

The unicameral National Parliament has 111 seats, of which 22 are occupied by the governors of the 22 provinces and the National Capital District. The current prime minister is James Marape. The Prime Minister heads the cabinet, which consists of 31 members of Parliament from the ruling coalition, which make up the government. Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands, are unusual among Commonwealth realms in that governors-general are appointed by the Sovereign, the Head of State, upon nomination by the National Parliament, which nomination the Head of State is not obliged to accept. The monarch is represented by the Governor-General of Papua New Guinea, currently Bob Dadae. The founders, however, considered that imperial honours had a cachet. The constitutional convention, which prepared the draft constitution, and Australia, the outgoing metropolitan power, had thought that Papua New Guinea would not remain a monarchy. Papua New Guinea is a Commonwealth realm with Charles as King of Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea is one of the few regions close to the equator that experiences snowfall, which occurs in the most elevated parts of the mainland. The mainland of the country is the eastern half of New Guinea island, where the largest towns are also located, including the capital Port Moresby and Lae other major islands within Papua New Guinea include New Ireland, New Britain, Manus and Bougainville. Earthquakes are relatively common, sometimes accompanied by tsunamis. There are a number of active volcanoes, and eruptions are frequent. The country is situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire, at the point of collision of several tectonic plates. Papua New Guinea is surrounded by coral reefs which are under close watch, in the interests of preservation. The highest peak is Mount Wilhelm at 4,509 metres (14,793 ft). In some areas, airplanes are the only mode of transport. This terrain has made it difficult for the country to develop transportation infrastructure. Dense rainforests can be found in the lowland and coastal areas as well as very large wetland areas surrounding the Sepik and Fly rivers. A spine of mountains, the New Guinea Highlands, runs the length of the island of New Guinea, forming a populous highlands region mostly covered with tropical rainforest. The country's geography is diverse and, in places, extremely rugged. Including all its islands, it lies between latitudes 0° and 12°S, and longitudes 140° and 160☎.
#Bird in hiri motu full#
It is a full member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the Pacific Community, and the Pacific Islands Forum.Īt 462,840 km 2 (178,704 sq mi), Papua New Guinea is the world's fifty-fourth largest country. Papua New Guinea has been an observer state in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN) since 1976, and has filed its application for full membership status. Most live in "traditional" or "customary" social groupings, which are explicitly acknowledged by the Papua New Guinea Constitution, which expresses the wish for "traditional villages and communities to remain as viable units of Papua New Guinean society" and protects their continuing importance to local and national community life. Nearly 40% of the population are subsistance farmers, and are relatively independent of the cash economy. The sovereign state is classified as a developing economy by the International Monetary Fund. The country is believed to be the home of many undocumented species of plants and animals.

Most of the population of more than 8,000,000 people live in customary communities. As of 2019, it is also the most rural, as only 13.25% of its people live in urban centres. There are 839 known languages of Papua New Guinea, one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world. It also became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations in its own right. It became an independent Commonwealth realm in 1975. The country is the world's third largest island country with an area of 462,840 km 2 (178,700 sq mi).Īt the national level, after being ruled by three external powers since 1884, including nearly 60 years of Australian administration starting during World War I, Papua New Guinea established its sovereignty in 1975. Its capital, located along its southeastern coast, is Port Moresby.

Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG also Tok Pisin: Papua Niugini Hiri Motu: Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea (Tok Pisin: Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini Hiri Motu: Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia (a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia).
