Papua New Guinea is an island country in Oceania, located north of Australia. It occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and surrounding islands in Melanesia. It shares a land border with Indonesia to the west. The capital city is Port Moresby, situated on the southern coast. With a land area of 462,840 km2, Papua New Guinea is the world's third-largest island country.
In 1902, Papua was effectively transferred to the authority of Australia.
In 1902, the British Territory of Papua in the South was ceded to Australia.
With the passage of the Papua Act in 1905, the area was officially renamed the Territory of Papua.
In 1906, the Australian administration became formal, with Papua becoming fully annexed as an Australian territory.
In 1946, New Guinea was declared a United Nations trust territory under Australian governance.
In 1964, mining exploration by Rio Tinto in Bougainville began, leading to the establishment of the Bougainville Copper corporation.
The 1964 election took place alongside campaigns to introduce the political system.
In 1968, Ten Thousand Years in a Lifetime, an autobiography by Albert Maori Kiki, was published, marking the first major publication of Papua New Guinean literature.
The 1968 election took place alongside campaigns to introduce the political system. The leadup to the 1968 election saw the formation of Pangu Pati, the first political party.
In 1969, Australian Opposition Leader Gough Whitlam visited Papua New Guinea.
1970 saw the publication of the first Papua New Guinean novel: Crocodile by Vincent Eri.
In 1970, the government of Papua New Guinea began to actively support literature, publishing works in multiple languages.
In March 1971 the House of Assembly recommended that the territory seek self-governance in the next parliament, which was agreed to by Australia.
In June 1971, the flag and emblem were adopted.
In 1971, the Sorcery Act allowed for accusations of sorcery to act as a defence for murder.
As early as 1972, Whitlam made self-rule in the territory an election issue, and called for self-governance.
At the 1972 Papua New Guinean general election in July, Michael Somare was elected as Chief Minister.
Between 1972 and 2002, nearly one-quarter of Papua New Guinea's rainforests were damaged or destroyed.
Since 1972, all governments in Papua New Guinea have been coalitions.
In late 1973, the Whitlam government instituted self-governance.
In April 1975, the kina was introduced as a separate currency.
The Papua New Guinea Independence Act 1975 passed in September 1975, setting 16 September 1975 as the date of independence. The government of Bougainville declared independence. Somare continued as the country's first Prime Minister.
A secessionist movement in 1975–76 on Bougainville Island resulted in a modification of the Constitution of Papua New Guinea.
In 1975, Australian contribution to the budget was 40% of government revenue.
In 1975, Papua New Guinea became an independent Commonwealth realm with Elizabeth II as its Queen.
In August 1976, an agreement with the national government resolved the initial declaration of independence.
In 1976, Enga Province, Papua New Guinea, which is dominated by Enga language speakers, adopted Tok Pisin as its official language.
In 1977, Sanguma, an early band in Papua New Guinea, formed at the National Arts School and toured internationally.
Somare retained the prime ministership following the 1977 election.
The first state of emergency was declared in 1979 due to tribal fighting in the highland areas.
In 1980, Somare was ousted through a vote of no confidence.
Following the 1982 election, Somare became prime minister again.
The Ok Tedi Mine opened in 1982.
In 1984, gang violence led to a state of emergency in Port Moresby, which led to the intervention of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF).
In 1985, Somare lost another vote of no confidence.
In 1986, Papua New Guinea became a founding member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group alongside the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. Also in 1986, a cooperation treaty was signed with Indonesia.
In 1988, Australian contribution to the budget dropped to 17% of government revenue.
In 1988, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu signed a formal cooperation agreement.
In 1988, a renewed uprising on Bougainville started, fighting against both the Bougainville government and the national government.
After the mine closed in May 1989, the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) declared independence.
In 1990, the first music video was shown on television in Papua New Guinea.
In 1990, the maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births for Papua New Guinea was 340.
In 1990, the national government pulled out of Bougainville and blockaded the province, the conflict shifted into a complex internal civil war. National security forces re-entered the island at the end of 1990.
In October 1994, an agreement between the government and some rebels was reached.
The Papua New Guinean kina was devalued and put on a floating exchange rate in 1994.
In 1995, a transitional Bougainville government was established, although fighting continued with the BRA.
In 1995, provincial governments were reformed, with some responsibilities devolved towards local governments.
In 1995, the country obtained an emergency loan from the World Bank.
In 1996, only 3% of houses in rural areas were connected to electricity in Papua New Guinea.
In 1997, the Sandline affair over the hiring of mercenaries to intervene in Bougainville brought down the national government.
In the 1997 election, only 4 candidates won overall majorities, with 95 (87%) of winners receiving less than 30% of the vote.
Following New Zealand-mediated peace talks, a ceasefire was reached in January 1998.
After government changed mid-parliament in 1999, a Constitutional Development Commission was established to bring about political reform.
As of April 2000, 837 languages in Papua New Guinea had educational support.
As of 2000, there were 40 urban areas in Papua New Guinea with a population over 1,000.
In 2001, the Bougainville Peace Agreement was signed, granting Bougainville greater autonomy and the promise of a future independence referendum.
Between 1972 and 2002, nearly one-quarter of Papua New Guinea's rainforests were damaged or destroyed.
The 2002 election in Papua New Guinea saw an uptick in violence.
In 2004, Australian police were brought to Papua New Guinea to help train the PNG police force, beginning a long-term Australian police presence.
In every election prior to at least 2004, the majority of incumbents in Papua New Guinea lost their seats, creating an incentive for corruption.
In 2005, the maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births for Papua New Guinea was 270.
In 2008, the Kuk Early Agricultural Site in Papua New Guinea was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The 2008 maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births for Papua New Guinea was 250.
In 2009, Parliament approved the creation of two additional provinces: Hela Province, from Southern Highlands Province, and Jiwaka Province, from Western Highlands Province.
In 2011, Papua New Guinea experienced a constitutional crisis between the parliament-elect Prime Minister, Peter O'Neill, and Somare, who the supreme court deemed to retain office.
In 2011, the median age of Papua New Guinea's population was under 22, and 36% of the population was younger than 15.
The 2011 census in Papua New Guinea found that 95.6% of citizens identified themselves as Christian, 1.4% reported other beliefs, and 3.1% gave no answer.
In 2012, tuition fees were abolished in Papua New Guinea, leading to an increase in educational attendance.
The 2012 national elections went ahead as scheduled, and O'Neill was once again elected as prime minister by a majority of parliament.
The 2012–2017 O'Neill government was dogged by corruption scandals.
In 2013, education in Papua New Guinea was shifted back towards English in an attempt to improve low English literacy rates.
In 2013, the Sorcery Act was repealed.
In 2014, Government health expenditure accounted for 9.5% of total government spending, with total health expenditure equating to 4.3% of GDP.
In 2014, liquefied natural gas exports began in Papua New Guinea, but government revenue was lower than expected due to falling oil prices.
In March 2015, the Bougainville Mining Act shifted control over mining from the national government to the Bougainville government, and gave landowners veto power over future extraction.
As of 2015, about 0.3% of the population of Papua New Guinea was international migrants.
In 2015, sign language (in practice Papua New Guinean Sign Language) was recognized as one of the four national languages in Papua New Guinea.
In 2016, vaccine coverage in Papua New Guinea was 35%, with 24% of children having no vaccines.
In urban areas of Papua New Guinea, 55% of houses were connected to electricity in 2016.
Ministerial tenures are often short, averaging half the length of a parliament from 1972 to 2016.
The 2017 general election saw O'Neill return as prime minister, although initially with a smaller coalition. This election saw widespread voter intimidation in some regions, and delays in the reporting of seat results.
As of 2018, natural resource extraction made up 28% of overall GDP in Papua New Guinea.
Financial scandals, as well as criticism of the purchase of expensive cars for APEC Papua New Guinea 2018 meeting, created pressure on O'Neill and led to defections from government.
In May 2019, O'Neill resigned as prime minister and was replaced by James Marape.
The government set 23 November 2019 as the voting date for a non-binding independence referendum in the Bougainville autonomous region. Voters overwhelmingly voted for independence (98.31%).
As of 2019, PNG's real GDP growth rate was 3.8%, with an inflation rate of 4.3%.
As of 2019, Papua New Guinea's HDI rating was the lowest in the Pacific.
As of 2019, life expectancy in Papua New Guinea at birth was 63 years for men and 67 for women.
In 2019, tuition fees were partially reintroduced in Papua New Guinea after initially being abolished in 2012.
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.
In December 2022, a report by the UN suggested a new population estimate of 17 million for Papua New Guinea.
Prime Minister James Marape's PANGU Party secured the most seats of any party in the 2022 election, enabling James Marape to continue as PNG's Prime Minister.
Since Elizabeth II's death in 2022, Charles III has been the King of Papua New Guinea.
As of 2023, only 14% of Papua New Guinea's population lived in urban centres.
In 2023, it was reported that only 14% of the population of Papua New Guinea lived in urban centres.
In 2023, there were 0.61 doctors per 10,000 people in Papua New Guinea.
In March 2025, a constitutional amendment recognized Papua New Guinea as a Christian country, with specific mention of "God, the Father; Jesus Christ, the Son; and Holy Spirit", and the Bible as a national symbol.
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