Papua New Guinea – country information

Country name	Papua New Guinea
Official name	Independent State of Papua New Guinea
Capital	Port Moresby
Continent	Australia and Oceania
Area	462,840 km2
Population	7,398,500 (2013)
Foundation of a state	16/09/1975
The highest mountains	Mount Wilhelm 4508 m
Longest rivers	Sepik 1000 km
State system	pluralistic constitutional monarchy with a unicameral parliament
The biggest cities	Port Moresby (capital) 210,000, Lae 90,000, Rabaul 80,000, Madang 50,000
Official language	English
Ethnicity/National Composition	Papuans 85%, Melanesians 14%, others 1%
Religious affiliation	Protestant 63.8%, Roman Catholic 32.8%, Animist 2.5%, Baha’i 0.6%, other 0.3%
Currency	1 Papua New Guinea kina (K) = 100 toea
gross domestic product (GDP)	US$2,736 (2012)
Average life expectancy of the population	65.28 years (2006)
Structure of GDP	agriculture and fishing 25.5%, mining 17.5%, industry 11.3%, construction 6.2%, services 39.5%

Papua New Guinea – Neighboring States

State	Capital	Area	Population
Indonesia	Jakarta	1,904,570 km2	249,866,000

Country overview

According to Abbreviationfinder, Papua New Guinea is a country occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea in the western part of the Pacific Ocean and a number of islands lying to the north and east of it.

Country data

Location: Southeast Asia

Time zone: CET + 9 (during summer time: CET + 8)

Total area: 462,840 km²

Land area: 452,860 km²

Water area: 9,980 km²

Length of the state border: 820 km

including: Indonesia: 820 km

Coastline: 5,152 km

Capital: Port Moresby

Provinces: 22
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

Electric current: 240 V / 50 Hz

Telephone code: 00 675 (Source: Allcitycodes)

Highest point: Mount Wilhelm 4,509 m

Population

Population: approx. 6.6 million residents (Countryaah, 2021)

Population growth: 1.8% per year

Population density (residents per km²): 14

Life expectancy: 65 (male), 69 (female)

Official language: Hiri Motu, Tok Pisin, English

Religions:

• 69% Protestants
• 27% Roman Catholic
• 4% other

Climate

The climate of Papua New Guinea is tropical, hot and humid. Especially near the coast it is always very warm at around 32 ° C during the day and 25 ° C at night.

In the higher mountains it is pleasantly cooler (especially at night).

Most of the rain falls in the coastal areas from November to March, but the humidity is very high all year round.

Currency / finance

Currency unit: Kina (PGK)

Classification: 1 Kina = 100 Toea

ATMs: Available in Port Moresby.

International credit cards: These are accepted in a few larger hotels and shops.

Regulations: There is no limit to the amount of foreign currencies that can be imported. The export is limited to the amount of the declared import.

The national currency may be imported without any restrictions, but only exported with a separate certificate from the government.

Customs regulations

The following may be carried duty-free:

• 200 cigarettes or 250 g of other tobacco products
• 1 liter of alcoholic beverages
• small amounts of perfume

(Information applies to people aged 18 and over)

Tourists and people in transit can bring items of personal use with them duty-free.

Food that is not canned may not be imported.

Travel advice

Medical care is poor and cannot be compared with that in Europe. You should therefore have a well-stocked first-aid kit with you.

Behavioral advice

The crime rate is very high. Assaults, thefts and violent armed crimes are very common.

After dark, you shouldn’t be out and about. Even during the day it is advisable not to go out alone.

Economy

Since the infrastructure is barely developed, big industry has no chance.

Most of the residents are employed in smaller businesses and family farms.

Industries: mining, wood processing, engineering, tourism

Natural resources: natural gas, oil, fish, gold, wood, copper, silver

Land use:

• Usable land: 0%
• Grain cultivation: 1%
• Pasture area: 0%
• Forests: 93%
• other: 6%

Plants

Most of the country is always green overgrown by tropical rainforests.

Many types of flowers, grasses and bushes grow between the trees and make many areas difficult for people to use.

Animals

You can find exotic animals everywhere. From small, colorful butterflies to giant birds, everything is represented.

Many of these species are threatened with extinction.