KEY FACTS
Joined Commonwealth: 1975
Population: 7,167,000 (2012)
GDP p.c. growth: 1.8% p.a. 1990–2012
UN HDI 2012: world ranking 156
Official language: English
Time: GMT plus 10hr
Currency: kina (K)
Geography
Area: 462,840 sq km
Coastline: 5,150 km
Capital: Port Moresby
The Independent State of Papua New Guinea in the South Pacific shares a land-border with Indonesia; its other near neighbours are Australia to the south and Solomon Islands to the east.Papua New Guinea includes the eastern half of the world’s second biggest island, New Guinea, bordering the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya to the west. The rest of the country is made up of about 600 small islands, the chief of which are the Bismarck Archipelago, the Trobriands, the Louisiade Archipelago, the D’Entrecasteaux Islands, and some of the islands in the Solomons group, including Bougainville. The country comprises 22 provinces including the National Capital District (greater Port Moresby) and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.
Main towns:
Port Moresby (capital, pop. 307,100 in 2010), Lae (Morobe, 96,200), Mendi (Southern Highlands, 43,100), Mount Hagen (Western Highlands, 41,500), Popondetta (Oro, 40,600), Arawa (on Bougainville, 38,600), Kokopo (on New Britain, 33,500), Madang (Madang, 29,100), Kimbe (on New Britain, 23,800), Wewak (East Sepik, 21,800), Bulolo (Morobe, 20,900), Goroka (Eastern Highlands, 20,900), Daru (Fly River, 18,300), Kavieng (on New Ireland, 18,200), Alotau (Milne Bay, 14,500), Vanimo (Sandaun, 11,500), Kundiawa (Simbu, 10,800), Wau (Morobe, 8,700) and Rabaul (on New Britain, 8,100).
Society
KEY FACTS 2012
Population per sq km: 15
Life expectancy: 62 years
Population:
7,167,000 (2012); 13 per cent of people live in urban areas; growth 2.5 per cent p.a. 1990–2012; birth rate 29 per 1,000 people (42 in 1970); life expectancy 62 years (43 in 1970). The people are of mixed (mostly Melanesian) race, with small communities of Polynesians on outlying atolls. There is a declining non-indigenous population (several thousand Australians and a small Chinese population).
Language:
The official language is English, but Tok Pisin (an English-based Creole) is more widely used, and Hiri Motu is spoken around Port Moresby; there are over 800 indigenous languages.
Education:
There are 12 years of school education comprising six years of primary and six of secondary, with cycles of four and two years. The school year starts in January. There are four public universities: the University of Papua New Guinea (Port Moresby); Papua New Guinea University of Technology (Lae); University of Goroka (Goroka), which trains teachers; and University of Natural Resources and Environment (Kerevat, East New Britain), which trains people for agriculture and natural resource management. The longest-established private universities include one founded by the Roman Catholic Church, Divine Word University at Madang; and one by the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Pacific Adventist University at Boroko, Port Moresby. The National Polytechnic Institute at Lae is one of several tertiary institutions offering courses in technical and vocational education. Literacy among people aged 15–24 is 68 per cent (2010).
