Papua New Guinea is the largest developing
country in the South Pacific region.
Located between the equator and 12 degrees south and from 141 to 160
degrees east, it consists of the eastern part of the large island of New Guinea
and about 600 individual smaller islands.
These range from the large islands of the Bismarck Archipelago,
including Manus, New Britain and New Ireland, and the northernmost Solomon Islands
of Buka and Bougainville, to the smaller islands of Louisiade Archipelago and
the many offshore islands and atolls throughout the country. The total land area is 461,690 sq km.
Most of the larger islands are
mountainous. The main range that
stretches along the length of the island of New Guinea is one of the great
mountain ranges of the world with major peaks over 4,000 meters high and many
highland areas over 2,000 meters high.
The range is thickly forested but contains well-populated fertile valleys,
inhabited for up to 9,000 years that support a large section of the
population. The terrain is so rugged
that some of these valleys were virtually cut off until this century, and even
now many valleys can only be accessed by air or on foot. Mountains on the islands of the Bismarck
Archipelago and North Solomon Islands rise to more than 2,000 meters. A chain of volcanoes lies along the north
coast of New Guinea and through the Bismarck Archipelago and North Solomon
Islands, all of which are close to the tectonic plate boundary. There are a number of major rivers on the
New Guinea mainland with the Sepik, Ramu and Markham draining to the north
coast and the Fly, Purari and Kikori draining south. The Fly River is navigable for ore barges and small ships as far
upstream as Kiunga, about 800 km upstream.
Coral reefs fringe many of the coasts and islands, particularly in the
east.
Papua New Guinea has a tropical
climate. There is a monsoonal rainy
season from about November to April.
This is significant in the south of the country but the highlands and
small islands normally experience year-round rain. Temperatures on the coast and in the islands range on average
from a minimum of 21 to a maximum of 32 degrees Centigrade with high humidity. The highlands are cooler with frost being
experienced on a few occasions each year above 2,000 meters.
Papua New Guinea has a population of some
4.5 million people. This figure is
based on a 1990 census population of 3.61 million and an expected growth rate
of 2.3%. A new census has been taken
during the year 2000, but the results are not yet available.
Papua New Guinea’s population is among the
most diverse on earth. Some 600
distinct languages are recognized, and there are clear ethnic differences
between the cultural groups that live in different areas. Since colonization in the 19th
century, various lingua franca have been developed. The two most commonly used are Pidgin (known as Tok Pisin) and
Motu, but English is widely used in administration and commerce.
The population is scattered throughout the
country, but the biggest concentrations are in the fertile valleys of the
Highland provinces and in the vicinity of major urban centers of Port Moresby,
Lae, Madang and Rabaul. The crude
population density of the country is a low 8 persons per square kilometer,
however the rugged terrain of the highlands and other limitations lead to
estimates that only between 13% (National Statistics Office 1994) and 27%
(World Bank 1996) of the land can be considered suitable for productive use. Using the population figures of the 1990
census, the practical density on usable land is considered to be about 62
persons per square kilometer.
Papua New Guinea has a relatively small
urban population of about 15% but there is an accelerating urban drift. The Bank of Papua New Guinea estimates that
the growth in the urban population between 1966 and 1990 was 6.3% per
year.
A large proportion of the rural population
lives a semi-subsistence lifestyle with an estimated 75% of rural households
selling at least part of their produce for cash (Asian Development Bank
1999). The per capita annual GDP of
USD$ 930 per year is a skewed figure, hiding a marked disparity between rural
(USD$ 300-350 per year) and urban (USD$ 3500 per year) incomes (World Bank
1999). 36% of consumption is accounted
for by 10% of the population, while 50% of the population account for only 19%
of consumption. The differences are
wider than those of most comparable countries.
Papua New Guinea has a low social
indicators ranking in the Asia-Pacific region.
Various United Nations agency reports show that life expectancy at birth
is 56.8 years (compared with an average
in comparable countries of 67 years); infant mortality rate is 61 per 1,000
live births (comparable countries: 40); fertility rate (children per
woman) is 5.9 (comparable countries: 2.6); 87% of school age boys and
67% of school age girls enter primary school (100% in comparable countries where older people also enrol in primary
school) but this figure drops drastically later with only 16% of boys and
11% of girls entering secondary education (comparable countries:65% and 61%); latest available figures
indicate that only 2% of children achieve tertiary (higher level) education (comparable
countries: 22%). Statistics provided from UNDP 1999, WHO
1999, and UNESCO 1997.
Health indicators are particularly
poor. There are 1.8 doctors for every
10,000 people (comparable countries: 7);
and only 40% of children are immunized against measles (comparable countries:
85%). About 22% of the population has access to sanitation (comparable
countries: 58%) while 28% has
access to safe, clean water (comparable countries: 84%). Even this access is
not continuous, as the 1997-98 drought revealed.
Independent since 1974, Papua New Guinea
is a parliamentary democracy governed by a single parliamentary body in Port
Moresby. There is considerably
volatility in the Parliament, where changing alliances between small groups can
alter the balance of power very quickly.
Because the frequent changes of government were making administration
difficult, a change had to be enacted to the constitution, under which an
elected party cannot be unseated by a vote of no confidence within 18 months of
election. Until 1995 there were also
provincial assemblies, but changes to the constitution have led to a more
centralized administrative system. Now, provincial assemblies are made up of
the elected national members of Parliament from the province, the elected heads
of local governments within the province and certain appointed members. The previously separate provincial
government administrations have now been absorbed into the national public
service.
The country has many natural
resources. Agriculture has been a long-term
source of revenue, but in the last 20 years mining has become the primary
source of export income. In recent
years, forestry, oil and gas resources have also been exploited, although there
has been a significant reduction in the demand for timber as a result of the
Asian downturn of the past few years.
Unfortunately, exploitation and poor administration have meant that the
resources have not brought the growth and development that might legitimately
have been expected. The country remains
relatively poor.
Staple crops vary according to climate,
but the root crops of taro, cassava and yams are most common. Sago is the staple in the northwestern
coastal areas. All these crops have
long growing periods that are further extended in the low temperature areas of
the highlands.
The geography of the country severely
limits movement, particularly on the mainland.
Port Moresby has no road links with any of the provincial capitals. The key road transport links are the
Highlands Highway, which links the second city of Lae to the Highlands, and a
second national highway that links Lae with the north coast at Madang. This road then continues west along the
coast in worsening condition, until it becomes indistinct near Sandaun Province
between Aitape and the Provincial capital, Vanimo. Vanimo has road links to Indonesia, but not to the rest of the
province or the rest of Papua New Guinea.
On the other islands, roads tend to be concentrated around the
provincial capitals and major centers, although movement is easier in areas
where mining and logging operations are taking place.
Air and sea transport are important to the
operations of the country, although air transport has declined from the heady
days of the 1930s when more airfreight was carried in Papua New Guinea annually
than in whole of the rest of the world.
Nevertheless, there are still people who are familiar with aircraft but
have never seen a motor vehicle.