Factbook dossier
Background
Papua New Guinea (PNG) occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea; the western half is part of Indonesia. PNG was first settled between 50,000 and 60,000 years ago. Its harsh geography of mountains, jungles, and numerous river valleys kept many of the arriving groups isolated, giving rise to PNG s ethnic and linguistic diversity. Around 500 B.C., Austronesian voyagers settled along the coast. Spanish and Portuguese explorers periodically visited the island starting in the 1500s, but none made it into the country s interior. American and British whaling ships frequented the islands off the coast of New Guinea in the mid-1800s. In 1884, Germany declared a protectorate -- and eventually a colony -- over the northern part of what would become PNG and named it German New Guinea; days later the UK followed suit on the southern part and nearby islands and called it Papua. Most of their focus was on the coastal regions, leaving the highlands largely unexplored. The UK put its colony under Australian administration in 1902 and formalized the act in 1906. At the outbreak of World War I, Australia occupied German New Guinea and continued to rule it after the war as a League of Nations Mandate. The discovery of gold along the Bulolo River in the 1920s led prospectors to venture into the highlands, where they found about 1 million people living in isolated communities. The New Guinea campaign of World War II lasted from January 1942 to the Japanese surrender in August 1945. After the war, Australia combined the two territories and administered PNG as a UN trusteeship. In 1975…
Location
Oceania, group of islands including the eastern half of the island of New Guinea between the Coral Sea and the South Pacific Ocean, east of Indonesia
Area
total : 462,840 sq km land: 452,860 sq km water: 9,980 sq km
Natural resources
gold, copper, silver, natural gas, timber, oil, fisheries
Natural hazards
active volcanism; frequent and sometimes severe earthquakes; mud slides; tsunamis volcanism: severe volcanic activity; Ulawun (2,334 m), one of Papua New Guinea's potentially most dangerous volcanoes, has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; Rabaul (688 m) destroyed the city of Rabaul in 1937 and 1994; Lamington erupted in 1951, killing 3,000 people; Manam's 2004 eruption forced the island's abandonment; other historically active volcanoes include Bam, Bagana, Garbuna, Karkar, Langila, Lolobau, Long Island, Pago, St. Andrew Strait, Victory, and Waiowa; see note 2 under "Geography - note"
Population
total: 10,273,996 (2025 est.) male: 5,206,211 female: 5,067,785
Ethnic groups
Melanesian, Papuan, Negrito, Micronesian, Polynesian
Languages
Tok Pisin (official), English (official), Hiri Motu (official), some 839 living indigenous languages are spoken (about 12% of the world's total) note: Tok Pisin, a creole language, is widely used and understood; English is spoken by 1%-2%; Hiri Motu is spoken by less than 2%
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 0.4%), Roman Catholic 26%, other Christian 5.3%, non-Christian 1.4%, unspecified 3.1% (2011 est.) note: data represent only the citizen population; roughly 0.3% of the population are non-citizens, consisting of Christian 52% (predominantly Roman Catholic), other 10.7% , none 37.3%
Environmental issues
rainforest loss as a result of commercial demand for tropical timber; soil erosion, water-quality degradation, and loss of habitat from logging; effects of large-scale mining projects (discharge of heavy metals, cyanide, and acids into rivers); severe drought; land degradation from poor farming practices; poor fishing practices; coastal pollution due to runoff and oil spills
Government type
parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm
Capital
name: Port Moresby geographic coordinates: 9 27 S, 147 11 E time difference: UTC+10 (15 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) time zone note: Papua New Guinea has two time zones, including Bougainville (UTC+11) etymology: named in 1873 by Captain John MORESBY in honor of his father, British Admiral Sir Fairfax MORESBY (1786-1877)
Executive branch
chief of state: King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor General Grand Chief Sir Bob DADAE (since 28 February 2017) head of government: Prime Minister James MARAPE (since 30 May 2019) cabinet: National Executive Council appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister election/appointment process: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general nominated by the National Parliament and appointed by the chief of state; following legislative elections, the governor general usually appoints the leader of the majority party or majority coalition as prime minister, pending a National Parliament vote election results: James MARAPE reelected prime minister; National Parliament vote - 105 out of 118
Legislative branch
legislature name: National Parliament legislative structure: unicameral number of seats: 118 (all directly elected) electoral system: plurality/majority scope of elections: full renewal term in office: 5 years most recent election date: 7/4/2022 to 7/22/2022 parties elected and seats per party: Papua Niugini Union Pati (PANGU) (39); People's National Congress Party (PNC) (15); United Resource Party (URP) (11); Others (40); Independents (10) percentage of women in chamber: 2.7% expected date of next election: July 2027
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$45.487 billion (2024 est.) $43.697 billion (2023 est.) $42.093 billion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars
Real GDP per capita
$4,300 (2024 est.) $4,200 (2023 est.) $4,100 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
0.6% (2024 est.) 2.3% (2023 est.) 5.3% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices
Exports - partners
China 28%, Japan 25%, Australia 17%, Taiwan 8%, India 4% (2023) note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports
Imports - partners
Australia 27%, China 24%, Singapore 15%, Malaysia 9%, Japan 4% (2023) note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
Military and security forces
Papua New Guinea Defense Force (PNGDF): Land, Air, Maritime elements Ministry of Internal Security: Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC) (2025)
Military expenditures
0.3% of GDP (2024 est.) 0.3% of GDP (2023 est.) 0.3% of GDP (2022 est.) 0.4% of GDP (2021 est.) 0.4% of GDP (2020 est.)