← THE SECTION CUT · OCEANIA

Papua New Guinea

6.0S 147.0E · 28 EVENTS · 9 DOMAINS
INDEPENDENCE FROM AUSTRALIA · 16 SEPTEMBER 1975
▼ PULL DOWN TO EXTRACT THE CORE
1975 – present · Bougainville and modern Papua New Guinea
4 EVENTS
1988–1998 · The Bougainville conflict 2 REFS
2001 · Bougainville Peace Agreement 2 REFS
1945 – 1975 · Self-government and independence
7 EVENTS
1945 · Papua and New Guinea united 2 REFS
1 December 1973 · Internal self-government 2 REFS
1942 – 1945 · The Second World War: Kokoda and Bougainville
3 EVENTS
21 July – 16 November 1942 · The Kokoda Track campaign 2 REFS
1942–1945 · Papuan carriers and soldiers 2 REFS
1914 – 1942 · Australian rule and the highland 'first contact'
4 EVENTS
September 1914 · Australia occupies German New Guinea 2 REFS
1921 · League of Nations mandate over New Guinea 2 REFS
1500s – 1914 · European contact and colonial partition
6 EVENTS
19th century · Traders, missionaries, and labour recruiters arrive 2 REFS
November 1884 · The island is partitioned 2 REFS
c. 50,000 BCE – 1500 CE · Deep past: settlement and the world's first farmers
4 EVENTS
c. 50,000 years ago · First settlement of New Guinea 2 REFS
c. 7,000–10,000 years ago · Independent invention of agriculture at Kuk 2 REFS
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EVERY ERA, EVENT AND REFERENCE ON ONE PAGE
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Quick facts · atlas reference
Capital
Port Moresby
Population
6.9 m
Area
462,840 km²
Region
Melanesia
Languages
English, Hiri Motu, Tok Pisin
Currency
Papua New Guinean kina (K)
Demonym
Papua New Guinean
UN member
Yes
Dossier · press a specimen — it turns over

Economy

GDP
$32 B’25 WB-WDI
GDP per capita
$3,020’25 WB-WDI
GDP growth
5.6%’25 WB-WDI
Inflation
4.4%’25 WB-WDI
Trade openness
131.1%’04 WB-WDI

Society

Population
11 m’25 WB-WDI
Life expectancy
66.3 yrs’24 WB-WDI
Urban population
15.8%’25 WB-WDI
Fertility rate
3.1’24 WB-WDI
Literacy rate
87.0%’22 WB-WDI

Governance

Voice & accountability
51.1’24 WB-WGI
Political stability
54.7’24 WB-WGI
Government effectiveness
33.8’24 WB-WGI
Regulatory quality
45.4’24 WB-WGI
Rule of law
47.1’24 WB-WGI
Control of corruption
31.7’24 WB-WGI

Health

Health spending
2.9%’23 WB-WHO
Physicians
0.06’23 WB-WHO
Under-5 mortality
39.4’24 WB-UNICEF-WHO
Measles immunisation
44.0%’24 WB-UNICEF-WHO

Education

Adult literacy
87.0%’22 WB-UNESCO
Education spending
0.8%’23 WB-UNESCO
Primary enrolment
121.1%’23 WB-UNESCO
Secondary enrolment
52.1%’23 WB-UNESCO

Technology

R&D spending
0.0%’16 WB-UNESCO
Researchers (per million)
33’16 WB-UNESCO
Internet users
18.8%’24 WB-ITU
Mobile subscriptions
39’24 WB-ITU
High-tech exports
10.2%’23 WB-WDI

Geography

Land area
452,860 km²’23 WB-WDI
Forest area
79.0%’23 WB-WDI
Agricultural land
3.1%’23 WB-WDI
CO₂ per capita (t)
0.5’24 WB-WDI
Renewable energy
54.6%’22 WB-WDI

Resources

Resource rents
27.4%’21 WB-WDI
Oil rents
1.9%’21 WB-WDI
Mineral rents
14.4%’21 WB-WDI
Forest rents
2.0%’21 WB-WDI
Electricity access
43.3%’24 WB-WDI
Cobalt (mined)
2,800 t’25 USGS-MCS

Military

Military burden
0.3%’24 WB-SIPRI
Defense spending
$91 M’24 WB-SIPRI
Armed forces
4,000’20 WB-SIPRI

A hatched gap has no underside — there is nothing to turn over. Absence is stated, never zeroed.

The record · what changed here
EVERY CLAIM SOURCED
ABSENCE ≠ ZERO
NO SIDES