Population: Papua 84% minorities of Melanesians, Polynesians, Chinese and Europeans, 16%
Currency: Kina
Economy: Agriculture 36%, Industry 45%, Services 20%
GDP per capita: 1180 US-Dollars
Climate: Tropical, rainy season from December to March
Highest point: Mount Wilhelm (4509m high)
Papua New Guinea consists mainly of the eastern half of the New Guinea Island (the western part belongs to Indonesia). Additionally there are 600 very small islands. The mainland Papua New Guinea is home to several hundred different ethnic groups. This has resulted in about 750 different
languages and dialects. In 1545, Spanish explorers named the main island New Guinea, because they believed they had similarities with the inhabitants of the African Guinea. Over the last 200 years parts of the country were controlled by the Dutch, Germans, Japanese and Australians. Papua New
Guinea has been completely independent since 1975. Today there are large social differences between the very remote high country residents (in the mountains in the middle of the country) and the lowland residents. Long blood feuds are the result.