;
• graduation from grade 12 required (2013)

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;
• families may sell girls into forced marriages to settle debts, leaving them vulnerable to forced domestic service;
• local and Chinese men are forced to labor in logging and mining camps;
• migrant women from Malaysia, Thailand, China, and the Philippines are subjected to sex trafficking and domestic servitude at logging and mining camps, fisheries, and entertainment sites

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 acknowledging trafficking as a problem, the government has not enacted legislation to criminalize all forms of trafficking, investigated any suspected trafficking offenses, prosecuted or convicted any trafficking offenders under existing laws, addressed allegations of officials being complicit in human trafficking crimes, or identified or assisted any trafficking victims;
• Papua New Guinea is not a party to the 2000 UN TIP Protocol