Papua New Guinea
Capital: Port Moresby · Melanesia
Papua New Guinea (PNG), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia.
A mudman from Asaro with his unique clay mask . Photo taken at Kabiufa (~5km from Asaro), Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea.
Photo: Jialiang Gao peace-on-earth.org, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Did you know?
The eastern half of New Guinea was divided in 1884 between German New Guinea in the north and British New Guinea in the south, with the latter ceded to Australia in 1902 and reorganised as the Territory of Papua. Australia occupied German New Guinea during World War I and then administered the territory as a League of Nations mandate. The nation was the site of fierce fighting during the New Guinea campaign of World War II, following which the two territories were united in 1949. Papua New Guinea was granted independence as a Commonwealth realm in 1975.
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Source: <a href=" http://livinghistories.newcastle.edu.au/nodes/view/37002 " rel="nofollow">livinghistories.newcastle.edu.au/nodes/view/37002</a> This image was scanned…
Photo: Special Collections from Callaghan NSW, Australia, Public domain · source
Etymology and naming
"Papua" is derived from a local term of uncertain origin, that may have referred to at least part of the island now called New Guinea. In 1526 Portuguese explorer Jorge de Menezes named the island Ilhas dos Papuas. The Australian government adopted the name "Territory of Papua" when it assumed control of British New Guinea in 1902, which Prime Minister Edmund Barton considered a "shorter and better name" for the territory.
"New Guinea" (Nueva Guinea) was the name coined by the Spanish explorer Yñigo Ortiz de Retez.
Wikipedia: Papua New Guinea – read more, CC BY-SA 4.0
Thromidia catalai Heavy Starfish
Photo: Nhobgood, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Rhinopias aphanes Lacy scorpionfish
Photo: Nick Hobgood, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
History
Archaeological evidence indicates that modern humans first arrived in what became New Guinea and Australia, as well as the Bismarck Archipelago, around 42,000 to 45,000 years ago. Bougainville was settled by around 28,000 years ago, and the more distant Manus Island by around 20,000 years ago. These were part of the earliest migrations of humans from Africa, and the resulting populations remained relatively isolated from the rest of the world throughout prehistory. Rising sea levels isolated New Guinea from Australia about 10,000 years ago, although Aboriginal Australians and New Guineans had already diverged from each other from about 37,000 years ago.
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new guiney, papous from thiafamous group
Photo: http://veton.picq.fr, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Ore mill Panguna, Boungainville mine under construction. c. 1971
Photo: Robert Owen Winkler, Public domain · source
Pacific Place Port Moresby November 2013
Photo: Masalai, CC-BY-SA-3.0 · source
Government and politics
Papua New Guinea is a Commonwealth realm with Charles III as king. The monarch's representative is the governor-general of Papua New Guinea, who is elected by the unicameral National Parliament of Papua New Guinea. The National Parliament elects the prime minister of Papua New Guinea, who is then appointed by the governor-general. The other ministers are appointed by the governor-general on the prime minister's advice and form the National Executive Council of Papua New Guinea, which acts as the country's cabinet. The National Parliament sits for a maximum of five years.
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A bilum is a type of bag from Papua New Guinea. Bilums are made to be very strong and flexible, and can expand to many times their size, depending on what the bilum is…
Photo: Queensland Museum, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Reading proclamation of annexation, Mr Lawe's house, New Guinea, ca. 1884, by John Paine or Augustine E. Dyer, albumen print, State Library of New South Wales, SPF/2752
Photo: John Paine or Augustine E, Public domain · source
Geography
Papua New Guinea extends over 462,840 km2 (178,704 sq mi), including a large mainland and a number of islands. The country lies just south of the equator, and shares a land border with Indonesia, and maritime borders with Australia, the Solomon Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia. The island of New Guinea lies at the east of the Malay Archipelago. The country is separated from Australia's Cape York Peninsula by the shallow 152-kilometre (94 mi) Torres Strait. To the west of this strait is the shallow Arafura Sea, while to its east is the much deeper Coral Sea. The Gulf of Papua covers much of the southern coast, while the Solomon Sea lies east of the mainland.
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Paracirrhites forsteri Forsters Hawkfish juvenile
Photo: Nhobgood, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Economy
Papua New Guinea is classified as a developing economy by the International Monetary Fund. The economy is largely dependent on natural resources, with capital investment concentrated in mining and oil, while most labour is employed in agriculture. As of 2018, natural resource extraction made up 28% of overall GDP, with substantial contributors including minerals, oil, and natural gas. Measuring economic growth is difficult due to the resource-dependent economy distorting GDP. Other metrics such as Gross national income are hard to measure.
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Demographics
Papua New Guinea is one of the most heterogeneous nations in the world. In addition to having perhaps a quarter of the world's languages, ethnic identity within the country is further divided by factors such as geography, kinship ties, and external pressures. The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs population estimate as of 2020 was 8.95 million inhabitants. Government estimates put the population at 11.8 million in 2021.
Wikipedia: Papua New Guinea – read more, CC BY-SA 4.0
Culture
Melanesian culture developed without significant external influence due to the isolation of New Guinea. This culture places significant importance on relationships, both between people and between a person and aspects of the natural environment. The importance of relationships is seen in the Kula ring trade, where items are traded to maintain relationships rather than for direct economic benefit. Connections to and ownership of land are important, although these are generally at the community level rather than an individual one.
Wikipedia: Papua New Guinea – read more, CC BY-SA 4.0