Claim: Papua New Guinea was the sixth fastest-growing economy in 2011.

Papua New Guinea -LRB- PNG ; -LSB- ˈpæpuə_njuː_ˈgɪniː , _ ˈpɑː - , _ - pju - -RSB- , -LSB- ˈpæpjuə , _ pɑːˈpuːə -RSB- Papua Niugini Hiri Motu : Papua Niu Gini -RRB- , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea , is an Oceanian country that occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia , a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia . Its capital , located along its southeastern coast , is Port Moresby . The western half of New Guinea forms the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua .   At the national level , after being ruled by three external powers since 1884 , Papua New Guinea established its sovereignty in 1975 . This followed nearly 60 years of Australian administration , which started during World War I . It became an independent Commonwealth realm in 1975 with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state and became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations in its own right .   Papua New Guinea is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world . There are 852 known languages in the country , of which 12 now have no known living speakers . Most of the population of more than 7 million people live in customary communities , which are as diverse as the languages . It is also one of the most rural , as only 18 percent of its people live in urban centres . The country is one of the world 's least explored , culturally and geographically . It is known to have numerous groups of uncontacted peoples , and researchers believe there are many undiscovered species of plants and animals in the interior .   Papua New Guinea is classified as a developing economy by the International Monetary Fund . Strong growth in Papua New Guinea 's mining and resource sector led to the country becoming the sixth fastest-growing economy in the world in 2011 . Growth was expected to slow once major resource projects came on line in 2015 . Mining remains a major economic factor , however . Local and national governments are discussing the potential of resuming mining operations in Panguna mine in Bougainville Province , which has been closed since the civil war in the 1980s -- 1990s . Nearly 40 percent of the population lives a self-sustainable natural lifestyle with no access to global capital .   Most of the people still live in strong traditional social groups based on farming . Their social lives combine traditional religion with modern practices , including primary education . These societies and clans are explicitly acknowledged by the Papua New Guinea Constitution , which expresses the wish for `` traditional villages and communities to remain as viable units of Papua New Guinean society '' and protects their continuing importance to local and national community life .