Papua New GuineaFrom Wikipedia, the

Papua New GuineaFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search This article is about the country. For the single by The Future Sound of London, see Papua New Guinea (song).
Independent State of
Papua New Guinea

Independen Stet bilong Papua
Niugini
Papua Niu Gini


Flag National emblem

Motto: "Unity in diversity"[1]
Anthem:

Sorry, your browser either has JavaScript disabled or does not have any supported player.
You can download the clip or download a player to play the clip in your browser.O Arise, All You Sons [2]


Capital
and largest city Port Moresby
9°30′S 147°07′E / 9.500°S 147.117°E / -9.500; 147.117
Official languages[3] Hiri Motu · Tok Pisin · English
Demonym Papua New Guinean
Government Unitary parliamentary
constitutional monarchy
- Monarch Elizabeth II
- Governor General Michael Ogio
- Prime Minister Peter O'Neill
Legislature National Parliament
Independence from Australia
- Administrative union of
Papua & New Guinea 25 March 1949
- Declared & recognised 16 September 1975
Area
- Total 462,840 km2 (56th)
178,703 sq mi
- Water (%) 2
Population
- 2011 census preliminary estimate 7,059,653[4] (102nd)
- 2000 census 5,190,783
- Density 15/km2 (201st)
34.62/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2013 estimate
- Total $20.268 billion[5]
- Per capita $2,897[5]
GDP (nominal) 2013 estimate
- Total $17.430 billion[5]
- Per capita $2,491[5]
Gini (1996) 50.9[6]
high
HDI (2011) 0.466
low · 153rd
Currency Papua New Guinean kina (PGK)
Time zone AEST (UTC+10)
- Summer (DST) not observed (UTC+10)
(as of 2005)
Drives on the left
Calling code +675
ISO 3166 code PG
Internet TLD .pg

Papua New Guinea (PNG; /ˈpæpə njuː ˈɡɪniː/ PAP-pə-new-GHIN-ee; Tok Pisin: Papua Niugini; Hiri Motu: Papua Niu Gini), 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.

Papua New Guinea is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. According to recent data, 848 different languages are listed for the country, of which 12 have no known living speakers.[7] Most of the population of over 7 million people live in customary communities, which are as diverse as the languages.[8] It is also one of the most rural, as only 18 per cent of its people live in urban centres.[9] The country is one of the world's least explored, culturally and geographically, and many undiscovered species of plants and animals are thought to exist in the interior.[10]

Strong growth in Papua New Guinea's mining and resource sector has led to the country's becoming the sixth fastest-growing economy in the world as of 2011.[11] Despite this, many people live in extreme poverty, with about one-third of the population living on less than US$1.25 per day.[12]

At the local level, the majority of the population still live in strong customary societies and - while social life is overlaid with traditional religious cosmologies and modern practices, including conventional primary education - customary subsistence-based agriculture remains fundamental.[8] These societies and clans are explicitly acknowledged within the nation's constitutional framework. The Papua New Guinea Constitution expresses the wish for "traditional villages and communities to remain as viable units of Papua New Guinean society"[13] and for active steps to be taken in their continuing importance to local and national community life.

At the national level, after being ruled by three external powers since 1884, Papua New Guinea established its sovereignty in 1975 following 70 years of Australian administration. It became a separate Commonwealth realm with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state and became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations in its own right.


Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Politics
2.1 Law
2.2 Human rights
2.3 Administrative divisions
3 Geography
3.1 Ecology
4 Economy
4.1 Land tenure
5 Demographics
5.1 Health
5.2 Religion
6 Culture
6.1 Sport
7 Education
8 Transport
8.1 Air travel
9 See also
10 References
10.1 Primary sources
10.2 Notes
10.3 External links

History[edit]Main article: History of Papua New Guinea
Human remains have been found which have been dated to about 50,000 BC although this is an estimate.[citation needed] These ancient inhabitants probably migrated from Southeast Asia, from people whose ancestors had originated in Africa 50,000 to 70,000 years ago.[citation needed] New Guinea was first populated by modern humans at approximately the same time as Australia.[citation needed]


Kerepunu villagers, British New Guinea, 1885.
Lime Container, late 19th or early 20th century. Lime container decorated with wood carving of crocodile and bird. Punctuations are emphasised with a white paint. The central portion, which is hollow to hold the lime, is of bamboo. Joints are covered with basketry work.Agriculture was independently developed in the New Guinea highlands around 7000 BC, making it one of the few areas in the world where people independently domesticated plants.[14] A major migration of Austronesian speaking peoples to coastal regions of New Guinea took place around 500 BC. This has been correlated with the introduction of pottery, pigs, and certain fishing techniques. More recently, in the 18th century, the sweet potato was brought to New Guinea, having been introduced to the Moluccas by Portuguese traders, who obtained it from South America.[15] The far higher crop yields from sweet potato gardens radically transformed traditional agriculture; sweet potato largely supplanted the previous staple, taro, and gave rise to a significant increase in population in the highlands.

Although headhunting and cannibalism have been practically eradicated, in the past they were practised in many parts of the country as part of rituals related to warfare and taking in enemy spirits or powers.[16][17] For example, in 1901, on Goaribari Island in the Gulf of Papua, a missionary, Harry Dauncey, found 10,000 skulls in the island's Long Houses.[18] According to the writer Marianna Torgovnick, "The most fully documented instances of cannibalism as a social institution come from New Guinea, where head-hunting and ritual cannibalism survived, in certain isolated areas, into the Fifties, Sixties, and Seventies, and still leave traces within certain social groups."[19]

Little was known in Europe about the island until the 19th century, although Portuguese and Spanish explorers, such as Dom Jorge de Meneses and Yñigo Ortiz de Retez, had encountered it as early as the 16th century. Traders from Southeast Asia had visited New Guinea beginning 5,000 years ago to collect bird of paradise plumes.[20] The country's dual name results from its complex administrative history before independence. The word papua is derived from an old local term of uncertain origin.[21] "New Guinea" (Nueva Guinea) was the name coined by the Spanish explorer Yñigo Ortiz de Retez. In 1545 he noted the resemblance of the people to those he had earlier seen along the Guinea coast of Africa.

In the nineteenth century, Germany ruled the northern half of the country as a colony for some decades, beginning in 1884, as German New Guinea. The southern half was colonised in the same year by the United Kingdom as British New Guinea. In 1904 with the passage of the Papua Act, 1905, it transferred this territory to the newly formed Commonwealth of Australia, which took on its administration. Additionally from 1905, British New Guinea was renamed the Territory of Papua.


Australian forces attack Japanese positions during the Battle of Buna–Gona. 7 January 1943.During World War I, German New Guinea was occupied by Australia, which after the war was given a League of Nations Mandate to administer it. Papua, by contrast, was deemed to be an External Territory of the Australian Commonwealth, though as a matter of law it remained a British possession. This was significant for the country's post-independence legal system. The difference in legal status meant that up until 1949, Papua and New Guinea had entirely separate administrations, both controlled by Australia.

The New Guinea campaign (1942–1945) was one of the major military campaigns of World War II. Approximately 216,000 Japanese, Australian, and US servicemen died.[22] After World War II the two territories were combined into the Territory of Papua and New Guinea, which later was simply referred to as "Papua New Guinea".


Australian patrol officer in 1964.However, certain statutes[23] continued to have application only in one of the two territories. This territorial difference of law was complicated further by the adjustment of the former boundary among contiguous provinces with respect to road access and language groups. Some of the statutes apply only on one side of a boundary that no longer exists.[citation needed]

The natives of Papua appealed to the United Nations for oversight and independence. The nation established independence from Australia on 16 September 1975, and maintain close ties. (Australia continues as the largest aid donor to Papua New Guinea). Papua New Guinea was admitted to membership in the United Nations on 10 October 1975.[24]

A secessionist revolt in 1975–76 on Bougainville Island resulted in an eleventh-hour modification of the draft Constitution of Papua New Guinea to allow for Bougainville and the other eighteen districts to have quasi-federal status as provinces. A renewed uprising started in 1988 and claimed 20,000 lives until it was resolved in 1997. Following the revolt, the