| Country name | conventional long form: Independent State of Papua New Guinea conventional short form: Papua New Guinea local short form: Papuaniugini former: Territory of Papua and New Guinea abbreviation: PNG etymology: the word "papua" derives from the Malay "papuah" describing the frizzy hair of the Melanesians; Spanish explorer Ynigo ORTIZ de RETEZ applied the term "Nueva Guinea" to the island of New Guinea in 1545 after noting the resemblance of the locals to the peoples of the Guinea coast of Africa |
| Government type | parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm |
| Capital | name: Port Moresby geographic coordinates: 9 27 S, 147 11 E time difference: UTC+10 (15 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) note: Papua New Guinea has two time zones, including Bougainville (UTC+11) etymology: named in 1873 by Captain John Moresby (1830-1922) in honor of his father, British Admiral Sir Fairfax Moresby (1786-1877) |
| Administrative divisions | 20 provinces, 1 autonomous region*, and 1 district**; Bougainville*, Central, Chimbu, Eastern Highlands, East New Britain, East Sepik, Enga, Gulf, Hela, Jiwaka, Madang, Manus, Milne Bay, Morobe, National Capital**, New Ireland, Northern, Southern Highlands, Western, Western Highlands, West New Britain, West Sepik |
| Independence | 16 September 1975 (from the Australia-administered UN trusteeship) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 16 September (1975) |
| Constitution | history: adopted 15 August 1975, effective at independence 16 September 1975 amendments: proposed by the National Parliament; passage has prescribed majority vote requirements depending on the constitutional sections being amended – absolute majority, two-thirds majority, or three-fourths majority; amended many times, last in 2016 |
| Legal system | mixed legal system of English common law and customary law |
| International law organization participation | has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt |
| Citizenship | citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Papua New Guinea dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 8 years |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Grand Chief Sir Bob DADAE (since 28 February 2017) head of government: Prime Minister James MARAPE (since 30 May 2019); Deputy Prime Minister Charles ABEL (since 4 August 2017) cabinet: National Executive Council appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general nominated by the National Parliament and appointed by the chief of state; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the governor general pending the outcome of a National Parliament vote election results: Peter Paire O'NEILL (PNC) reelected prime minister; National Parliament vote - 60 to 46 |
| Legislative branch | description: unicameral National Parliament (111 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies - 89 local, 20 provinicial, the autonomous province of Bouganville, and the National Capital District - by majority preferential vote; members serve 5-year terms); note - the constitution allows up to 126 seats elections: last held from 24 June 2017 to 8 July 2017 (next to be held in June 2022) election results: percent of vote by party - PNC 37%; NA 13%; Pangu 14%; URP 11%; PPP 4%; SDP 4%; Independents 3%; and smaller parties 14%; seats by party - NA; composition - men 108, women 3, percent of women 3% |
| Judicial branch | highest courts: Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice, deputy chief justice, 35 justices, and 5 acting justices); National Courts (consists of 13 courts located in the provincial capitals, with a total of 19 resident judges) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the governor general upon advice of the National Executive Council (cabinet) after consultation with the National Justice Administration minister; deputy chief justice and other justices appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, a 5-member body that includes the Supreme Court chief and deputy chief justices, the chief ombudsman, and a member of the National Parliament; full-time citizen judges appointed for 10-year renewable terms; non-citizen judges initially appointed for 3-year renewable terms and after first renewal can serve until age 70; appointment and tenure of National Court resident judges NA subordinate courts: district, village, and juvenile courts, military courts, taxation courts, coronial courts, mining warden courts, land courts, traffic courts, committal courts, grade five courts |
| Political parties and leaders | National Alliance Party or NAP [Patrick PRUAITCH] Papua and Niugini Union Party or PANGU [Sam BASIL] Papua New Guinea Party or PNGP [Belden NAMAH] People's National Congress Party or PNC [Peter Paire O'NEILL] People's Party or PP [Peter IPATAS] People's Progress Party or PPP [Sir Julius CHAN] Social Democratic Party or SDP [Powes PARKOP] Triumph Heritage Empowerment Party or THE [Don POLYE] United Resources Party or URP [William DUMA] note: as of 8 July 2017, 45 political parties were registered |
| International organization participation | ACP, ADB, AOSIS, APEC, ARF, ASEAN (observer), C, CD, CP, EITI (candidate country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMISS, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge D’Affaires Cephas KAYO, Minister (since 31 January 2018) chancery: 1825 K Street NW, Suite 1010, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 745-3680 FAX: [1] (202) 745-3679 email address and website: info@pngembassy.org http://www.pngembassy.org/ |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Erin Elizabeth MCKEE (since 27 November 2019); note - also accredited to the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu embassy: P.O. Box 1492, Port Moresby mailing address: 4240 Port Moresby Place, Washington DC 20521-4240 telephone: [675] 308-2100 email address and website: ConsularPortMoresby@state.gov https://pg.usembassy.gov/ |
| Flag description | divided diagonally from upper hoist-side corner; the upper triangle is red with a soaring yellow bird of paradise centered; the lower triangle is black with five, white, five-pointed stars of the Southern Cross constellation centered; red, black, and yellow are traditional colors of Papua New Guinea; the bird of paradise - endemic to the island of New Guinea - is an emblem of regional tribal culture and represents the emergence of Papua New Guinea as a nation; the Southern Cross, visible in the night sky, symbolizes Papua New Guinea's connection with Australia and several other countries in the South Pacific |
| National symbol(s) | bird of paradise; national colors: red, black |
| National anthem | name: O Arise All You Sons lyrics/music: Thomas SHACKLADY note: adopted 1975 |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
