Papua New Guinea

Wealth and National Well-Being

Country Comparisons: chart

World Factbook: "Papua New Guinea (PNG) is richly endowed with natural resources, but exploitation has been hampered by rugged terrain, land tenure issues, and the high cost of developing infrastructure. "

Economic growth rate
2011: 9%
2010: 7%
2009: 5.5%

Labor force in agriculture:
2005: 85%

Unemployment rate
2008: 1.9%

Public debt
2011: 22.3%

Exports commodities
Oil, gold, copper ore, logs, palm oil, coffee, cocoa, crayfish, prawns
Exports - partners

Export partners
2009: Australia 27.9%, Japan 9.1%, China 7.1%

Export/import ratio
2011: exports $7.566, imports $4.945

Income Distribution – gini index
Ranks 19th among 140 countries (higher rank number is more equal, lower rank number is less equal). Less equal than Britain, which ranks 94th, and the US, which ranks 45th.

Health expenditures
2009: 3.1% of GDP

People

Living in an urban area
2010: 13%

Ethnic groups
Melanesian, Papuan, Negrito, Micronesian, Polynesian

Religions
2000 census: Roman Catholic 27%, Protestant 69.4% (Evangelical Lutheran 19.5%, United Church 11.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10%, Pentecostal 8.6%, Evangelical Alliance 5.2%, Anglican 3.2%, Baptist 2.5%, other Protestant 8.9%), Baha'i 0.3%, indigenous beliefs and other 3.3%

Literacy, Age 15 and Older
2000 census: males 63.4%, females 50.9%

Geography

Group of islands on the eastern half of New Guinea (The western half is a part of Indonesia) and North of Australia. Tropical. Slightly larger than California. Mostly mountains. Capital: Port Moresby.

Government

Chief of state: Elizabeth II (monarch, House of Windsor), since 6 February 1952. Head of government: Peter O'Neill (prime minister) since 2 August 2011, People's National Congress Party.

A constitutional democracy. Independent since 1975 from a UN trusteeship administered by Australia.