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.

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

slightly larger than California

measured from claimed archipelagic baselines

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

mostly mountains with coastal lowlands and rolling foothills

gold, copper, silver, natural gas, timber, oil, fisheries

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

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

shares island of New Guinea with Indonesia; one of world's largest swamps along southwest coast

6,187,591 (July 2011 est.)

26.44 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)

6.58 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)

PORT MORESBY (capital) 314,000 (2009)

3.46 children born/woman (2011 est.)

urban: 87% of population

rural: 33% of population

total: 40% of population

urban: 13% of population

rural: 67% of population

total: 60% of population (2008)

urban: 71% of population

rural: 41% of population

total: 45% of population

urban: 29% of population

rural: 59% of population

total: 55% of population (2008)

Melanesian, Papuan, Negrito, Micronesian, Polynesian

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%, Baha'i 0.3%, indigenous beliefs and other 3.3% (2000 census)

Tok Pisin (official), English (official), Hiri Motu (official), some 860 indigenous languages spoken (over one-tenth of the world's total)

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

constitutional parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm

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

16 September 1975 (from the Australian-administered UN trusteeship)

Independence Day, 16 September (1975)

mixed legal system of English common law and customary law

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

18 years of age; universal

unicameral National Parliament (109 seats, 89 filled from open electorates and 20 from provinces and national capital district; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); constitution allows up to 126 seats

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)

National Alliance Party or NA [Michael SOMARE]; 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]

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

ACP, ADB, AOSIS, APEC, ARF, ASEAN (observer), C, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

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

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is richly endowed with natural resources, but exploitation has been hampered by rugged terrain, land tenure issues, and the high cost of developing infrastructure. The economy has a small formal sector, focused mainly on the export of those natural resources, and an informal sector, employing the majority of the population. Agriculture provides a subsistence livelihood for 85% of the people. Mineral deposits, including copper, gold, and oil, account for nearly two-thirds of export earnings. Natural gas reserves amount to an estimated 227 billion cubic meters. A consortium led by a major American oil company is constructing a liquefied natural gas (LNG) production facility that could begin exporting in 2014. As the largest investment project in the country's history, it has the potential to double GDP in the near-term and triple Papua New Guinea's export revenue. An American-owned firm also opened PNG's first oil refinery in 2004 and is building a second LNG production facility. The government faces the challenge of ensuring transparency and accountability for revenues flowing from this and other large LNG projects. The government of Prime Minister SOMARE has expended much of its energy remaining in power. He was the first prime minister ever to serve a full five-year term. The government has brought stability to the national budget, largely through expenditure control; however, it relaxed spending constraints in 2006 and 2007 as elections approached. In recent years, the government has opened up markets in telecommunications and air transport, making both more affordable to the people. Numerous challenges still face the government, including providing physical security for foreign investors, regaining investor confidence, restoring integrity to state institutions, promoting economic efficiency by privatizing moribund state institutions, and balancing relations with Australia, its former colonial ruler. Other socio-cultural challenges could upend the economy including an HIV/AIDS epidemic, with the second highest infection rate in all of East Asia and the Pacific, and chronic law and order and land tenure issues. The global financial crisis had little impact because of continued foreign demand for PNG's commodities.

$14.95 billion (2010 est.)

$13.97 billion (2009 est.)

$13.24 billion (2008 est.)

$9.668 billion (2010 est.)

3.809 million (2010 est.)

17.3% of GDP (2010 est.)

27.8% of GDP (2010 est.)

29.7% of GDP (2009 est.)

6.92% (31 December 2009)

7% (31 December 2008)

10.09% (31 December 2009 est.)

9.2% (31 December 2008 est.)

$2.551 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$2.263 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$4.726 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$4.14 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$2.796 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$2.424 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$NA (31 December 2010)

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

2.885 billion kWh (2007 est.)

2.683 billion kWh (2007 est.)

35,090 bbl/day (2009 est.)

36,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)

32,490 bbl/day (2007 est.)

14,380 bbl/day (2007 est.)

170 million bbl (1 January 2010 est.)

100 million cu m (2008 est.)

226.5 billion cu m (1 January 2010 est.)

$-99 million (2010 est.)

$-446.4 million (2009 est.)

$5.976 billion (2010 est.)

$4.392 billion (2009 est.)

oil, gold, copper ore, logs, palm oil, coffee, cocoa, crayfish, prawns

Australia 30.05%, Japan 7.48% (2009)

$3.547 billion (2010 est.)

$2.871 billion (2009 est.)

machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, fuels, chemicals

Australia 43.27%, China 13.29%, Singapore 9.59%, US 6.4%, Japan 4.62% (2009)

$3.017 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$2.607 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$1.548 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$1.436 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

kina (PGK) per US dollar -

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)

Kimbe, Lae, Madang, Rabaul, Wewak

Papua New Guinea Defense Force (PNGDF; includes Maritime Operations Element, Air Operations Element) (2009)

16 years of age for voluntary military service (with parental consent); no conscription (2010)

1.4% of GDP (2005 est.)

relies on assistance from Australia to keep out illegal cross-border activities from primarily Indonesia, including goods smuggling, illegal narcotics trafficking, and squatters and secessionists

major consumer of cannabis