Form of government: constitutional monarchy with one legislative house (National Parliament [109]).
Chief of state: British Monarch represented by Governor-General.
Head of government: Prime Minister.
Capital: Port Moresby.
Official language: English{1}.
Official religion: none.
Monetary unit: 1 Papua New Guinea kina (K)=100 toea;
valuation (Oct. 6, 1995) 1 U.S.$=K 1.32; 1 
=K 2.09.
Population (1995): 4,302,000.
Density (1995): persons per sq mi 24.1, persons per sq km 9.3.
Urban-rural (1995): urban 16.0%; rural 84.0%.
Sex distribution (1990){2}: male 52.09%; female 47.91%.
Age breakdown (1990): under 15, 40.4%; 15-29, 28.8%; 30-44, 16.9%; 45-59, 9.3%; 60-74, 4.3%; 75 and over, 0.3%.
Population projection: (2000) 4,809,000; (2010) 5,918,000.
Doubling time: 30 years.
Ethnic composition (1983): New Guinea Papuan 84.0%; New Guinea Melanesian 15.0%; other 1.0%.
Religious affiliation (1980): Protestant 58.4%; Roman Catholic 32.8%; Anglican 5.4%; traditional beliefs 2.5%; Baha`i 0.6%; other 0.3%.
Major cities (1990){2}: Port Moresby 193,242; Lae 80,655; Madang 27,057; Wewak 23,224; Goroka 17,855.
Birth rate per 1,000 population (1995): 33.0 (world avg. 25.0); legitimate, n.a.; illegitimate, n.a.
Death rate per 1,000 population (1995): 10.0 (world avg. 9.3).
Natural increase rate per 1,000 population (1995): 23.0 (world avg. 15.7).
Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 1995): 4.8.
Marriage rate per 1,000 population: n.a.
Life expectancy at birth (1995): male 56.0 years; female 58.0 years.
Major causes of death per 100,000 population (1991): pneumonia 28.7; conditions originating from perinatal period 17.5; malaria 12.7; meningitis 8.5; tuberculosis 7.0; intestinal infections 6.8.
Budget (1995). Revenue: K 1,571,700,000 (company tax 20.0%, import duties 17.9%, personal income tax 14.6%, nontax revenue 12.8%, foreign grants 12.1%, export tax 10.8%). Expenditures: K 1,629,800,000 (administrative 40.9%, transfers 18.1%, interest payments 13.2%, capital works 11.0%).
Public debt (external, outstanding; 1993): U.S.$1,516,000,000.
Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture, forestry, fishing (1994): bananas 1,329,000, coconuts 790,000, sweet potatoes 484,000, sugarcane 300,000, palm oil 225,000, yams 224,000, taro 220,000, cassava 114,000, copra 100,000, palm kernels 66,000, coffee 66,000, cacao 27,000, pineapples 13,000, tea 9,000; livestock (number of live animals) 1,033,000 pigs, 105,000 cattle, 3,000,000 chickens; roundwood (1993) 8,188,000 cu m; fish catch (1993) 26,000. Mining and quarrying (1994): copper 206,329; silver 75,025 kg; gold 57,751 kg. Manufacturing (value added, in K; 1985): food, beverages, and tobacco 162,558,000; metals, metal products, machinery, and equipment 47,493,000; wood products 29,807,000. Construction (value in K; 1986) {3}: residential K 19,369,000; nonresidential K 55,675,000. Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 1993) 1,790,000,000 (1,790,000,000); coal (metric tons; 1993) none (1,000); crude petroleum (barrels) none (n.a.); petroleum products (metric tons; 1993) none (732,000).
Tourism: receipts from visitors (1993) U.S.$45,000,000; expenditures by nationals abroad (1990) U.S.$42,000,000.
Gross national product (1993): U.S.$4,646,000,000 (U.S.$1,120 per capita).
Land use (1993): forested 84.4%; agricultural and under permanent cultivation 0.9%; meadows and pastures 0.2%; other 14.5%.
Population economically active (1980){4}: total 732,800; activity rate 24.6% (participation rates: over age 10, 35.2%; female 39.8%; unemployed 12.8%{5}).
Household income and expenditure. Average household size (1980) 4.6; income per household (1975-76) K 2,771 (U.S.$3,483); sources of income (1970): wages and salaries 57.3%, transfer payments 1.1%, self-employment and other 41.6%; expenditure (1987){6}: food and beverages 40.9%, transportation and communications 13.0%, housing 12.5%, clothing and footwear 6.2%, heating and lighting 4.9%, services and other 22.5%.
Imports (1994): K 1,336,000,000 (1990; machinery and transport equipment 38.7%; basic manufactures 20.4%; food and live animals 17.9%; chemicals 7.5%; mineral fuels, lubricants, and related materials 2.7%). Major import sources (1992): Australia 37.1%; Japan 15.0%; Singapore 14.4%; U.S. 6.4%; New Zealand 4.5%; Hong Kong 3.0%; Malaysia 2.2%.
Exports (1994): K 2,662,000,000 (crude oil 26.4%; gold 26.4%; timber 18.1%; copper ore and concentrates 13.8%; coffee 7.7%; palm oil and copra 4.2%; cocoa beans 1.1%). Major export destinations (1992): Japan 21.3%; Australia 40.9%; Germany 9.7%; South Korea 7.9%; U.K. 4.3%; Singapore 3.7%.
Transport. Railroads: none. Roads (1986): total length 12,263 mi, 19,736 km (paved 6%). Vehicles (1993): passenger cars 11,500; trucks and buses 30,800. Merchant marine (1992): vessels (100 gross tons and over) 87; total deadweight tonnage 40,855. Air transport (1993): passenger-mi 458,798,000, passenger-km 738,366,000; short ton-mi cargo 56,418,000, metric ton-km cargo 82,369,000; airports (1995) with scheduled flights 110.
Communications. Daily newspapers (1992): total number 2; total circulation 64,000; circulation per 1,000 population 16. Radio (1994): 260,000 receivers (1 per 16 persons). Television (1994): 10,000 receivers (1 per 421 persons). Telephones (main lines; 1993): 39,800 (1 per 104 persons).
Educational attainment (1990). Percentage of population age 25 and over having: no formal schooling 82.6%; some primary education 8.2%; completed primary 5.0%; some secondary 4.2%. Literacy (1990): total population age 15 and over literate 52.0%; males literate 64.9%; females literate 37.8%.
Health: physicians (1990) 301 (1 per 12,874 persons); hospital beds (1989) 15,335 (1 per 234 persons); infant mortality rate (1995) 65.0.
Food (1992): daily per capita caloric intake 2,613 (vegetable products 91%, animal products 9%); 115% of FAO minimum.
Total active duty personnel (1995): 3,800 (army 84.2%, navy 13.2%, air force 2.6%). Military expenditure as percentage of GNP (1993): 1.8% (world 3.3%); per capita expenditure U.S.$20.