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Papua New Guinea is covered in lush rainforests, mountain ranges and beaches of all varieties. Ash, sand as well as mangrove beaches can all be found in Papua New Guinea. There are many winding rivers to be found all over. In addition, there are many small islands off the coast that are part of Papua New Guinea. They have similar features like unique beaches and large rainforests.

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Wet and dry season can be problematic for many. Drought and floods are devastating for those in the highlands. On the left there are pictures of the soil moisture  across the country and images of areas during the dry season. On the left, are soil moisture graphics and images of areas the wet season. As you can see it can vary from extreme drought to extensive floods.

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There are many different and unique religions in Papua New Guinea. There are 5 prominent religions in Papua New Guinea. There are also some other more interesting religions with no known names. They involve traditional practices like magic, spells and rituals. They are typically practiced in indigenous villages in the mountains.

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Many common holidays are practiced in Papua New Guinea, like Christmas, Easter, and New years day. They also practice the Queen’s birthday, which changes every time a new queen is crowned. They also celebrate their independence every year on September 16. They also have varying religious holiday based on their beliefs.

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Many everyday things like medicine and vaccines are commonplace in America. However in Papua New Guinea many people die from vaccine-preventable diseases each year. They have, however, been able to get people with medical background and proper materials over to help aid those in need. They have also given aid to families with malnourished children and given them the proper resources for good childcare.

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In 1975, Papua New Guinea became an independent nation, declaring indepence from Austrailia. Britain originally had control before they handed the country over to Austrailia in 1906. They occupied it during the first world war. However, during the second world war, the Japanese took over the island as well as many others near it. After many allied victories however, the island returned to Australian control. On September 16, 1975  Papua New Guineans declared independence from the occupied country of Australia.

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The Papua New Guinean government is almost identical to that of U.K. They have a constitutional monarchy/ Parliamentary democracy. This means that they have a parliament and a prime minister. In Papua New Guinea, the Queen of England is a head of state and selects the length of the prime minister’s term.  The party with the majority party or coalition in Parliament selects the next Prime Minister.

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There many different laws in Papua New Guinea than the U.S. For example, any homosexual act is punished with up to 14 years in prison if you are found guilty. In addition, you cannot enter the country with fruit, vegetables, or animal products. Similar to many countries though, murder is punished with death.

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The Papua New Guinea Kina is not incredibly stable. About $1 USD is worth about $3.38 Kina. The GDP  per capita (as of 2017) is only $2,555.85. As of 2017, the total GDP of Papua New Guinea was $21.07 Billion USD. The Papua New Guinean Kina has an inflation rate of about 5.4% (2017) .  For comparison, the U.S dollar has an inflation rate of 2.1% (2017) (1.5% in 2019).

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The majority of Papua New Guineans are employed in agriculture, about 85%. In 2017, agricultural exports made up about 22.1% of the total GDP and supported about 80% of the total population. Papua New Guinea majorly exports gold, copper, palm oil and coffee. Their main export partners are Australia, Japan, Germany, China and Singapore. Papua New Guinea imports things like fuel, rice, vehicles, machinery and equipment.

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Many people who live in the highlands rely on their extended family to help care for those who are sick or the young ones who are not old enough to be alone. Another common practice in the highlands is the separation of the men from the women and children. This however, is seen being practiced less and less.

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Recreation in Papua New Guinea is very similar to that of the U.K or Australia and even the U.S. They have many professional sports leagues for a variety of sports like rugby, football (soccer), cricket, softball, basketball, and volleyball. In addition, candidates who are running for Parliament may sponsor certain sports team across the country. Many people will spend time with their families and do things like go to the park or barbeque. They may also vacation abroad or to visit relatives.

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The official languages of the country all reflect its colonial history. English is the main language of government and commerce. In most everyday contexts the most widely spoken language is Tok Pisin ("Pidgin Language"; also called Melanesian Pidgin or Neo-Melanesian), a creole combining grammatical elements of indigenous languages, some German, and, increasingly, English. Hiri Motu is a simplified trading language originally used by the people who lived around what is now Port Moresby when it came under that name in 1884.

In addition to the official languages, there are more than 800 distinct indigenous languages belonging to two radically different language groups-Austronesian, to which the local languages classified as Melanesian belong, and non- Austronesian, or Papuan. There are some 200 related Austronesian languages. Austronesian speakers generally inhabit the coastal regions and offshore islands, including the Trobriands and Buka. Papuan speakers, who constitute the great majority of the population, live mainly in the interior. The approximately 550 non-Austronesian languages have small speech communities, the largest being the Engan, Melpa, and Kuman speakers in the Highlands, each with more than 100,000 speakers. Amid such a multiplicity of tongues, Tok Pisin serves as an effective lingua franca.

Religion

The majority of Papua New Guinea's people are at least nominally Christian. More than two-fifths of the population is Protestant; Lutherans make up the largest portion of those, and there are some Anglicans and a growing number of Pentecostals. Approximately another one-fifth are Roman Catholics. Seventh-day Adventism is increasing in popularity, and there are also small numbers of Bahāʾīs and Muslims. Despite the apparent inroads made by introduced religions, much of the population also maintains traditional religious beliefs, and rituals of magic, spells, and sorcery are still widely practiced.

Settlement patterns

The great majority of the country's population lives in rural areas. Rural settlement patterns are extremely varied. The southern New Guinea plains are only sparsely populated by relatively mobile sago gatherers. The Highlands valleys are densely settled, whether in villages or scattered hamlets. The north coast and northeastern archipelagoes are generally well-populated, despite the hazards of volcanic eruptions, frequent earth tremors, and, rarely, tsunamis. The island of Karkar and the Gazelle Peninsula of New Britain are centres of particularly dense population.

The small urban population lives for the most part in towns whose original location was determined either by access to a good harbour for early colonial planters or, in the interior, by the availability of level land sufficient for an airstrip. Despite the greatly diminished importance of plantations and the relocation of most of the airstrips out of the towns, those origins helped determine the existing urban layout. Port Moresby and Lae, on the Huon Gulf, are the largest cities.

Demographic trends

Papua New Guinea's rate of population growth tends to be high and life expectancy somewhat low, relative to other countries in the region. About one-third of the population is under 15 years of age. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries the birth rate greatly exceeded the world average, while the death rate was moderately high and falling. Rapid population growth has created difficulties in providing basic health and education services. Unemployment and underemployment have exacerbated the problems of poverty, crime, and ethnic tensions, especially in urban areas.

Richard T. Jackson William Standish

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing

Agricultural production, most of it from subsistence farming, accounts for about one-third of the country's gross domestic product. In the archipelagoes of the north and northeast, yams, taro, and bananas are grown as staple foods. These were formerly also the staple foods for Highlanders, who now mostly rely on sweet potatoes known as kau kau. Throughout much of the Highlands, carefully tended gardens dominate the landscape; some are arrayed in checkerboard patterns defined by drainage ditches, and others are circular mounds built on compost to warm and enrich the soil.

In the north the intensive cultivation of fertile soils gives way to swidden ( slash-and-burn) cultivation of taro and yams in the forests of the foothills. Those thinly populated areas in turn give way to sago swamps along the courses of the great Ramu and Sepik rivers. In the slightly more elevated areas away from the main rivers there are extensive areas of poor grassland with a high water table that are used for swidden cultivation and hunting.

Almost all commercial crops are exported, although the domestic vegetable market is growing rapidly. After 1975 smallholders increasingly took over the bulk of export crop production, replacing foreign-owned plantations. High-quality Arabica coffee is grown throughout the Highlands, mostly by smallholders; Robusta coffee is grown on the north coast and cacao in the islands. In the colonial era copra was the premier crop in lowland areas, but now only small amounts are produced, together with some rubber in the southern region. The production of plantation crops has suffered from declining terms of trade and was mostly stagnant from the 1980s. The major exception has been the cultivation of oil palm in West New Britain (on previously little-used volcanic soils) and on the eastern mainland, boosted by foreign investment.

Forest exploitation, dominated by foreign-owned logging companies, has been extensive, particularly along the north coast, in parts of the southern region, and on New Britain and New Ireland. At times logs have accounted for one-tenth of the value of national exports, but that proportion fell by about half during the Asian economic crisis of the late 1990s and only recovered slowly in the first decade of the 21st century. Forestry was a controversial industry, with logging companies developing connections with the political elite, and it was marked by corrupt practices including improperly issued licenses, mislabeled species, transfer pricing manipulation (the practice of hiding the real value of transactions-e.g., by undervaluing exports-in order to maximize profits), tax avoidance, environmental damage, and lack of reforestation.

Tuna fisheries have great potential and foreign-owned canneries have expanded, but licenses have been sold cheaply and fishing zones monitored poorly.

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Papua New Guinea - Papua New Guinea - Languages: The official languages of the country all reflect its colonial history. English is the main language of government and commerce. In most everyday contexts the most widely spoken language is Tok Pisin ("Pidgin Language"; also called Melanesian Pidgin or Neo-Melanesian), a creole combining grammatical elements of indigenous languages, some German, and, increasingly, English.

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Holidays and observances in Papua New Guinea in 2019

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Overview of holidays and many observances in Papua New Guinea during the year 2019

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A chronology of key events

50.000 BC - First settlers are thought to arrive on New Guinea from Asia.

5000 BC - Intensive agriculture develops in the New Guinea Highlands, apparently independently of outside influence.

1100-900 BC - Second wave of migrants from south-east Asia.

1526 - Portuguese sailor Jorge de Meneses is the first European visitor. He names one of the islands "ilhas dos Papuas" or "land of fuzzy-haired people".

1546 - Spanish explorer Inigo Ortiz de Retes names the other main island New Guinea because the islanders resemble the people of Guinea in Africa.

1800 - Substantial trade networks are active all over New Guinea, with the Kula ring, a ceremonial exchange system, being particularly extensive.

1860s - American and European whalers frequent the Bismarck Archipelago, with the Duke of York Islands becoming an important anchorage.

1873 - Methodist missionary George Brown opens a mission station on Duke of York Islands. From the Torres Strait, the London Missionary Society sends evangelists to the New Guinean south coast.

1873 - Captain John Moresby charts the south-east part of New Guinea and the archipelago, naming Port Moresby after his father.

Europeans, Australians take control

1884 - Britain establishes a protectorate, British New Guinea (BNG), over south-east New Guinea, while Germany annexes the northern part of New Guinea.

1888 - In BNG the Armed Native Constabulary is established and village constables are appointed.

1890s - Governor MacGregor and others make several exploratory expeditions around BNG.

1895 - Gold is found on the Mambare River. A gold rush leads to hostilities between locals and miners.

1906 - Control of British New Guinea transferred to the newly independent Commonwealth of Australia and renamed Territory of Papua.

1914 - Australian forces occupy German New Guinea during the First World War.

1921 - After the war the League of Nations grants Australia a mandate to run German New Guinea. This new Mandated Territory of New Guinea is governed totally separately from the Territory of Papua.

1920s - A major gold find along the Bulolo River prompts another gold rush.

1933 - Gold-prospectors lead expeditions into the highlands. Here they find more than a million people living in fertile mountain valleys, their way of life apparently unchanged since the Stone Age.

Second World War

1942 - Japanese forces occupy parts of both territories.

1942-43 - Allied victories in the battles of Milne Bay, along the Kokoda Trail and around Buna and Gona becomes the turning point of the Pacific War, forcing the Japanese to retreat.

1949 July - Australia establishes a joint administration over both territories called the Territory of Papua and New Guinea.

1951 November - A 28-member Legislative Council established by Australia.

1954 June - Aerial survey reveals several previously undiscovered highland valleys inhabited by up to 100,000 people.

1961 March - First elections involving indigenous population.

West New Guinea transferred to Indonesia

1963 May - UN transfers control of West New Guinea to Indonesia. Today this region is called West Papua.

1964 June - A 64-member House of Assembly replaces Legislative Council and for the first time indigenous representatives are elected to the majority of seats in the legislature.

1971 July - Renamed Papua New Guinea (PNG).

1973 February - Indonesia and PNG agree position of Irian Jaya border.

1973 December - Granted self-government. Michael Somare, chief minister in an interim coalition government, is sworn in as head of the governing Executive Council.

1975 April - New currency, the kina, replaces the Australian dollar.

Independence

1975 16 September - Attains full independence from Australia. Sir Michael Somare becomes PM.

1975 - Bougainville provincial government votes to secede from PNG. Somare's government retaliates by suspending the provincial government and withholding payments to the province.

1977 June-July - First parliamentary elections since independence.

Bougainville separatist struggle

1989 April/May - Separatist rebels on Bougainville begin prolonged armed struggle against the government. Secessionist, Francis Ona, proclaims "a republic of Bougainville". The recently-formed Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA), anxious about environmental destruction and unhappy that profits are leaving the island, forces the closure of the Australian-owned Panguna copper mine.

1994 - PM Sir Julius Chan signs agreement with several Bougainville secessionist leaders which provides a transitional administration in Bougainville. Bougainville Revolutionary Army leaders are not signatories; they continue to fight for full independence.

1995 April - The Bougainville Transitional Government is sworn in under leadership of Theodore Miriong. The three seats reserved for the BRA remain vacant.

1996 - Theodore Miriong is assassinated at his home in south-west Bougainville. He is replaced by Gerard Sinato.

1997 February-March - Government hires mercenaries from Sandline International to support government troops in Bougainville, sparking an army mutiny and civil unrest. Prime Minister Chan is forced to resign.

1997 September - The government declares a national state of disaster following a prolonged drought thought to have been caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon. Over 1,000 people are killed and a further 1.2 million are put at risk of starvation.

Truce

1997 October - Burnham Truce marks the end of the decade-old armed struggle by Bougainville separatists.

1997 December - Countries in the region establish the Truce Monitoring Group to oversee compliance with the Burnham Truce until 30 April 1998 when a ceasefire is to be signed. The New Zealand-led group also comprises troops from Australia, Fiji and Vanuatu. All of them are unarmed.

1998 April - Permanent ceasefire signed in Bougainville by government representatives and secessionist leaders. Australian-led Peace Monitoring Group takes over from Truce Monitoring Group.

1998 July - Three tsunamis - gigantic waves generated by earthquakes - hit the north-west coast obliterating villages and killing 3,000 people.

1998 August - United Nations establishes the UN Political Office in Bougainville at the request of the PNG government.

1999 1 January - Bougainville Reconciliation Government replaces the Bougainville Transitional Government. Former rebel leader Joseph Kabui and Gerard Sinato are nominated as co-leaders.

1999 May - Joseph Kabui elected president of the Bougainville People's Congress.

1999 December - John Momis sworn in as governor of Bougainville.

2000 November - Authorities say all 1,000 inhabitants of the Duke of York atoll will have to be relocated because the island is slowly sinking due to global warming.

2001 August - Bougainville Peace Agreement, guaranteeing a referendum in 10 to 15 years on Bougainville's future political status, is signed in Arawa.

2002 August - Sir Michael Somare elected as prime minister for a third time, after a violent and chaotic election.

2004 August - Australia deploys police to help fight rampant crime.

2005 May - Australia withdraws its police officers after the PNG Supreme Court rules that their deployment is unconstitutional.

Bougainville islanders elect their first autonomous government. Former separatist rebel Joseph Kabui becomes president.

2007 May - Parliament passes a law to allow casinos and online gambling. It is hoped that the activity could boost the economy.

2007 August - Sir Michael Somare re-elected as premier.

2007 November - Cyclone Guba causes flooding which kills 163 and leaves more than 13,000 displaced in Oro and Milne provinces.

2008 June - Bougainville President Joseph Kabui dies.

2008 December - Former rebel James Tanis elected autonomous president of Bougainville.

2009 December - China signs a deal to import liquified natural gas from Papua New Guinea.

Political crisis

2011 April-June - Prime Minister Michael Somare is suspended for two weeks over charges of misconduct dating back 20 years. He extends his absence for medical reasons and undergoes heart surgery in Singapore. In June, his family announces his retirement from the premiership and from politics.

2011 August - Parliament elects Peter O'Neill as acting prime minister, replacing acting prime minister Sam Abal, who takes legal action against the move.

2011 September - Michael Somare returns from Singapore and claims that he is still the prime minister, saying that he did not retire voluntarily.

2011 December - Standoff between Peter O'Neill and Michael Somare continues, with both running parallel administrations. Governor-General Michael Ogio recognises the election of Peter O'Neill, who has has the backing of a majority of parliamentary deputies.

2012 January - Mutinous soldiers demanding the reinstatement of Sir Michael Somare as PM briefly seize the military headquarters in Port Moresby.

2012 June - Rival prime ministers Peter O'Neill and Sir Michael Somare contest parliamentary elections, hoping that the results will decide who is in charge.

2012 July-August - Sir Michael Somare accepts the defeat of his party in the June poll and backs Peter O'Neill's bid to form a government. Parliament endorses Mr O'Neill as PM in August.

2013 January - PM Peter O'Neill bans ministers and other government officials from travelling overseas for work without his personal approval.

2013 May - Following a series of brutal public killings, the controversial 1971 Sorcery Act - which acknowledged the accusation of sorcery as a plausible defence in murder cases - is repealed. However, parliament also extends the range of offences for which the death penalty can be applied, to the dismay of human rights organisations.

2013 July - Papua New Guinea agrees to provide offshore processing for asylum seekers who reach Australia by boat. Under the deal, asylum seekers whose refugee claims are upheld will be settled in PNG. Australia pledges to grant Papua New Guinea generous aid in return, and the processing centre on PNG's Manus Island will be significantly expanded to hold up to 3,000 people.

2013 September - Two guides are killed when a group of Australian and New Zealand hikers and their local porters are attacked by machete-wielding robbers on PNG's Black Cat Track.

2014 February - Violence at Australia's immigration detention centre on PNG's Manus Island leaves one asylum seeker dead and 77 injured.

2014 March - Papua New Guinea's Supreme Court begins a human rights inquiry into Australia's immigration detention centre on Manus Island. The probe will assess whether the centre's conditions meet human rights requirements under PNG's constitution.

2014 April - Paul Tiensten, a former senior minister and current MP, is sentenced to nine years imprisonment for misappropriating millions of dollars of public funds. The sentence is the most severe yet in PNG for a corrupt public official.

2014 June - An arrest warrant is issued for Prime Minister Peter O'Neill after the national anti-corruption watchdog accuses him of authorising fraudulent payments by the government to a Port Moresby law firm. Mr O'Neill challenges the warrant in multiple court cases.

2014 June - Prime Minister O'Neill disbands the country's main anti-corruption body, Taskforce Sweep.

2014 November - Prime Minister O'Neill is referred to a tribunal of judges over allegations of misconduct in office relating to a $1.3 billion loan.

2015 January - Government denies reports that protests at an Australian immigration centre on Manus Island turned violent after 400 detainees reportedly went on hunger strike.

2015 October - Government says it will begin resettling refugees being held in the country in Australian-run detention centres.

2016 February - Police shoot dead 12 prisoners following a jail break by over 90 inmates at a prison in the city of Lae.

2016 April - Government says it will close the Australian detention centre on Manus Island after the Supreme Court rules that detaining asylum seekers at the facility is unconstitutional.

2016 July - Prime Minister Peter O'Neill survives no-confidence vote in parliament over corruption allegations following weeks of protests calling for his resignation.

2016 November - Australia says refugees held in detention centres in Papua New Guinea and Nauru will be resettled in the United States in a "one-off deal".

2016 December - China agrees to spend nearly 4bn US dollars to build a giant industrial park in Papua New Guinea.

2017 August - Prime Minister O'Neill wins another term in elections.

2017 November - Australia closes a detention centre in Papua New Guinea, but hundreds of asylum seekers refuse to move.

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A chronology of key events 50.000 BC - First settlers are thought to arrive on New Guinea from Asia. 5000 BC - Intensive agriculture develops in the New Guinea Highlands, apparently independently of outside influence. 1100-900 BC - Second wave of migrants from south-east Asia.

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This year marks 40 years since Independence for Papua New Guinea (PNG), and despite still facing some significant challenges, considerable progress has been made in improving health.

Burnet Institute hosted a special reception at Parliament House in Canberra with Australian and Papua New Guinean dignitaries to highlight the country's achievements in health and some of the challenges that still need to be addressed.

Burnet Institute Director and CEO, Professor Brendan Crabb AC said Papua New Guinea had some tremendous success stories to champion.

"The perception is sometimes that they haven't come very far, but the reality is they've come a long way in 40 years," Professor Crabb told guests including Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs, The Hon Julie Bishop MP, Federal Opposition Leader, The Hon Bill Shorten MP and Papua New Guinea High Commissioner, His Excellency Mr Charles W. Lepani.

"Papua New Guinea has worked very effectively with its partners on the emergence of HIV, for example, and dealt very successfully with vaccine-preventable diseases, particularly measles, when it was threatening.

"There's a strong foundation from which to address the challenges of the future which include recalcitrant issues of maternal mortality and newborn health, and the emergence of tuberculosis as the new major health problem in the country.

"These health concerns continue to exist because there's not enough knowledge, not enough research. You can't just roll out big interventions if you don't know what those interventions are."

Professor Crabb said the fact that Australia spends more aid dollars on PNG than any other country, with more than $AUD550 million set aside this year, indicates the strength and importance of the partnership.

The relationship, he said, provides a solid foundation for working collaboratively to solve complex health problems, ensuring research and innovation is at the centre of those solutions.

"The success stories have all been collaborative efforts led by PNG and involving the Australian Government and agencies like Burnet working together with implementing organisations to deliver solutions," Professor Crabb said.

"Burnet's role has been to find out the best ways to deliver the newest and latest and most innovative interventions, developing tests where there were none, or identifying immunisation strategies when the old strategies weren't working any more.

"We don't have all the answers and we're certainly unlikely to have enough funding, so we're going to have to do things more effectively, and more efficiently, and the only way to do that is to innovate."

IMAGE: Deputy Secretary for Health PNG, Dr Paison Dakulala addresses the Burnet Institute event

Professor Crabb said Burnet Institute has committed to helping to address PNG's ongoing challenges in health through its innovative Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies research program.

"Tragically, more than 5,000 babies still die in their first year of life and another 7,000 children don't reach five years of age," Professor Crabb said.

"Burnet is working closely with a range of local organisations in East New Britain to address the high rate of maternal and child mortality.

"We're incredibly proud of our long history in PNG and the association we have with all our partners, and Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies is a significant next step."

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Challenges and achievements in PNG health

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This year marks 40 years since Independence for Papua New Guinea (PNG), and despite still facing some significant challenges, considerable progress has been made in improving health. Burnet Institute hosted a special reception at Parliament House in Canberra with Australian and Papua New Guinean dignitaries to highlight the country's achievements in health and some of the challenges that still need to be addressed.

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Constitutional framework

Papua New Guinea's constitution was adopted in 1975 and has been amended frequently since then. The country is a constitutional monarchy and a member of the Commonwealth. The British monarch, represented by a governor-general, is head of state, and the prime minister is head of government. The unicameral National Parliament has 111 members who are elected to serve five-year terms. Of those, 89 represent single-member "open" electorates (districts); each of the other 22 represents one of the provincial electorates. Parliament nominates the governor-general, who is then appointed by the British monarch. Parliament also elects the prime minister, who in turn appoints the ministers of the National Executive Council (cabinet).

Local government

Provincial-level government formerly consisted of 19 elected provincial assemblies and their executives. In 1995 the National Parliament instituted reforms that replaced this system with one in which the members of Parliament (MPs) who were elected to represent the provinces usually became the provincial governors while retaining their seats in the National Parliament. MPs from the "open" districts constitute the membership of the provincial assemblies along with presidents of local-level councils. This has meant that national legislators effectively control executive government at local levels. Although the parliamentarians gained control over considerable funds for their electorates, few provinces have seen appreciable benefits, and in most districts the coverage and quality of government services declined markedly after 1995.

Justice

Papua New Guinea's judicial system has at its base a network of district courts presided over by magistrates. The higher-level National Court has the power of judicial review over the lower courts and handles serious civil and criminal matters. The Supreme Court is the final court of appeal, and it also reviews the decisions of the National Court and issues rulings on the constitutionality of laws. The Ombudsman Commission is a significant constitutional body with a major role in monitoring the ethical behaviour of national leaders under the Leadership Code-a set of ethical guidelines and responsibilities for state officers that is established in the constitution-as well as monitoring public administration.

The courts have dealt increasingly with political disputes over elections, constitutional and parliamentary matters, and Leadership Code cases. Below the formal court system but not integrated into it is a network of more than 1,000 village courts run by part-time local community appointees; these use customary law, mostly in dispute resolution aimed at preventing the escalation of local conflicts. Village court magistrates, almost all male, are assisted by local peace officers. Each province has a system of correctional institutions.

Political process

National elections are held every five years, and many hundreds of candidates run for seats in the National Parliament. Commonly, a high proportion-as many as three-fourths-of sitting MPs may lose their seats in a given election cycle, indicating popular discontent with the performance of legislators and reflecting the intensity of competition and fragmented nature of their electorates. Some regions have seen electoral violence and fraud. International and domestic observers, including civil-society watchdog groups, citizen election monitors, and local churches, have for decades alleged problems of corruption in government.

There are dozens of political parties in Papua New Guinea, although they generally lack clear policy differences or bases in ideology or class. Many of them succeed in gaining parliamentary representation, which prevents the dominance of the legislature by one or two major parties. Parties tend to be, essentially, parliamentary factions based around prominent leaders. Most MPs owe their election to local connections rather than to any political party that may have supported them. That has tended to create among elected officials a lack of loyalty toward parties, resulting in a fluid party system and party-hopping by MPs seeking personal advancement-often called "yo-yo politics." A 2001 law, the Organic Law on the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates (OLIPPAC), created a degree of relative stability by forbidding individual MPs from leaving or changing parties, although some of its provisions were later successfully challenged in court. Most parties have negligible local organization, although, after the institution of the OLIPPAC, incumbency helped the National Alliance Party to develop a branch structure in the provinces, gain more parliamentary seats, and lead the government for a number of years.

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Papua New Guinea - Government and society

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Papua New Guinea - Papua New Guinea - Government and society: Papua New Guinea's constitution was adopted in 1975 and has been amended frequently since then. The country is a constitutional monarchy and a member of the Commonwealth. The British monarch, represented by a governor-general, is head of state, and the prime minister is head of government.

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As a general rule, you're prohibited from entering Papua New Guinea with fruit, vegetables and animal products due to local quarantine controls.

Marijuana and other narcotics are illegal in Papua New Guinea; offences can carry substantial prison sentences.

Homosexual acts are illegal; if found guilty, the penalty could result in up to 14 years imprisonment. See our information and advice page for the LGBT community before you travel.

Murder may draw the death sentence although there is currently a moratorium on the death penalty.

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Local laws and customs - Papua New Guinea travel advice

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(also used a bit of google)

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The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Papua New Guinea expanded 0.30 percent in 2018 from the previous year. GDP Annual Growth Rate in Papua New Guinea averaged 3.89 percent from 1995 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 12.50 percent in 2014 and a record low of -6.34 percent in 1997.

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Country Brief

Papua New Guinea is located in Melanesia, a group of islands including the eastern half of the island of New Guinea. It is classified as a Small Island Developing State (SIDS). As a major exporter of commodities, Papua New Guinea mainly exports gold, copper, palm oil and coffee. Main exports partners are Australia, Japan, Germany, China and Singapore. Papua New Guinea mainly imports fuel, rice, vehicle, machinery and equipment. Papua New Guinea's main imports partners are Australia, Singapore, China, Japan and Malaysia. It is a member of Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), the Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA), the South Pacific Regional Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement (SPARTECA), and the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

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Papua New Guinea is located in Melanesia, a group of islands including the eastern half of the island of New Guinea. It is classified as a Small Island Developing State (SIDS). As a major exporter of commodities, Papua New Guinea mainly exports gold, copper, palm oil and coffee.

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People's daily lives vary enormously in Papua New Guinea, with the great majority of the population living across the diverse rural landscape in villages or hamlets. Daily life usually centres on the extended family, whose primary responsibilities are producing food for subsistence and rearing children. Most people have rights to use portions of land for the growing of food and some cash crops as well as the rights to fish, hunt, and gather timber from local forests. Many of those activities are accompanied by rituals to ensure success and prosperity. Other major rituals, such as menarche ceremonies for girls and initiations for boys, are declining. The Highlands social system previously involved the strict separation of men and women, with men sleeping in men's houses somewhat akin to military barracks and women sleeping in separate garden houses with the small children. With the incursion of newer cultural influences, that system has been modified in much of the region. Wealthy and prominent men with multiple wives retain separate households for each.

The clan forms the major unit of social organization. Almost all Melanesian societies are patrilineal, tracing descent through the male line, and even matrilineal societies, where descent is traced through the female line, remain patriarchal-i.e., male-dominated. In some areas descent and land rights can be claimed through either parent, so people can belong to both their parents' clans. Marriage within a clan would be perceived as incest, and so marriage is only possible across clan lines and sometimes across the boundaries of a tribe. Large tribes are not the norm, but where they do exist they have a degree of political unity and can be viewed as federations of clans. They may share origin myths, and in such cases clans can be seen as being like "brothers," sons of a founding father. These social structures form the lines of conflict expressed in the interclan warfare that persists in the Highland provinces, and in those areas they often form the lines of political competition in contemporary elections.

When people migrate from rural villages to urban areas or rural resettlement areas, they carry their languages and customs with them and re-create their existing social structures. Social bonds and obligations of the wantok system can provide support for those struggling in new locations but also create heavy demands on the more affluent people who feel obliged to support their kin. The demands of wantoks are often held to be a root cause of corruption. Increasingly there are second or third generations of townspeople who have "mixed marriages" across language lines, who while affiliated with both their parents' relatives often display a greater sense of nationhood than their age-mates who have less multicultural backgrounds. Intergenerational tensions reflect the stresses of rapid social change in rural and urban contexts.

In both villages and cities, music and dance celebrations often mark important life-cycle events such as birth, death, initiation, menarche, economic transactions (even the opening of a roadway), peacemaking, and religious observances. Traditional expressions are now sometimes mixed with or even replaced by string band music, Christian hymns, or both, primarily reflecting modified influences from the West and from other Pacific Islands areas.

Cultural institutions

The Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery in Waigani, a suburb of Port Moresby, has a significant collection of ethnographic artifacts. The government's National Cultural Commission, the Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies, and the National Film Institute record, document, and promote activities associated with traditional cultures, while organizations promoting tourism market aspects of those cultures to potential audiences overseas. In 2008 the Kuk Early Agricultural Site was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. That land in the Western Highlands has been worked almost continuously for at least 7,000 years, and the site contains even earlier evidence of the beginning of organized agriculture and its subsequent development.

Sports and recreation

Competitive sports in Papua New Guinea were introduced by colonists and missionaries but have taken on a style of their own, with games often inspiring not only team but also village or district loyalty. Wealthy candidates for election often sponsor sporting teams. There are organized amateur leagues for the most popular sports, which include rugby, cricket, football (soccer), softball, basketball, and volleyball. Rugby and football are especially popular league sports among men and, to a lesser extent, women, and netball is popular among girls. Cricket is another top sport, especially in the southern region. Since 2000 traditional canoe and sailing races have been revived as an elite recreation.

The Papua New Guinea Sports Federation and Olympic Committee acts as the national umbrella organization for sports and operates with corporate and government support to aid national teams as they train for and participate in international sporting events. The country first participated in the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal but has had greater success in Pacific regional competitions and the Commonwealth Games, in which it has participated since 1962.

The country has designated a variety of national parks and protected areas. Lake Kutubu National Park, in the Southern Highlands, is a refuge for reptiles, birds, and butterflies. The small McAdam National Park, in Morobe province, is home to many diverse animals including birds-of-paradise, cuscus, and echidnas. Varirata National Park, near Port Moresby, provides opportunities for hiking, camping, bird-watching, and picnicking. The island region, with its coral reefs, highly diverse marine life, and numerous sunken wrecks of World War II-era ships and airplanes, is considered to provide some of the best diving and snorkeling in the world.

Media and publishing

Radio remains an important broadcast medium, especially to residents of isolated communities, while television service is available and watched avidly in urban areas. There are two domestic television channels that broadcast to larger urban areas. The state-owned channel provides documentary and educational programming, news, and coverage of Parliament, and the privately owned channel carries mostly Australian content, with heavy emphasis on sports.

In contrast to the wide reach of the electronic media, circulation is relatively low for both the foreign-owned English-language newspapers (which are also published on the Internet) and the Tok Pisin weekly Wantok, owned by a domestic consortium of Christian denominations. Papua New Guinea's press has taken an active part in reporting on political life without direct government censorship, although journalists sometimes find themselves under acute pressure from politicians if they have published critical articles.

Book publishing in Papua New Guinea remains in its infancy, although since 2000 a new crop of fiction writers and academics has emerged. There are also a few publishers of religious materials.

William Standish

The peopling of New Guinea

Relatively little archaeological work has been carried out on the island of New Guinea. On the basis of current evidence, it has been postulated that parts of New Guinea were occupied as early as 50,000 years ago. The presence of pollen from planted foods, starch traces on stone implements, and the remains of swamp-drainage channels and other water-management works at Kuk, near Mount Hagen, indicate the existence of intensive agricultural activity on the island for 7,000 years. The intensity and length of time of human occupation of the Highlands are evidenced by the extent of man-made landscapes in the region. Those discoveries are made even more interesting by the fact that the sweet potato, the present staple crop of the region, seems not to have arrived in the area from the Americas until 300 or 400 years ago. It is presumed that taro was the earlier staple, as it still is in some isolated Highlands basins such as that at Telefomin. The ancestors of the Polynesian peoples who migrated to the eastern Pacific passed through the Bismarck Archipelago in the past 5,000 years.

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Papua New Guinea - Daily life and social customs

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Papua New Guinea - Papua New Guinea - Daily life and social customs: People's daily lives vary enormously in Papua New Guinea, with the great majority of the population living across the diverse rural landscape in villages or hamlets. Daily life usually centres on the extended family, whose primary responsibilities are producing food for subsistence and rearing children.

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