Papua New Guinea (2008) | Gaza Strip (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | 20 provinces; Bougainville, Central, Chimbu, Eastern Highlands, East New Britain, East Sepik, Enga, Gulf, Madang, Manus, Milne Bay, Morobe, National Capital, New Ireland, Northern, Sandaun, Southern Highlands, Western, Western Highlands, West New Britain | - |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 37.6% (male 1,107,568/female 1,070,594)
15-64 years: 58.5% (male 1,745,385/female 1,643,830) 65 years and over: 3.9% (male 106,487/female 122,023) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 47.6% (male 361,115/female 344,236)
15-64 years: 49.9% (male 377,927/female 361,824) 65 years and over: 2.5% (male 15,454/female 21,849) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cocoa, copra, palm kernels, tea, sugar, rubber, sweet potatoes, fruit, vegetables, vanilla; shell fish, poultry, pork | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products |
Airports | 578 (2007) | 2 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 21
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 557
1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 58 under 914 m: 489 (2007) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Area | total: 462,840 sq km
land: 452,860 sq km water: 9,980 sq km |
total: 360 sq km
land: 360 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than California | slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The eastern half of the island of New Guinea - second largest in the world - was divided between Germany (north) and the UK (south) in 1885. The latter area was transferred to Australia in 1902, which occupied the northern portion during World War I and continued to administer the combined areas until independence in 1975. A nine-year secessionist revolt on the island of Bougainville ended in 1997 after claiming some 20,000 lives. | The September 1993 Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements provided for a transitional period of Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Under a series of agreements signed between May 1994 and September 1999, Israel transferred to the Palestinian Authority (PA) security and civilian responsibility for Palestinian-populated areas of the West Bank and Gaza. Negotiations to determine the permanent status of the West Bank and Gaza stalled following the outbreak of an intifada in September 2000, as Israeli forces reoccupied most Palestinian-controlled areas. In April 2003, the Quartet (US, EU, UN, and Russia) presented a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005 based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine. The proposed date for a permanent status agreement was postponed indefinitely due to violence and accusations that both sides had not followed through on their commitments. Following Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT's death in late 2004, Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA president in January 2005. A month later, Israel and the PA agreed to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments in an effort to move the peace process forward. In September 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew all its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip and withdrew settlers and redeployed soldiers from four small northern West Bank settlements. Nonetheless, Israel controls maritime, airspace, and most access to the Gaza Strip. A November 2005 PA-Israeli agreement authorized the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt under joint PA and Egyptian control. In January 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement, HAMAS, won control of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). The international community refused to accept the HAMAS-led government because it did not recognize Israel, would not renounce violence, and refused to honor previous peace agreements between Israel and the PA. HAMAS took control of the PA government in March 2006, but President ABBAS had little success negotiating with HAMAS to present a political platform acceptable to the international community so as to lift economic sanctions on Palestinians. The PLC was unable to convene throughout most of 2006 as a result of Israel's detention of many HAMAS PLC members and Israeli-imposed travel restrictions on other PLC members. Violent clashes took place between Fatah and HAMAS supporters in the Gaza Strip in 2006 and early 2007, resulting in numerous Palestinian deaths and injuries. ABBAS and HAMAS Political Bureau Chief MISHAL in February 2007 signed the Mecca Agreement in Saudi Arabia that resulted in the formation of a Palestinian National Unity Government (NUG) headed by HAMAS member Ismail HANIYA. However, fighting continued in the Gaza Strip, and in June, HAMAS militants succeeded in a violent takeover of all military and governmental institutions in the Gaza Strip. ABBAS dismissed the NUG and through a series of Presidential decrees formed a PA government in the West Bank led by independent Salam FAYYAD. HAMAS rejected the NUG's dismissal and has called for resuming talks with Fatah, but ABBAS has ruled out negotiations until HAMAS agrees to a return of PA control over the Gaza Strip and recognizes the FAYYAD-led government. FAYYAD and his PA government initiated a series of security and economic reforms to improve conditions in the West Bank. ABBAS participated in talks with Israel's Prime Minister OLMERT and secured the release of some Palestinian prisoners and previously withheld customs revenue. During a November 2007 international meeting in Annapolis Maryland, ABBAS and OLMERT agreed to resume peace negotiations with the goal of reaching a final peace settlement by the end of 2008. |
Birth rate | 28.76 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 38.9 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.209 billion
expenditures: $1.994 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $1.149 billion
expenditures: $2.31 billion note: includes West Bank (2006) |
Capital | name: Port Moresby
geographic coordinates: 9 30 S, 147 10 E time difference: UTC+10 (15 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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Climate | tropical; northwest monsoon (December to March), southeast monsoon (May to October); slight seasonal temperature variation | temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers |
Coastline | 5,152 km | 40 km |
Constitution | 16 September 1975 | - |
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 |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Gaza Strip local long form: none local short form: Qita Ghazzah |
Death rate | 7.14 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 3.74 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.814 billion (31 December 2007 est.) | $NA |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Leslie W. Rowe
embassy: Douglas Street, Port Moresby, N.C.D. mailing address: 4240 Port Moresby PI, US Department of State, Washington DC 20521-4240 telephone: [675] 321-1455 FAX: [675] 321-3423 |
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Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Evan Jeremy PAKI
chancery: 1779 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 805, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 745-3680 FAX: [1] (202) 745-3679 |
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Disputes - international | relies on assistance from Australia to keep out illegal cross-border activities from primarily Indonesia, including goods smuggling, illegal narcotics trafficking, and squatters and secessionists | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel removed settlers and military personnel from the Gaza Strip in August 2005 |
Economic aid - recipient | $266.1 million (2005) | $1.4 billion; (includes West Bank) (2006 est.) |
Economy - overview | Papua New Guinea is richly endowed with natural resources, but exploitation has been hampered by rugged terrain and the high cost of developing infrastructure. Agriculture provides a subsistence livelihood for 85% of the population. Mineral deposits, including copper, gold, and oil, account for nearly two-thirds of export earnings. The government of Prime Minister SOMARE has expended much of its energy remaining in power. He was the first prime minister ever to serve a full five-year term. The government also brought stability to the national budget, largely through expenditure control; however, it relaxed spending constraints in 2006 and 2007 as elections approached. Numerous challenges still face the government including regaining investor confidence, restoring integrity to state institutions, promoting economic efficiency by privatizing moribund state institutions, and balancing relations with Australia, its former colonial ruler. Other socio-cultural challenges could upend the economy including a worsening HIV/AIDS epidemic and chronic law and order and land tenure issues. Australia will supply more than $300 million in aid in FY07/08, which accounts for nearly 20% of the national budget. | High population density, limited land access, and strict internal and external security controls have kept economic conditions in the Gaza Strip - the smaller of the two areas under the Palestinian Authority (PA)- even more degraded than in the West Bank. The beginning of the second intifadah in September 2000 sparked an economic downturn, largely the result of Israeli closure policies; these policies, which were imposed to address security concerns in Israel, disrupted labor and trade access to and from the Gaza Strip. In 2001, and even more severely in 2003, Israeli military measures in PA areas resulted in the destruction of capital, the disruption of administrative structures, and widespread business closures. The Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in September 2005 offered some medium-term opportunities for economic growth, but continued Israeli-imposed crossings closures, which became more restrictive after Hamas violently took over the territory in June 2007, have resulted in widespread private sector layoffs and shortages of most goods. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.439 billion kWh (2005) | 230,000 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 90,000 kWh; note - from Israeli Electric Company (2005) |
Electricity - production | 3.698 billion kWh (2005) | 140,000 kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Wilhelm 4,509 m |
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Auda) 105 m |
Environment - current issues | rain forest subject to deforestation as a result of growing commercial demand for tropical timber; pollution from mining projects; severe drought | desertification; salination of fresh water; sewage treatment; water-borne disease; soil degradation; depletion and contamination of underground water resources |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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Ethnic groups | Melanesian, Papuan, Negrito, Micronesian, Polynesian | Palestinian Arab |
Exchange rates | kina per US dollar - 3.03 (2007), 3.0643 (2006), 3.08 (2005), 3.2225 (2004), 3.5635 (2003) | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.14 (2007), 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by governor general Sir Paulius MATANE (since 29 June 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Sir Michael SOMARE (since 2 August 2002); Deputy Prime Minister Puka TEMU (since 29 August 2007) cabinet: National Executive Council appointed by governor general on recommendation of prime minister elections: none; monarch is hereditary; governor general nominated by parliament and appointed by chief of state; following legislative elections, leader of majority party or leader of majority coalition usually is appointed prime minister by governor general |
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Exports | 44,580 bbl/day (2004) | $301 million f.o.b.; (includes West Bank) (2005) |
Exports - commodities | oil, gold, copper ore, logs, palm oil, coffee, cocoa, crayfish, prawns | citrus, flowers, textiles |
Exports - partners | Australia 30.2%, Japan 8.2%, China 5.7% (2006) | Israel, Egypt, West Bank (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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 | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 35.5%
industry: 37% services: 27.5% (2007 est.) |
agriculture: 8%
industry: 13% services: 79% (includes West Bank) (2006 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2007 est.) | -8% (includes West Bank) (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 6 00 S, 147 00 E | 31 25 N, 34 20 E |
Geography - note | shares island of New Guinea with Indonesia; one of world's largest swamps along southwest coast | strategic strip of land along Mideast-North African trade routes has experienced an incredibly turbulent history; the town of Gaza itself has been besieged countless times in its history |
Heliports | 2 (2007) | 1 (2007) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.7%
highest 10%: 40.5% (1996) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | major consumer of cannabis | - |
Imports | 24,020 bbl/day (2004) | $2.44 billion c.i.f.; (includes West Bank) (2005) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, fuels, chemicals | food, consumer goods, construction materials |
Imports - partners | Australia 52%, Singapore 12.6%, China 5.9%, Japan 4.3% (2006) | Israel, Egypt, West Bank (2006) |
Independence | 16 September 1975 (from the Australian-administered UN trusteeship) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.8% (2007 est.) | 2.4% (includes West Bank) (2005) |
Industries | copra crushing, palm oil processing, plywood production, wood chip production; mining of gold, silver, and copper; crude oil production, petroleum refining; construction, tourism | generally small family businesses that produce textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis had established some small-scale modern industries in an industrial center, but operations ceased prior to Israel's evacuation of Gaza Strip settlements |
Infant mortality rate | total: 48.46 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 52.52 deaths/1,000 live births female: 44.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 21.88 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 20.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.8% (2007 est.) | 3.6% (includes West Bank) (2006) |
International organization participation | ACP, ADB, APEC, ARF, ASEAN (observer), C, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | - |
Irrigated land | NA | 150 sq km; note - includes West Bank (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the proposal of the National Executive Council after consultation with the minister responsible for justice; other judges are appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission) | - |
Labor force | 3.557 million (2007 est.) | 267,000 (2006) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 85%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 12%
industry: 18% services: 70% (2005) |
Land boundaries | total: 820 km
border countries: Indonesia 820 km |
total: 62 km
border countries: Egypt 11 km, Israel 51 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.49%
permanent crops: 1.4% other: 98.11% (2005) |
arable land: 29%
permanent crops: 21% other: 50% (2002) |
Languages | Melanesian Pidgin serves as the lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2%, Motu spoken in Papua region
note: 820 indigenous languages spoken (over one-tenth of the world's total) |
Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by many Palestinians), English (widely understood) |
Legal system | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | - |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Parliament (109 seats, 89 filled from open electorates and 20 from provinces and national capital distict; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); constitution allows up to 126 seats
elections: last held from 30 June to 10 July 2007; next to be held in June 2012 election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - National Alliance 27, PNGP 8, PAP 6, URP 6, PANGU 5, PDM 5, independents 19, others 33; note - election to 1 seat was nullified note: 15 other parties won 4 or fewer seats; association with political parties is fluid |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population: 65.62 years
male: 63.41 years female: 67.95 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 72.16 years
male: 70.84 years female: 73.54 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 57.3% male: 63.4% female: 50.9% (2000 census) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.4% male: 96.7% female: 88% (2004 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands including the eastern half of the island of New Guinea between the Coral Sea and the South Pacific Ocean, east of Indonesia | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Israel |
Map references | Oceania | Middle East |
Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation |
Merchant marine | total: 24 ships (1000 GRT or over) 56,157 GRT/72,821 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 20, petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: 6 (UK 6) (2007) |
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Military branches | Papua New Guinea Defense Force (PNGDF; includes Maritime Operations Element, Air Operations Element) (2008) | in accordance with the peace agreement, the Palestinian Authority is not permitted conventional military forces; there are, however, public security forces (2007) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (2005 est.) | NA |
National holiday | Independence Day, 16 September (1975) | - |
Nationality | noun: Papua New Guinean(s)
adjective: Papua New Guinean |
noun: NA
adjective: NA |
Natural hazards | active volcanism; situated along the Pacific "Ring of Fire"; the country is subject to frequent and sometimes severe earthquakes; mud slides; tsunamis | droughts |
Natural resources | gold, copper, silver, natural gas, timber, oil, fisheries | arable land, natural gas |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 1.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | oil 264 km (2007) | - |
Political parties and leaders | National Alliance Party or NA [Michael SOMARE]; Papua and Niugini Union Party or PANGU PATI [Andrew KUMBAKOR]; Papua New Guinea Party or PNGP [Sir Mekere MORAUTA]; People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Michael OGIO]; People's Action Party or PAP [Gabriel KAPRIS]; United Resources Party or URP [William DUMA] (2007) | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | - |
Population | 5,795,887 (July 2007 est.) | 1,482,405 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 37% (2002 est.) | 80% (2007 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.163% (2007 est.) | 3.66% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 8, FM 19, shortwave 28 (1998) | AM 0, FM 10, shortwave 0 (2008) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 22%, Lutheran 16%, Presbyterian/Methodist/London Missionary Society 8%, Anglican 5%, Evangelical Alliance 4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1%, other Protestant 10%, indigenous beliefs 34% | Muslim (predominantly Sunni) 99.3%, Christian 0.7% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.035 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.062 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.873 male(s)/female total population: 1.043 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.049 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.045 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.707 male(s)/female total population: 1.037 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | - |
Telephone system | general assessment: services are minimal; facilities provide radiotelephone and telegraph, coastal radio, aeronautical radio, and international radio communication services
domestic: access to telephone services is not widely available; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular telephone density is less than 3 telephones per 100 persons international: country code - 675; submarine cables to Australia and Guam; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); international radio communication service |
general assessment: NA
domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed line services; the Palestinian JAWAL company provides cellular services international: country code - 970 (2004) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 63,700 (2005) | 349,000 (includes West Bank) (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 75,000 (2005) | 1.095 million (includes West Bank) (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (all in the Port Moresby area; stations at Mt. Hagen, Goroka, Lae, and Rabaul are planned) (2004) | 1 (2008) |
Terrain | mostly mountains with coastal lowlands and rolling foothills | flat to rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain |
Total fertility rate | 3.79 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 5.64 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 1.9% up to 80% in urban areas (2004) | 34.8% (2006) |
Waterways | 11,000 km (2006) | - |