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| Independent State of Papua New Guinea Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
| |
.svg) | |
| Capital and largest city | Port Moresby |
| Demonym(s) | Papua New Guinean |
| Dominant mode of production | Capitalism |
| Government | Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy under a dictatorship of the bourgeoisie |
• Monarch | Charles III |
• Governor-General | Bob Dadae |
• Prime Minister | James Marape |
| Area | |
• Total | 462,840 km² |
| Population | |
• 2024 census | 10,185,363 |
| Currency | Kina (PGK) |
| Calling code | +675 |
| ISO 3166 code | PG |
| Internet TLD | .pg |
Papua New Guinea (PNG), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania. PNG is made up of the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, with Indonesia controlling the western half, and many offshore islands in Melanesia. The country also shares borders with Australia to the south and the Solomon Islands to the east.
The island of Bougainville has fought for independence from Papua New Guinea for several decades with the PNG government crushing several uprisings. In a 2019 referendum, almost 98% of the citizens of Bougainville voted to become independent by 2027. However, the referendum was non-binding and the PNG government has thus far failed to grant Bougainville independence.[1][2]
History[edit | edit source]
The first humans arrived in New Guinea around 50,000 years ago. The first European arrival was the Portuguese sailor Jorge de Meneses in 1526, followed by the Spanish explorer Inigo Ortiz de Retes in 1546 who named the island New Guinea. [1]
In 1884 the eastern half of the island was divided by the colonial powers with Germany taking the north and the UK taking the south. In 1906 control of the British half of New Guinea was transferred to the settler colony of Australia upon the latter's independence. In 1914 Australia occupies the German section of the colony during the First World War and after the end of the war full control of the territory is transferred to it in 1921.[1]
Papua New Guinea attained independence from Australia on 16 September 1975.[1]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Papua New Guinea country profile" (2023-12-19). BBC. Archived from the original on 2026-02-10.
- ↑ Kate Lyons (2019-12-11). "Bougainville referendum: region votes overwhelmingly for independence from Papua New Guinea" The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2026-03-05.