Papua New Guinea << PAH poo ah noo GIHN ee >> is an independent nation in the Pacific Ocean, north of Australia. It consists of part of the island of New Guinea plus a chain of tropical islands that extend more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers).
The eastern half of New Guinea makes up most of Papua New Guinea’s area. The country also includes the islands of the Bismarck Archipelago, Bougainville and Buka in the Solomon Islands chain, the D’Entrecasteaux Islands, the Louisiade Archipelago, the Trobriand Islands, and Woodlark Island. Port Moresby, on New Guinea, is Papua New Guinea’s capital and largest city.
The islands that make up Papua New Guinea were Australian territories during much of the 1900’s. Papua New Guinea gained its independence in 1975.
Government.
Papua New Guinea is a constitutional monarchy. The British monarch serves as head of state and is represented on the islands by a governor general. The people elect a national legislature, which elects a prime minister to head the government.
People.
About 98 percent of the population of Papua New Guinea are Melanesians. Most of the people live in small rural villages. About 40 percent of the population live in valleys in the country’s interior highlands. Most of the people are Christians. For life expectancy, see Life expectancy (table: Life expectancy at birth for selected countries).
The people of Papua New Guinea speak about 850 languages. To communicate with one another, the people use widely understood languages called lingua francas. These languages include Pidgin English (Tok Pisin) and Police Motu (see Pidgin). About two-thirds of the country’s adults can read and write. Most primary-school age children attend school, but few secondary-school age children do so.
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Land and climate.
Papua New Guinea’s larger islands—including New Guinea, New Britain, and Bougainville—have many high mountain ranges. Volcanoes are common on the northern coasts. Thick tropical forests cover about 80 percent of these islands. Swamps cover much of the coastal land. The country’s outlying small islands are the tops of underwater mountains. Many of them are fringed with coral. Papua New Guinea has a hot, humid climate. The temperature averages from 75 to 82 °F (24 to 28 °C) in the lowlands and about 68 °F (20 °C) in the highlands. An average of about 80 inches (203 centimeters) of rain falls annually.
Economy.
Papua New Guinea’s economy is based largely on agriculture. Most of the people raise crops. They grow bananas, cassava, sweet potatoes, taro, and yams for food. Leading cash crops include cocoa, coconuts, coffee, palm oil, rubber, and tea.
Copper, gold, natural gas, and petroleum are valuable exports. Gold and copper are mined at Ok Tedi, near Papua New Guinea’s border with Indonesia. Gold mines also operate at Porgera in the New Guinea central highlands and on the island of Lihir.
The forest industry is also important to Papua New Guinea. Manufacturing plays a small role in the country’s economy. Australia is the country’s leading trade partner.
History.
People lived in what is now Papua New Guinea at least 50,000 years ago. Farming began there more than 9,000 years ago. The people developed rich traditions of pottery, carving, dance, body decoration, and sea navigation. In the early 1500’s, Spanish and Portuguese explorers landed on the islands. The Dutch and English visited the islands during the next 300 years.
In 1884, Germany annexed northeastern New Guinea and the islands off its shore. That same year, the United Kingdom took over southeastern New Guinea and the nearby islands. In 1906, Australia took over administration of the British territory and named it the Territory of Papua. In 1914, during World War I, Australia seized the areas held by Germany. In 1920, the League of Nations officially put these areas under Australian control. Japanese forces invaded the islands in 1942, during World War II. They held much of New Guinea and several of the other islands. After the war ended in 1945, Australia placed northeastern and southeastern New Guinea, along with the nearby islands, under one government.
The islands gained independence as Papua New Guinea on Sept. 16, 1975. In 1988, conflicts over mining and land rights began on the island of Bougainville. The attacks soon grew into a rebellion seeking Bougainville’s independence. The government and rebel leaders signed a cease-fire in 1998, and a peace agreement in 2001. Under the terms of the peace accord, Papua New Guinea agreed to grant Bougainville greater autonomy (self-rule). The accord also authorized a referendum to be held on the question of independence. In December 2004, Papua New Guinea’s Parliament approved a constitution for Bougainville. In May 2005, Bougainville elected its first autonomous government, with former separatist rebel Joseph Kabui as president. He served until his death in 2008.
During the early 2000’s, Papua New Guinea experienced extensive criminal gang activity and a worsening economy. In 2004, Australia sent more than 250 police and government officials to its former colony to enforce law and order and strengthen the government. In 2005, Papua New Guinea’s Supreme Court ruled that the terms of the Australian mission violated the country’s Constitution, and the Australian police withdrew.
From 2001 to 2008 and again from 2013 to 2017, the government of Australia operated immigration detention facilities on Manus Island in northern Papua New Guinea. Many people seeking political asylum (shelter and protection) in Australia were kept at the facilities until Australian officials could review their asylum claims. Australia paid for use of the land with aid to Papua New Guinea. In 2016, however, the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea ruled that the facilities were unconstitutional.
In 2014, Papua New Guinea and foreign investors completed a major development project for the processing and exporting of liquefied natural gas. In a referendum in 2019, the people of Bougainville overwhelmingly voted in favor of independence. However, terms for separation and independence remained to be negotiated and approved by the government of Papua New Guinea.
