Papua New Guinea
|
| Basic Facts |
| Country name |
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 |
| Gevernment type | constitutional parliamentary democracy |
| Capital |
name: Port Moresby
geographic coordinates: 9 30 S, 147 10 E time difference: UTC+10 (15 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| 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 |
| Currency | kina (PGK) |
| Internet country code | .pg |
| Ports and terminals | Kimbe, Lae, Rabaul |
| Agriculture products | coffee, cocoa, copra, palm kernels, tea, sugar, rubber, sweet potatoes, fruit, vegetables, vanilla; shell fish, poultry, pork |
| Industries | copra crushing, palm oil processing, plywood production, wood chip production; mining of gold, silver, and copper; crude oil production, petroleum refining; construction, tourism |
| Geography |
| Location | Oceania, group of islands including the eastern half of the island of New Guinea between the Coral Sea and the South Pacific Ocean, east of Indonesia |
| Coordinates | 6 00 S, 147 00 E |
| Continent | Oceania |
| Area |
total: 462,840 sq km
land: 452,860 sq km water: 9,980 sq km |
| Boundaries |
total: 820 km
border countries: Indonesia 820 km |
| Coastline | 5,152 km |
| Climate | tropical; northwest monsoon (December to March), southeast monsoon (May to October); slight seasonal temperature variation |
| Terrain | mostly mountains with coastal lowlands and rolling foothills |
| Natural resources | gold, copper, silver, natural gas, timber, oil, fisheries |
| Natural hazards | active volcanism; situated along the Pacific "Ring of Fire"; the country is subject to frequent and sometimes severe earthquakes; mud slides; tsunamis |
| People |
| Population | 5,670,544 (July 2006 est.) |
| 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: 820 indigenous languages spoken (over one-tenth of the world's total) |
