Papua Niugini Independent State of Papua New Guinea
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Unity in diversity[1]
Anthem: O Arise, All You Sons[2]
Capital (and largest city)		Port Moresby 9°30′S, 147°07′E
Official languages		English, Tok Pisin, Hiri Motu
Demonym		Papua New Guinean
Government		Constitutional monarchy
-	Queen	Elizabeth II
-	Governor-General	Sir Paulias Matane
-	Prime Minister	Sir Michael Somare
Independence		From Australia
-	Self-governing	December 1, 1973
-	Independence	September 16, 1975
Area
-	Total	462,840 km² (54th) 178,703 sq mi
-	Water (%)	2
Population
-	2007 estimate	6,300,000 [3] (104th)
-	Density	13/km² (201st) 34/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2005 estimate
-	Total	$14. The flag of Papua New Guinea was adopted on July 1, 1971. In the hoist, it depicts the Southern Cross; in the fly a raggiana bird of paradise The Coat of arms of Papua New Guinea consists of a Bird of paradise over a traditional Spear and a Kundu drum A motto (from the Italian word motto, meaning witticism sentence is a phrase meant to formally describe the general motivation or intention of a social group Unity in diversity is a a socio - ecological Philosophy that describes a sense of oneness despite physical or psychological barriers A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history traditions and struggles of its people recognized either by a nation's " O Arise All You Sons " is the National anthem of Papua New Guinea. The indigenous population of Papua New Guinea is one of the most Heterogeneous in the world ||-||-||-||-||-||} Port Moresby (ˌpɔrt ˈmɔrzbi or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, population 255000 (2000 is the Capital and largest city of Papua An official language is a Language that is given a special legal status in a particular Country, State, or other territory English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Tok Pisin ( tok means "word" or "speech" as in "talk" pisin means " Pidgin " is a creole spoken throughout Hiri Motu, Police Motu or Pidgin Motu is an official Language of Papua New Guinea. A demonym or gentilic is a word that denotes the members of a People or the inhabitants of a place For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. A constitutional monarchy, or a limited monarchy, is a form of Constitutional Government, wherein either an elected or hereditary Monarch is TalkCommonwalth realm.--> The monarchy For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II The Governor-General of Papua New Guinea is the representative of Queen Elizabeth II, known in Tok Pisin as 'Missis Kwin' Papua New Guinea 's Grand Chief Sir Paulias Nguna Matane GCL, GCMG, OBE, KStJ (born 1931 formerly a career civil servant became Governor-General of The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea is Papua New Guinea's Head of government, consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority Sir Michael Thomas Somare, GCL, GCMG, CH, CF (born 9 April 1936) has been Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Independence is the Self-government of a Nation, Country, or State by its residents and population or some portion thereof generally exercising For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Events 800 - Charlemagne judges the accusations against Pope Leo III in the Vatican Year 1973 ( MCMLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. Independence is the Self-government of a Nation, Country, or State by its residents and population or some portion thereof generally exercising Events 1400 - Owain Glyndŵr is declared Prince of Wales by his followers Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Area is a Quantity expressing the two- Dimensional size of a defined part of a Surface, typically a region bounded by a closed Curve. To help compare Orders of magnitude of different surface Areas here is a list of areas between 1 million km² and 10 million km² This is a list of the countries of the world sorted by total area. The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. Water is a common Chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of Life. In Mathematics, a percentage is a way of expressing a number as a Fraction of 100 ( per cent meaning "per hundred" In Biology a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular Species; in Sociology List of countries by population in 2005|List of countries by population in 1907This is a list of countries ordered according to Population. Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume List of countries and dependencies by Population density in inhabitants/km² The purchasing power parity ( PPP) theory uses the long-term equilibrium Exchange rate of two currencies to equalize their Purchasing power. 363 billion (126th)
-	Per capita	$2,418 (131st)
Gini (1996)		50. There are three lists of Countries of the world sorted by their Gross domestic product (GDP (the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation Per capita is a Latin phrase meaning for each head with Per meaning 'through' or 'by' This article includes three lists of Countries of the world sorted by their Gross domestic product (GDP at Purchasing power parity (PPP Per capita The Gini coefficient is a measure of statistical dispersion most prominently used as a measure of inequality of income distribution or inequality of wealth 9 (high)
HDI (2007)		▲ 0. The Human Development Index ( HDI) is an index combining normalized measures of Life expectancy, Literacy, Educational attainment, and GDP 530 (medium) (145th)
Currency		Papua New Guinean kina (PGK)
Time zone		AEST (UTC+10)
-	Summer (DST)	not observed (as of 2005) (UTC+10)
Internet TLD		.pg
Calling code		+675

Papua New Guinea (pronounced /ˈpæpuːə njuː ˈgɪni/, /ˈpæpjuːə/), in Tok Pisin: Papua Niugini, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands (the western portion of the island is a part of Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua). This is a list of countries by Human Development Index as included in the United Nations Development Program 's Human Development Report 2007 A currency is a unit of exchange, facilitating the transfer of Goods and/or services It is one form of Money, where money is The kina ( ISO 4217 code PGK) is the Currency of Papua New Guinea. ISO 4217 is the International standard describing three-letter codes (also known as the currency code) to define the names of currencies established Standard time was introduced into Australia in the 1890s when all colonies adopted standard times Daylight saving time ( DST Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A country This is a list of country calling codes defined by ITU-T recommendation E Tok Pisin ( tok means "word" or "speech" as in "talk" pisin means " Pidgin " is a creole spoken throughout New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the world's second largest island, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. Papua is the largest province of Indonesia, comprising a majority part of the western half of the island of New Guinea and nearby islands (see also West Papua ( Papua Barat; formerly West Irian Jaya or Irian Jaya Barat) with population around 800000 is the least populous province of It is located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, in a region defined since the early 19th century as Melanesia. The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions Melanesia (from Greek: μέλας black, νῆσος island) means "islands of the black-skinned people" Its capital, and one of its few major cities, is Port Moresby. ||-||-||-||-||-||} Port Moresby (ˌpɔrt ˈmɔrzbi or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, population 255000 (2000 is the Capital and largest city of Papua It is one of the most diverse countries on Earth, with over 850 indigenous languages and at least as many traditional societies, out of a population of just under 6 million. It is also one of the most rural, with only 18 per cent of its people living in urban centres. Urbanizationn (also spelled urbanisation) is the physical growth of Urban areas into rural or natural land as a result of population in-migration to an existing ^[4] The country is also 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 of Papua New Guinea.

The majority of the population live in traditional societies and practise subsistence-based agriculture. Subsistence is the food necessary to sustain life The following is a list of subsistence techniques: Hunting and Gathering Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture These societies and clans have some explicit acknowledgement within the nation's constitutional framework. The PNG Constitution (Preamble 5(4)) expresses the wish for traditional villages and communities to remain as viable units of Papua New Guinean society,^[5] and for active steps to be taken in their preservation. The PNG legislature has enacted various laws in which a type of tenure called "customary land title" is recognised, meaning that the traditional lands of the indigenous peoples have some legal basis to inalienable tenure. A customary land title is a concept in the law of Papua New Guinea. The term Indigenous Peoples or autochthonous peoples can be used to describe any Ethnic group who inhabit a geographic region with which they have the earliest historical This customary land notionally covers most of the usable land in the country (some 97% of total land area);^[6] alienated land is either held privately under State Lease or is government land. Freehold Title (also known as fee simple) can only be held by Papua New Guinea citizens. Fee simple is an estate in land in Common law. It is the most common way Real estate is owned in common law countries and is ordinarily the most ^[7]

The country's geography is similarly diverse and, in places, extremely rugged. A spine of mountains runs the length of the island of New Guinea, forming a populous highlands region. The term highland is used to denote any Mountainous region or elevated mountainous Plateau. Dense rainforests can be found in the lowland and coastal areas. Rainforests are Forests characterized by high Rainfall with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750–2000 mm (68-78 inches This terrain has made it difficult for the country to develop transportation infrastructure. In some areas, planes are the only mode of transport. After being ruled by three external powers since 1884, Papua New Guinea gained its independence from Australia in 1975. Independence is the Self-government of a Nation, Country, or State by its residents and population or some portion thereof generally exercising For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics.

Contents 1 History 2 Law 3 Politics 4 Regions, provinces and districts 5 Geography 6 Ecology 7 Economy 8 Land tenure 9 Demographics 10 Culture 11 Education 12 Sport 13 Religion 14 Transport 15 See also 16 Notes 17 References 18 External links

History

Main article: History of Papua New Guinea

Human remains have been found which have been dated to about 50,000 years ago. The history of Papua New Guinea can be traced back to about 60000 years ago when people first migrated towards the Australian continent. These ancient inhabitants probably had their origins in Southeast Asia. Agriculture was independently developed in the New Guinea highlands around 9,000 years ago, making it one of the few areas of original plant domestication in the world. A major migration of Austronesian speaking peoples came to coastal regions roughly 2,500 years ago, and this is correlated with the introduction of pottery, pigs, and certain fishing techniques. More recently, some 300 years ago, the sweet potato entered New Guinea having been introduced to the Moluccas from South America by the then-locally dominant colonial power, Portugal. The sweet potato ( Ipomoea batatas) is a Dicotyledonous plant which belongs to the family Convolvulaceae Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. ^[8] 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. Taro (from Tahitian or other Polynesian languages) more rarely kalo (from Hawaiian) and gabi in The Philippines, is a

Little was known in the West about the island until the nineteenth century, although traders from Southeast Asia had been visiting New Guinea as long as 5,000 years ago collecting bird of paradise plumes,^[9] and European explorers had encountered it as early as the sixteenth century. The birds of paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The country's dual name results from its complex administrative history prior to Independence. The word papua is derived from a Malay word describing the frizzy Melanesian hair, and "New Guinea" (Nueva Guinea) was the name coined by the Spanish explorer Yñigo Ortiz de Retez, who in 1545 noted the resemblance of the people to those he had earlier seen along the Guinea coast of Africa. The Malay language ( ISO 639-1 code MS is an Austronesian language spoken by the Malay people and people of other ethnic groups who reside in the A neologism (from Greek neo = "new" + logos = "word" is a word that although devised relatively recently in a specific time period has been The Spanish Empire (Imperio Español was one of the largest Empires in history and one of the first Global empires In the 15th and 16th centuries Yñigo Ortiz de Retez ( ''fl'' 1545 was a 16th-century Spanish maritime explorer, who navigated the northern coastline of the Pacific - Guinea, officially Republic of Guinea (pronounced /ˈgɪni/ République de Guinée is a country in West Africa, formerly known as French Guinea

The northern half of the country came into German hands in 1884 as German New Guinea. German New Guinea ( Ger Deutsch-Neuguinea) was a former German Protectorate from 1884 to 1914 consisting of the northeastern part of During World War I, it was occupied by Australia, which had begun administering British New Guinea, the southern part, as the re-named Papua in 1904 once Britain was assured by the federation of the Australian colonies that Queensland, with its equivocal history of race relations, would not have a direct hand in the administration of the territory. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. After World War I, Australia was given a mandate to administer the former German New Guinea by the League of Nations. A League of Nations mandate refers to a legal status for certain territories transferred from the control of one country to another following World War I. The League of Nations was an International organization founded as a result of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919–1920 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, an issue which had significance for the country's post-Independence legal system after 1975. This difference in legal status meant that Papua and New Guinea had entirely separate administrations, both controlled by Australia.

The two territories were combined into the Territory of Papua and New Guinea after World War II, which later was simply referred to as "Papua New Guinea". The Territory of Papua and New Guinea was established by an administrative union between the Australian administered territories of Papua and New Guinea The Administration of Papua was now also open to United Nations oversight. However, certain statutes^[10] continued (and continue) to have application only in one of the two territories, a matter considerably complicated today by the adjustment of the former boundary among contiguous provinces with respect to road access and language groups, so that such statutes apply on one side only of a boundary which no longer exists.

Peaceful independence from Australia, the de facto metropolitan power occurred on September 16, 1975, and close ties remain (Australia remains the largest bilateral aid donor to Papua New Guinea). Events 1400 - Owain Glyndŵr is declared Prince of Wales by his followers Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

A secessionist revolt in 1975-76 on the island of Bougainville resulted in an eleventh-hour modification of the draft Constitution of Papua New Guinea to allow for Bougainville and the other eighteen districts of pre-Independence Papua New Guinea to have quasi-federal status as provinces. Bougainville is part of Papua New Guinea. Geographically, Bougainville is included in the chain of islands known as the Solomon Islands in Melanesia The revolt recurred and claimed 20,000 lives from 1988 until it was resolved in 1997. Autonomous Bougainville recently elected Joseph Kabui as president. Joseph C Kabui (1954 - 7 June 2008) was a Secessionist leader and the first President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville

Law

Main article: Law of Papua New Guinea

The unicameral Parliament enacts legislation in the same manner as in other jurisdictions having "cabinet," "responsible government," or "parliamentary democracy": it is introduced by the executive government to the legislature, debated and, if passed, becomes law when it receives royal assent by the Governor-General. The law of Papua New Guinea consists of the Constitution ordinary statutes enacted by Parliament or adopted at Independence from overseas (together with their pendant Most legislation is actually regulation implemented by the bureaucracy under enabling legislation previously passed by Parliament.

All ordinary statutes enacted by Parliament must be consistent with the Constitution and the courts have jurisdiction to rule on the constitutionality of statutes, both in disputes before them and on a reference where there is no dispute but only an abstract question of law. Unusual among developing countries, the judicial branch of government in Papua New Guinea has remained remarkably independent and successive executive governments have continued to respect its authority.

The "underlying law" — that is, the common law of Papua New Guinea — consists of English common law as it stood on September 16, 1975 (the date of Independence), and thereafter the decisions of PNG’s own courts. Events 1400 - Owain Glyndŵr is declared Prince of Wales by his followers Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The courts are directed by the Constitution and, latterly, the Underlying Law Act, to take note of the "custom" of traditional communities, with a view to determining which customs are common to the whole country and may be declared also to be part of the underlying law. In practice, this has proved extremely difficult and has been largely neglected. Statutes are largely adopted from overseas jurisdictions, primarily Australia and England. Advocacy in the courts follows the adversarial pattern of other common law countries.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state. The politics of Papua New Guinea takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic Monarchy within the Commonwealth of Nations For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II It had been expected by the constitutional convention, which prepared the draft constitution, and by Australia, the outgoing metropolitan power, that Papua New Guinea would choose not to retain its link with the British monarchy. The founders, however, considered that imperial honours had a cachet that the newly independent state would not be able to confer with a purely indigenous honours system — the Monarchy was thus maintained. ^[11] The Queen is represented in Papua New Guinea by the Governor-General, currently Sir Paulias Matane. The Governor-General of Papua New Guinea is the representative of Queen Elizabeth II, known in Tok Pisin as 'Missis Kwin' Papua New Guinea 's Grand Chief Sir Paulias Nguna Matane GCL, GCMG, OBE, KStJ (born 1931 formerly a career civil servant became Governor-General of Papua New Guinea is unique among commonwealth realms in that the Governor-General is effectively selected by the legislature rather than by the executive, as in some parliamentary democracies within or formerly within the Commonwealth whose non-executive ceremonial president is similarly chosen and as would have been the case had the link with the monarchy been severed at independence such that the governor-general was an autochthonous head of state. A Commonwealth realm is any one of 16 sovereign states within the Commonwealth of Nations that each have Elizabeth II as their respective Monarch

Actual executive power lies with the Prime Minister, who heads the cabinet. The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea is Papua New Guinea's Head of government, consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority The Cabinet of Papua New Guinea functions as the policy and decision-making body of the executive branch within the government system of Papua New Guinea. The unicameral National Parliament has 109 seats, of which 20 are occupied by the governors of the 19 provinces and the NCD. Unicameralism is the practice of having only one legislative or Parliamentary chamber The National Parliament of Papua New Guinea is the unicameral national legislature in Papua New Guinea. A governor is a governing official usually the executive (at least nominally to different degrees also politically and administratively of a non-sovereign level of government A province is a territorial unit almost always an Administrative division. The National Capital District of Papua New Guinea is the incorporated area around Port Moresby, which is the capital of Papua New Guinea Candidates for members of parliament are voted upon when the prime minister calls a national election, a maximum of five years after the previous national election. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. In the early years of independence, the instability of the party system led to frequent votes of no-confidence in Parliament with resulting falls of the government of the day and the need for national elections, in accordance with the conventions of parliamentary democracy. In recent years, successive governments have passed legislation preventing such votes sooner than 18 months after a national election. This has arguably resulted in greater stability though, perhaps, at a cost of reducing the accountability of the executive branch of government.

Elections in PNG attract large numbers of candidates. After independence in 1975, members were elected by the first past the post system, with winners frequently gaining less than 15% of the vote. The plurality voting system is a Single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member Electoral reforms in 2001 introduced the Limited Preferential Vote system (LPV), a version of the Alternative Vote. Instant-runoff voting ( IRV) is a Voting system used for single-winner elections in which voters have one vote and rank Candidates in order of The 2007 general election was the first to be conducted using LPV. General elections were held in Papua New Guinea from 30 June 2007 to 14 July 2007.

Regions, provinces and districts

Main articles: Regions of Papua New Guinea, Provinces of Papua New Guinea, and Districts and LLGs of Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is divided into four regions, which are not the primary administrative divisions, but are quite significant in many aspects of government, commercial, sporting and other activities. The four regions of Papua New Guinea are its broadest scale administrative divisions The provinces of Papua New Guinea are the primary administrative divisions of the country |||} This page is a list of districts and Local-Level Government areas of Papua New Guinea. The four regions of Papua New Guinea are its broadest scale administrative divisions

The nation has 20 province-level divisions: eighteen provinces, the autonomous province of North Solomons (Bougainville) and the National Capital District. The provinces of Papua New Guinea are the primary administrative divisions of the country The Autonomous Region of Bougainville, also known as North Solomons, is an Autonomous region in Papua New Guinea and is the largest of the The National Capital District of Papua New Guinea is the incorporated area around Port Moresby, which is the capital of Papua New Guinea Each province is divided into one or more districts, which in turn are divided into one or more Local Level Government areas. |||} This page is a list of districts and Local-Level Government areas of Papua New Guinea. |||} This page is a list of districts and Local-Level Government areas of Papua New Guinea.

Provinces^[12] are the primary administrative divisions of the country. Provincial governments are branches of the national government — Papua New Guinea is not a federation of provinces. A federation ( Latin: foedus, covenant is a union comprising a number of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central ("federal" The province-level divisions are as follows:

Central Chimbu (Simbu) Eastern Highlands East New Britain East Sepik Enga Gulf Madang Manus Milne Bay

Morobe New Ireland Northern (Oro Province) Bougainville (North Solomons) Southern Highlands Western Province (Fly) Western Highlands West New Britain West Sepik (Sandaun) National Capital District

Geography

Main article: Geography of Papua New Guinea

At 462,840 km² (178,704 sq mi), Papua New Guinea is the world's fifty-fourth largest country (after Cameroon). Central Province is a province in Papua New Guinea located on the southern coast of the country Simbu, also known as (and officially named Chimbu, is a Highlands Region province in Papua New Guinea. Eastern Highlands is a highlands province of Papua New Guinea. East New Britain is a province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. East Sepik is a province in Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Wewak. Enga refers to both an ethnic group located in the highlands of Papua New Guinea and the province in which they are the majority ethnic group Gulf Province is a province of Papua New Guinea located on the southern coast Madang is a province on the northern coast of mainland Papua New Guinea. Manus Province is the smallest province in Papua New Guinea with a land area of 2100 km² but with more than 220000 km² of water Milne Bay is a province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Alotau. Morobe Province (previously named Adolfhafen in German New Guinea) is a province on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea New Ireland Province, formerly New Mecklenburg (Neu-Mecklenburg is the most northeastern province of Papua New Guinea. Oro Province, formerly (and officially still Northern Province, is a Coastal Province of Papua New Guinea. The Autonomous Region of Bougainville, also known as North Solomons, is an Autonomous region in Papua New Guinea and is the largest of the Southern Highlands is a province in Papua New Guinea. Its provincial capital is the town of Mendi. Western Province is a Coastal Province in southwestern Papua New Guinea, bordering the Indonesian province of Papua. Western Highlands is a province of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital is Mount Hagen. West New Britain is a province of Papua New Guinea on the islands of New Britain. Sandaun Province, officially West Sepik Province, is the north-westernmost province of Papua New Guinea. The National Capital District of Papua New Guinea is the incorporated area around Port Moresby, which is the capital of Papua New Guinea The geography of Papua New Guinea describes the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, the islands of New Ireland, New Britain and Bougainville The Republic of Cameroon is a unitary republic of central and western Africa. It is comparable in size to Sweden, and somewhat larger than the US state of California. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean.

Papua New Guinea is mostly mountainous (highest peak: Mount Wilhelm at 4,509 m; 14,793 ft) and mostly covered with tropical rainforest, as well as very large wetland areas surrounding the Sepik and Fly rivers. A mountain is a Landform that extends above the surrounding Terrain in a limited area with a peak Mount Wilhelm (Wilhelmsberg is the highest Mountain in Papua New Guinea at. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit Tropical rainforests are generally found near the Equator. They are common in Asia, Australia, Africa, South America, Central A wetland is an area of Land consisting of Soil that is Saturated with Moisture, such as a Swamp, Marsh, or Bog The Sepik is the longest river on the island of New Guinea. The majority of the river flows through the Papua New Guinea (PNG provinces of Sandaun The Fly at, is the second longest River, after the Sepik, in Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea is surrounded by coral reefs which are under close watch to preserve them.

The country is situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire, at the point of collision of several tectonic plates. There are a number of active volcanoes and eruptions are frequent. Plate tectonics and hotspots Divergent plate boundaries At the Earthquakes are relatively common, sometimes accompanied by tsunamis. An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth 's crust that creates Seismic waves Earthquakes are recorded with a Seismometer A tsunami ((tsuːˈnɑːmi is a series of waves created when

The mainland of the country is the eastern half of New Guinea island, where the largest towns are also located, including the capital Port Moresby and Lae; other major islands within Papua New Guinea include New Ireland, New Britain, Manus and Bougainville. New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the world's second largest island, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known ||-||-||-||-||-||} Port Moresby (ˌpɔrt ˈmɔrzbi or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, population 255000 (2000 is the Capital and largest city of Papua Lae, the capital of Morobe Province is the second largest city in Papua New Guinea New Ireland ( Tok Pisin: Niu Ailan) is a large Island in Papua New Guinea, approximately 8650 km² in area This article discusses the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest island of the Admiralty Islands. Bougainville is part of Papua New Guinea. Geographically, Bougainville is included in the chain of islands known as the Solomon Islands in Melanesia

Papua New Guinea is one of the few regions close to the equator that experience snowfall, which occurs in the most elevated parts of the mainland. The equator (sometimes referred to colloquially as "the Line") is the intersection of the Earth 's surface with the plane perpendicular to the "Snowfall" redirects here For other uses see Snow (disambiguation or Snowfall (disambiguation.

Ecology

Papua New Guinea is part of the Australasia ecozone, which also includes Australia, New Zealand, eastern Indonesia, and several Pacific island groups, including the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. The Australasian zone is an ecological region that is coincident but not synonymous (by some definitions with the geographic Region of Australasia For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. The Solomon Islands is a country in Melanesia, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands Vanuatu, officially the Republic of Vanuatu ( French: République de Vanuatu, Bislama: Ripablik blong Vanuatu) is an Island

Geologically, the island of New Guinea is a northern extension of the Indo-Australian tectonic plate, forming part of a single landmass Australia-New Guinea (also called Sahul or Meganesia). The Indo-Australian Plate is a major Tectonic plate that includes the continent of Australia and surrounding Ocean, and extends northwest to include the It is connected to the Australian segment by a shallow continental shelf across the Torres Strait, which in former ages had lain exposed as a land bridge — particularly during ice ages when sea levels were lower than at present. The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each Continent and associated Coastal plain, which is covered during interglacial periods such The Torres Strait is a body of water which lies between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. A land bridge, in Biogeography, is an Isthmus or other land connection between otherwise separate areas which allows Animals and Plants An ice age is a period of long-term reduction in the Temperature of the Earth 's surface and atmosphere resulting in an expansion of continental Ice sheets Mean sea level (MSL is the average (mean height of the Sea, with reference to a suitable reference surface

Consequently, many species of birds and mammals found on New Guinea have close genetic links with corresponding species found in Australia. Jungle usually refers to a dense Forest in a hot climate such as a Tropical rainforest. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. One notable feature in common for the two landmasses is the existence of several species of marsupial mammals, including some kangaroos and possums, which are not found elsewhere. Marsupials are an Infraclass of Mammals characterized by a distinctive pouch (called the marsupium) in which females carry their young through Mammals ( class Mammalia) are a class of Vertebrate Animals characterized by the presence of Sweat glands, including sweat glands A kangaroo is a Marsupial from the family Macropodidae (macropods meaning 'large foot' A possum is any of about 64 small to medium-sized Arboreal Marsupial Species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi

Many of the other islands within PNG territory, including New Britain, New Ireland, Bougainville, the Admiralty Islands, the Trobriand Islands, and the Louisiade Archipelago, were never linked to New Guinea by land bridges, and they lack many of the land mammals and flightless birds that are common to New Guinea and Australia. This article discusses the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea New Ireland ( Tok Pisin: Niu Ailan) is a large Island in Papua New Guinea, approximately 8650 km² in area Bougainville is part of Papua New Guinea. Geographically, Bougainville is included in the chain of islands known as the Solomon Islands in Melanesia For the island in Alaska see Admiralty Island. For other uses see The Admiralty Islands. The Louisiade Archipelago is a string of ten larger volcanic islands frequently fringed by coral reefs and 90 smaller coral islands located 200 km southeast of New Guinea, stretching

Australia and New Guinea are portions of the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana, which started to break into smaller continents in the Cretaceous era, 130–65 million years ago. Gondwana (ɡɒnˈdwɑːnə originally Gondwanaland) was a southern Supercontinent that existed about 500 to 200 Ma ago The Cretaceous (kriːˈteɪʃəs, usually abbreviated 'K' for its German translation "Kreide" is a geologic period and system, reaching from the end of Australia finally broke free from Antarctica about 45 million years ago. All the Australasian lands are home to the Antarctic flora, descended from the flora of southern Gondwana, including the coniferous podocarps and Araucaria pines, and the broadleafed southern beech (Nothofagus). Antarctic flora is a distinct community of Vascular plants which evolved millions of years ago on the supercontinent of Gondwana, and is now found on several separate Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly Southern Hemisphere Conifers with 18-19 genera and about 170-200 species of Evergreen Trees and Araucaria is a Genus of Evergreen coniferous Trees in the family Araucariaceae. Nothofagus, also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of about 35 Species of Trees and shrubs native to the temperate oceanic These plant families are still present in Papua New Guinea.

As the Indo-Australian Plate (which includes landmasses of India, Australia, and the Indian Ocean floor in-between) drifts north, it collides with the Eurasian Plate, and the collision of the two plates pushed up the Himalayas, the Indonesian islands, and New Guinea's Central Range. The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's Oceanic divisions covering about 20% of the water on the Earth 's surface The Eurasian Plate is a Tectonic plate which includes most of the continent of Eurasia (a landmass consisting of the traditional Continents of Europe The Central Range is much younger and higher than the mountains of Australia, so high that it is home to rare equatorial glaciers. "Glacial" and "Glaciation" redirect here For the geological periods see Glacial period. New Guinea is part of the humid tropics, and many Indomalayan rainforest plants spread across the narrow straits from Asia, mixing together with the old Australian and Antarctic floras. The Indomalaya ecozone is one of the eight Ecozones that cover the planet's land surface

PNG includes a number of terrestrial ecoregions:

• Admiralty Islands lowland rain forests
• Central Range montane rain forests
• Huon Peninsula montane rain forests
• Louisiade Archipelago rain forests
• New Britain-New Ireland lowland rain forests
• New Britain-New Ireland montane rain forests
• New Guinea mangroves
• Northern New Guinea lowland rain and freshwater swamp forests
• Northern New Guinea montane rain forests
• Solomon Islands rain forests (includes Bougainville and Buka)
• Southeastern Papuan rain forests
• Southern New Guinea freshwater swamp forests
• Southern New Guinea lowland rain forests
• Trobriand Islands rain forests
• Trans Fly savanna and grasslands
• Central Range sub-alpine grasslands

Economy

Main article: Economy of Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is richly endowed with natural resources, but exploitation has been hampered by rugged terrain, the high cost of developing infrastructure, serious law and order problems and the system of land title, which makes identifying the owners of land for the purpose of negotiating appropriate agreements problematic. An ecoregion ( ecological region) sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area smaller than a "realm" or " For the island in Alaska see Admiralty Island. For other uses see The Admiralty Islands. The Louisiade Archipelago is a string of ten larger volcanic islands frequently fringed by coral reefs and 90 smaller coral islands located 200 km southeast of New Guinea, stretching The New Guinea mangroves is a Mangrove Ecoregion that covers portions of coastal New Guinea. The Northern New Guinea lowland rain and freshwater swamp forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest Ecoregion of northern New Guinea. The Solomon Islands rain forests are a Terrestrial ecoregion which includes most of the Solomon Islands (except the Santa Cruz Islands) and the islands Bougainville is part of Papua New Guinea. Geographically, Bougainville is included in the chain of islands known as the Solomon Islands in Melanesia Papua New Guinea is richly endowed with Natural resources, but exploitation has been hampered by the rugged terrain and the high cost of developing Infrastructure Agriculture provides a subsistence livelihood for 85% of the population. Mineral deposits, including oil, copper, and gold, account for 72% of export earnings. A mineral is a naturally occurring substance formed through geological processes that has a characteristic chemical composition a highly ordered atomic structure and specific Petroleum ( L petroleum, from Greek πετρέλαιον, lit Copper (ˈkɒpɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol Cu (cuprum and Atomic number 29 Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 Former Prime Minister Sir Mekere Morauta tried to restore integrity to state institutions, stabilize the kina, restore stability to the national budget, privatize public enterprises where appropriate, and ensure ongoing peace on Bougainville following the 1997 agreement which ended Bougainville's secessionist unrest. Sir Mekere Morauta, MP (born 1946 is a Papua New Guinean political figure The kina ( ISO 4217 code PGK) is the Currency of Papua New Guinea. Bougainville is part of Papua New Guinea. Geographically, Bougainville is included in the chain of islands known as the Solomon Islands in Melanesia The Morauta government had considerable success in attracting international support, specifically gaining the backing of the IMF and the World Bank in securing development assistance loans. The International Monetary Fund ( IMF) is an International organization that oversees the Global financial system by following the Macroeconomic The World Bank is an internationally supported Bank that provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries for development programs (e Significant challenges face the current Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare, including gaining further investor confidence, continuing efforts to privatize government assets, and maintaining the support of members of Parliament. Sir Michael Thomas Somare, GCL, GCMG, CH, CF (born 9 April 1936) has been Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea The third quarter (September, 2004) Reserve Bank Report by the Governor of Bank of PNG showed positive economic stance by the Government, with inflation at zero. However, in March 2006 the United Nations Committee for Development Policy called for Papua New Guinea's designation of developing country to be downgraded to least-developed country because of protracted economic and social stagnation.

Land tenure

Only some 3% of the land of Papua New Guinea is in private hands; it is privately held under 99 year State Lease, or it is held by the State. There is virtually no freehold title; the few existing freeholds are automatically converted to State Lease when they are transferred between vendor and purchaser. Unalienated land is owned under customary title by traditional landowners. The precise nature of the seisin varies from one culture to another. Seisin is the possession of such an Estate in land as was anciently thought worthy to be held by a free man. Many writers portray land as in the communal ownership of traditional clans; however, closer studies usually show that the smallest portions of land whose ownership cannot be further divided are held by the individual heads of extended families and their descendants, or their descendants alone if they have recently died. This is a matter of vital importance because a problem of economic development is identifying who the membership of customary landowning groups is, and thus who the owners are. Disputes between mining and forestry companies and landowner groups often devolve on the issue of whether the companies entered into contractual relations for the use of land with the true owners. Customary property — usually land — cannot be devised by will; it can only be inherited according to the custom of the deceased's people.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is one of, if not the most heterogeneous nations in the world. The Huli are an Indigenous people that live in the Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. Southern Highlands is a province in Papua New Guinea. Its provincial capital is the town of Mendi. The indigenous population of Papua New Guinea is one of the most Heterogeneous in the world Heterogeneous is an adjective used to describe an object or system consisting of multiple items having a large number of structural variations There are hundreds of ethnic groups indigenous to Papua New Guinea, the majority being from the group known as Papuans, whose ancestors arrived in the New Guinea region tens of thousands of years ago. The Papuans are the speakers of the Papuan languages and indigenous peoples of New Guinea. The others are Austronesians, their ancestors having arrived in the region less than four thousand years ago. The Austronesian people or Austronesian-speaking people, are a population group present in Oceania and Southeast Asia who speak or had ancestors who spoke There are also numerous people from other parts of the world now resident, including Chinese, Europeans, Australians, Filipinos, Polynesians and Micronesians.

Papua New Guinea has more languages than any other country, with over 820 indigenous languages, representing twelve percent of the world's total. Indigenous languages are classified into two large groups: Austronesian languages and non-Austronesian (or Papuan languages). The term Papuan languages refers to those Languages of the western Pacific which are neither Austronesian nor Australian. There are three official languages for Papua New Guinea. English is an official language, and is the language of government and the education system, but it is not widely spoken. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The primary lingua franca of the country is Tok Pisin, in which much of the debate in Parliament is conducted, many information campaigns and advertisements are presented, and until recently a national newspaper, Wantok, was published. A lingua franca (from Italian, literally meaning Frankish language, see etymology under Sabir and Italian below is any Language widely Tok Pisin ( tok means "word" or "speech" as in "talk" pisin means " Pidgin " is a creole spoken throughout The only area where Tok Pisin is not prevalent is the southern region of Papua, where people often use the third official language, Hiri Motu. Papua Region is one of four regions of Papua New Guinea. It comprises Central Province Gulf Province Milne Bay Province Hiri Motu, Police Motu or Pidgin Motu is an official Language of Papua New Guinea. Although it lies in the Papua region, Port Moresby has a highly diverse population which primarily uses Tok Pisin, and to a lesser extent English, with Motu spoken as the indigenous language in outlying villages. With an average of only 7,000 speakers per language, Papua New Guinea has a greater density of languages than any other nation on earth except Vanuatu. Vanuatu, officially the Republic of Vanuatu ( French: République de Vanuatu, Bislama: Ripablik blong Vanuatu) is an Island

PNG has the highest incidence of HIV and AIDS in the Pacific region and is the fourth country in the Asia Pacific region to fit the criteria for a generalised HIV/AIDS epidemic. ^[13] Lack of HIV/AIDS awareness is a major problem, especially in rural areas.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Papua New Guinea

The culture of Papua New Guinea is multi-faceted and complex. The culture of Papua New Guinea (PNG is many-sided and complex It is estimated that more than a thousand different cultural groups exist in PNG. Because of this diversity, many different styles of cultural expression have emerged; each group has created its own expressive forms in art, dance, weaponry, costumes, singing, music, architecture and much more. Art refers to a diverse range of Human activities creations and expressions that are appealing to the Senses or Emotions of a human individual Dance (from French danser, perhaps from Frankish) is an Art form that generally refers to movement of the body usually rhythmic A weapon is a Tool used either in Hunting, or attack or defence in Combat for the purpose of subduing enemy personnel or to destroy enemy weapons The term costume can refer to Wardrobe and dress in general or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people class or period Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, which is often contrasted with Speech. Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. The term architecture (from Greek αρχιτεκτονικήarchitektoniki) can be used to mean a process a profession or documentation

Most of these different cultural groups have their own language. People typically live in villages that rely on subsistence farming. A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet, but smaller than a Town or City. Subsistence agriculture is self-sufficient farming in which farmers grow only enough food to feed the family and to pay taxes or feudal dues In some areas people hunt and collect wild plants (such as yam roots) to supplement their diets. Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea (family Dioscoreaceae) Those who become skilled at hunting, farming and fishing earn a great deal of respect.

On the Sepik river, there is a famous tradition of wood carving, often in the form of plants or animals, representing ancestor spirits. The Sepik is the longest river on the island of New Guinea. The majority of the river flows through the Papua New Guinea (PNG provinces of Sandaun Wood carving is a form of working wood by means of a cutting tool held in the hand (this may be a power tool resulting in a wooden figure or figurine (this may be abstract An ancestor is a Parent or ( recursively) the parent of an ancestor (i

Sea shells are no longer the currency of Papua New Guinea, as they were in some regions — sea shells were abolished as currency in 1933. A seashell, also known as a sea shell, is the Common name for a hard protective outer layer a shell or in some cases a " test " that was created A currency is a unit of exchange, facilitating the transfer of Goods and/or services It is one form of Money, where money is However, this heritage is still present in local customs; in some cultures, to get a bride, a groom must bring a certain number of golden-edged clam shells^[14] as a bride price. The word tradition comes from the Latin traditionem acc of traditio which means "a giving up delivering up surrendering" and is used in a number of A convention is a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted Standards norms social norms or criteria, often taking the form of Bride price also known as bride wealth is an amount of Money or Property or Wealth paid by the groom or his family to the Parents of In other regions, bride price is paid in lengths of shell money, pigs, cassowaries or cash; elsewhere, bride price is unknown and it is brides who must pay dowry. Shell money is a medium of exchange that was once common It consisted either of whole Sea shells or pieces of them which were worked into beads or artificially shaped Pigs, also called hogs or' swine', are Ungulates which have been domesticated as sources of food leather and similar products since ancient times Cassowaries ( Genus Casuarius) are very large flightless Birds native to the Tropical forests of New Guinea and Cash usually refers to Money in the form of Currency, such as Banknotes and Coins In Bookkeeping and Finance, A dowry (also known as trousseau or tocher) is the money goods or estate that a woman brings to her soon to be husband in marriage

People of the highlands engage in colourful local rituals that are called "sing sings". They paint themselves, and dress up with feathers, pearls and animal skins to represent birds, trees or mountain spirits. Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering or Plumage, on Birds They are considered the most complex integumentary structures A pearl is a hard roundish object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled Mollusk. Sometimes an important event, such as a legendary battle, is enacted at such a musical festival. (See also Music of Papua New Guinea. The island of New Guinea is divided into two halves The East is a country called Papua New Guinea, and the Western half is the Papua province of Indonesia )

Education

The University of Papua New Guinea based in the National Capital District offers various degrees to national and international students. The University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG was established by ordinance of the Australian administration in 1965 A capital territory or capital District is normally a specially designated Administrative division where a Country 's seat of Teaching language is English. [2]

Sport

Main article: Sport in Papua New Guinea

See also: Rugby league in Papua New Guinea

Sport is an important part of PNG culture. Sport is an important part of Papua New Guinean culture The national sport although not official is considered to be Rugby league. Rugby league is a popular Team Sport in Papua New Guinea, and indeed is generally regarded as the National sport. The national sport, although not official, is considered to be rugby league. History See also History of rugby league The grass roots of rugby league can be traced to early football history, through the playing of ball games ^[15] In a nation where communities are far apart and many people live at a minimal subsistence level, rugby league has been described as a replacement for tribal warfare as a way of explaining the local enthusiasm for the game (a matter of life and death). Many Papua New Guineans have become instant celebrities by representing their country or playing in an overseas professional league. Even Australian rugby league players who have played in the annual (Australian) State of Origin clash, which is celebrated feverishly every year in PNG, are among the most well known identities throughout the nation. State of Origin is an annual best-of-three series of Rugby league matches between the Maroons, representing the state of Queensland, and the Blues The Papua New Guinea national rugby league team usually play against the Australian national rugby league team each year in Port Moresby. Rugby league in Papua New Guinea is regarded as the country’s national sport ||-||-||-||-||-||} Port Moresby (ˌpɔrt ˈmɔrzbi or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, population 255000 (2000 is the Capital and largest city of Papua It is such a popular fixture that thousands of people can't get into the ground once it's full, causing people to climb onto the stadium roof or up trees outside the ground in order to see the match. The limited capacity of the stadium for this fixture often sparks riots. Spectators clashed with riot police during this fixture in 2006.

Australian Rules football has experienced considerable growth over the past decade, now being Papua New Guinea's second most popular sport. They also boast the second highest number of players in the world. The Papua New Guinea national Australian rules football team competed at both the 2002 and 2005 International Cups and were runners-up both times (to Ireland and New Zealand respectively). The Papua New Guinea national Australian rules football team (nicknamed the "Mosquitos" and for sponsorship purposes the Telikom PNG AFL-PNG is the governing body of the sport in Papua New Guinea. AFL PNG is the peak promotional body for the Sport of Australian rules football in Papua New Guinea. Mal Michael is a famous Papua New Guinean footballer in the AFL, and his popularity has helped increase awareness of the game in his homeland. Malcolm Roberto "Mal" Michael (born 24 June 1977 in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea) is an Australian rules footballer who usually plays at

Other major sports which have a part in the PNG sporting landscape are soccer, rugby union and, in eastern Papua, cricket. Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered Overview See also Playing rugby union A rugby union match lasts for 80 minutes (plus stoppage time with a short Cricket is a bat-and-ball team Sport that originated in England and is now played in more than 100 countries The national rugby union team have in the past attempted to qualify for the Rugby World Cup, but have yet to debut. The Papua New Guinea national rugby union team represent Papua New Guinea in the sport of Rugby union. The Rugby World Cup is the premier international Rugby union competition

Religion

Main article: Religion in Papua New Guinea

The courts and government practice uphold the constitutional right to freedom of speech, thought, and belief, and no legislation to curb those rights has been adopted, though Sir Arnold Amet, the immediately previous Chief Justice of Papua New Guinea and an outspoken proponent of Pentecostal Christianity, frequently urged legislative and other curbs on the activities of Muslims in the country. Religion in Papua New Guinea is predominantly Christian with traditional Animist and Ancestor worship still found in some places Islam in Papua New Guinea is a minority religion the US department of state estimates that there are about 2000 muslims in the country

The 2000 census showed 96 percent of citizens were members of a Christian church; however, many citizens combine their Christian faith with some pre-Christian traditional indigenous practices. The census percentages were as follows:

• Roman Catholic Church (27. 0%)
• Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea (19. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea has a membership of 1001005 (census of year 2000 5%)
• United Church (11. The United Church in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands is a merged denomination dating from 1968 consisting of the former London Missionary Society (operating exclusively 5%)
• Seventh-day Adventist Church (10. The Seventh-day Adventist (abbreviated " Adventist " Church is a Christian denomination which is distinguished mainly by its observance 0%)
• Pentecostal (8. Pentecostalism is a renewalist religious movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on the direct personal experience of God through the Baptism 6%)
• Evangelical Alliance (5. Evangelicalism is a theological movement tradition and system of beliefs most closely associated with Protestant Christianity, which identifies with the Gospel 2%)
• Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea (3. The Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea came into existence as a discrete province of the Anglican Communion when the Anglican Province of Papua New Guinea 2%)
• Baptist (2. Baptist is a term describing individuals belonging to a Baptist church or a Baptist denomination. 5%)
• Church of Christ (0. 4%)
• Jehovah's Witnesses (0. Jehovah's Witnesses is a restorationist, millenialist Christian denomination 3%)
• Salvation Army (0. The Salvation Army is a Christian charity and church that is internally organised like a military service. 2%)
• Other Christian (8. 0%)

Minority religions include the Bahá'í Faith (15,000 or 0. The Bahá'í Faith is a Religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in nineteenth-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind 3%), while Islam in Papua New Guinea accounts for approximately 1,000 to 2,000 or about 0. Islam in Papua New Guinea is a minority religion the US department of state estimates that there are about 2000 muslims in the country 04%, (largely foreign residents of African and Southeast Asian origin, but with some Papua New Guinean converts in the towns). Non-traditional Christian churches and non-Christian religious groups are active throughout the country. The Papua New Guinea Council of Churches has stated that both Muslim and Confucian missionaries are active, and foreign missionary activity in general is high. The Papua New Guinea Council of Churches (PNGCC is a Christian ecumenical council in Papua New Guinea. Islam in Papua New Guinea is a minority religion the US department of state estimates that there are about 2000 muslims in the country

Traditional religions were often animist and some also tended to have elements of ancestor worship though generalisation is suspect given the extreme heterogeneity of Melanesian societies. Animism (from Latin anima ( Soul, Life) commonly refers to a religious belief that Souls or Spirits exist in Animals For a discussion of one (West Papuan) society's traditional religion by way of example, see the article on the Korowai of West Papua. This article is about the ethnic group in New Guinea For the Māori cloak see Māori traditional textiles. Papua is the largest province of Indonesia, comprising a majority part of the western half of the island of New Guinea and nearby islands (see also

Transport

Main article: Transport in Papua New Guinea

Transport in Papua New Guinea is heavily limited by the country's mountainous terrain. Transport in Papua New Guinea is in many cases heavily limited by the mountainous terrain Port Moresby, is not linked by road to any of the other major towns and many remote villages can only be reached by light aircraft or on foot. ||-||-||-||-||-||} Port Moresby (ˌpɔrt ˈmɔrzbi or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, population 255000 (2000 is the Capital and largest city of Papua As a result, air travel is the single most important form of transport. Papua New Guinea has 578 airstrips, with 557 of them being unpaved. ^[16]

See also

• Awards system of Papua New Guinea
• Biodiversity protection efforts in Papua New Guinea
• Communications in Papua New Guinea
• Education in Papua New Guinea
• Foreign relations of Papua New Guinea
• List of diplomatic missions in Papua New Guinea
• List of Papua New Guineans
• Lists of cities & towns in Papua New Guinea by population
• List of Districts and Local Level Governments of Papua New Guinea
• Military of Papua New Guinea
• Tourism of Papua New Guinea

Notes

References

• Swaddling, Pamela (1996). Plumes from Paradise. Papua New Guinea National Museum. ISBN 9980-85-103-1.  

External links

• Government of Papua New Guinea
• Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea
• Wikimedia Atlas of Papua New Guinea
• Papua New Guinea at the Open Directory Project
• Wikia has a wiki on this subject: Papua New Guinea
• Papua New Guinea travel guide from Wikitravel
• Papua New Guinea focused wiki
• Papua New Guinea Business Directory

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