PNG at a glance

• Full country name: The Independent State of Papua New Guinea
• Area: 462,840 sq km
• Population: 5.4 million (annual growth rate: 2.3%)
• Capital: Port Moresby (pop 259,000)
• People: Melanesian, Papuan, Negrito, Micronesian, Polynesian.
• Major languages: Melanesian Pidgin; English spoken by 1%–2%; 715 indigenous languages
• Religions: Roman Catholic (22%); Lutheran (16%); other Protestant (28%); indigenous beliefs.
• Government: constitutional monarchy with parliamentary democracy (8 major a parties) that gained its independence from an Australian-administered UN trusteeship on 16 September 1975.
• Prime Minister: Rt Hon Sir Michael Somare GCMG CH K StJ
• GDP: $US11.6 billion
• Currency: Kina
• Inflation rate: 14.7%
• Natural resources: petroleum, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber, bauxite, copper, fertile soils, coal, gold, silver.
• Agriculture: coffee, cocoa, coconuts, palm kernels, tea, rubber, sweet potatoes, fruit, vegetables, poultry.
• Industry: copra crushing, palm oil processing, plywood, wood chip; gold, silver, copper; tourism.
• Major trading partners: Australia, Japan, USA.

TO LEARN MORE about PNG have a look at the Papua New Guinea Tourism Promotion Authority website