There are basically two distinct economies which exists side by side. The traditional economy and the modern economy. It depends on the principal products exported from the country. The exports are mainly primary products, such as gold, copper, coffee, cocoa, forest products and fish which provide foreign exchange earnings and trade alternatives for the country.
Imports consist of food and other consumable items, capital goods and petroleum products.
Although tropical rain forest dominant, there are some variations in vegetation. There are large areas with coastal swamps, savanna grassland in the low lying areas and other types of grassland in the high parts. The New Guinea mainland has mountains which rise to 4000m. Because of the topography, only about 5 per cent of the total land area is suitable for cultivation. Three sectors can be distinguished.