

Topic: Introduction
Background: The eastern half of the island of New Guinea was divided between Germany (north) and the UK (south) in 1885. The latter area was transferred to Australia in 1902, which occupied the northern portion during World War I and continued to administer the combined areas until independence in 1975. Since 2001, Bougainville has experienced autonomy. In a 2019 referendum, almost 98% of voters choose eventual independence.The eastern half of the island of New Guinea was divided between Germany (north) and the UK (south) in 1885. The latter area was transferred to Australia in 1902, which occupied the northern portion during World War I and continued to administer the combined areas until independence in 1975. Since 2001, Bougainville has experienced autonomy. In a 2019 referendum, almost 98% of voters choose eventual independence.

Topic: Geography
Area: total: 462,840 sq km

land: 452,860 sq km

water: 9,980 sq km
Climate: tropical; northwest monsoon (December to March), southeast monsoon (May to October); slight seasonal temperature variation
Natural resources: gold, copper, silver, natural gas, timber, oil, fisheries

Topic: People and Society
Population: 9,593,498 (2022 est.)
Ethnic groups: Melanesian, Papuan, Negrito, Micronesian, Polynesian
Languages: Tok Pisin (official), English (official), Hiri Motu (official), some 839 indigenous languages spoken (about 12% of the world's total); many languages have fewer than 1,000 speakers
Religions: Protestant 64.3% (Evangelical Lutheran 18.4%, Seventh Day Adventist 12.9%, Pentecostal 10.4%, United Church 10.3%, Evangelical Alliance 5.9%, Anglican 3.2%, Baptist 2.8%, Salvation Army .4%), Roman Catholic 26%, other Christian 5.3%, non-Christian 1.4%, unspecified 3.1% (2011 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.35% (2022 est.)

Topic: Government
Government type: parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm
Capital: name: Port Moresby
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Grand Chief Sir Bob DADAE (since 28 February 2017)

head of government: Prime Minister James MARAPE (since 30 May 2019); Deputy Prime Minister Sam BASIL (since 20 December 2020)
Legislative branch: description: unicameral National Parliament (111 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies - 89 local, 20 provinicial, the autonomous province of Bouganville, and the National Capital District - by majority preferential vote; members serve 5-year terms); note - the constitution allows up to 126 seats

Topic: Economy
Economic overview: lower middle-income Pacific island economy; very diverse, primarily informal agricultural labor force; natural resource rich extraction account for export volume; growing youth population faces lack of formal employment; hit by COVID-19lower middle-income Pacific island economy; very diverse, primarily informal agricultural labor force; natural resource rich extraction account for export volume; growing youth population faces lack of formal employment; hit by COVID-19
Real GDP (purchasing power parity): $36.69 billion (2020 est.)
Real GDP per capita: $4,100 (2020 est.)
Agricultural products: oil palm fruit, bananas, coconuts, fruit, sweet potatoes, game meat, yams, roots/tubers nes, vegetables, taro
Industries: copra crushing, palm oil processing, plywood production, wood chip production; mining (gold, silver, copper); crude oil and petroleum products; construction, tourism, livestock (pork, poultry, cattle), dairy products, spice products (turmeric, vanilla, ginger, cardamom, chili, pepper, citronella, and nutmeg), fisheries products
Exports: $10.6 billion (2018 est.)
Exports - partners: Australia 26%, China 26%, Japan 22%, Taiwan 7% (2019)
Exports - commodities: natural gas, gold, copper, lumber, crude petroleum, nickel, palm oil, fish, coffee (2019)
Imports: $4.84 billion (2018 est.)
Imports - partners: Australia 33%, China 19%, Singapore 14%, Malaysia 9% (2019)
Imports - commodities: refined petroleum, excavation machinery, crude petroleum, foodstuffs, delivery trucks (2019)Page last updated: Friday, May 13, 2022