The Diplomat Country Snapshots provide a quick and easy resource for key economic, social and political data for the countries of the Asia-Pacific.

Papua New Guinea

Official Name:

Independent State of Papua New Guinea

Area:

462,840 sq km

Population:

5.9 million (July 2009 est.) World Rank: 104

Life Expectancy:

Total population: 66 years Male: 64 years Female: 68 years (2009 est.)

Nationality:

Papua New Guinean

Language:

Tok Pisin (official), English 1-2% (official), Hiri Motu <2% (official), over 860 indigenous languages

Capital:

Port Moresby

Government Type:

Constitutional parliamentary democracy and Commonwealth realm

Leadership:

Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II represented by Governor General Sir Paulias Matane; Prime Minister: Sir Michael Somare

GDP:

$13.4 billion (2009 est.) World Rank: 138

Military:

1.4% of GDP (2005 est.) Total troops (inc. reserves): 3,100

Military Expenditure (USD):

(USD): 17 million World Rank: 156

Major Exports:

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

Current Environmental Issues:

Deforestation of rainforest, pollution from mining, severe drought

Population Below Poverty Line:

37% (2002 est.)

Internet Users:

120,000 (2008) World Rank: 147

Human Development Index:

148/182 Medium Human Development (UNDP, 2009)

Embassies in Papua New Guinea:

Visit The Diplomat  Embassy Finder

Upcoming Events in Papua New Guinea:

Visit The Diplomat  Event Calendar

Synopsis:

Papua New Guinea consists of a group of islands and includes the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, which is shared with Indonesia. It is largely mountainous with coastal lowlands, with only 12 percent of the population residing in urban developments. Despite only 0.5 percent of land being classed as arable, agriculture makes up 85 percent of the labour force and 33 percent of GDP. The economy of Papua New Guinea has remained largely unaffected by the global financial crisis, but this is only due to continuing high commodity prices for the country’s exports.

Papua New Guinea gained independence from the Australian-administered UN trusteeship in 1975. After problems with the ‘first past the post’ electoral system resulting in a high turnover of Prime Ministers – some being elected with only 15 percent of the vote – Papua New Guinea moved to a preferential system in 2003 to encourage stronger alliances. It was hoped that this would also allow for the government to be more responsive to concerns of constituents, but the election was marred by allegations of bribery and intimidation.

Papua New Guinea boasts one of the most heterogeneous indigenous populations in the world, with several thousand individual communities divided by both language and culture. Historically there has been continued conflict between tribes, but this, and the resulting lawlessness, has been exacerbated in recent years by the introduction of modern weapons and foreign migrants.

The islands of Papua New Guinea possess many natural resources, but difficulties with the terrain and the prohibitive cost of developing infrastructure have left the economy underdeveloped, with 75 percent of inhabitants relying on an agricultural subsistence livelihood. In order to develop the economy the government needs to regain investor confidence, look towards privatization of state industries and balance relations with Australia.

Whilst Papua New Guinea has US support for its efforts to protect biodiversity, it is also beset by many problems. It has a high level of illegal drug use in the form of cannabis and an increasingly rapid spread of HIV. Papua New Guinea is also on the Tier 3 List of the US State Department due to its failure to meet the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking. There are problems with the internal trafficking of women and children as well as the country being a destination for women from Malaysia, China, Thailand and the Philippines trafficked for sexual exploitation.