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conventional long form: Independent State of Papua New Guinea
conventional short form: Papua New Guinea
local short form: Papuaniugini
former: Territory of Papua and New Guinea
abbreviation: PNG
462,840 km²
Port Moresby
kina (PGK)
675
.pg
Melanesian Pidgin serves as the lingua franca, English spoken by, Motu spoken in Papua region
note:
Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian/Methodist/London Missionary Society, Anglican, Evangelical Alliance, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Protestant, indigenous beliefs
5,795,887
constitutional parliamentary democracy
divided diagonally from upper hoist-side corner; the upper triangle is red with a soaring yellow bird of paradise centered; the lower triangle is black with five, white, five-pointed stars of the Southern Cross constellation centered
The eastern half of the island of New Guinea - second largest in the world - 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. A nine-year secessionist revolt on the island of Bougainville ended in 1997 after claiming some 20,000 lives.
tropical; northwest monsoon (December to March), southeast monsoon (May to October); slight seasonal temperature variation
