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Official Name - The Independent State of Papua New Guinea
Land Area - 452,860 sq km (cf NZ 268,000 sq km)
EEZ - 3.12 million sq km (cf NZ 2.2 million sq km)
Population - 6.73 million (2009,estimate UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division)
Population growth 2% pa (2009 official estimate)
Capital City - Port Moresby
Official languages - Tok Pisin (Pidgin English), English and Hiri Moti (around Port Moresby) plus over 800 other distinct languages
Currency - PNG Kina (K)
Exchange rate -
K1 = NZ$0.50 (August 2010)
Political system -
Pluralist democracy. Executive Power is exercised by the Head of State and the National Executive Council (NEC, Cabinet) chaired by the Prime Minister
National government -
Prime Minister Rt Hon Sir Michael Somare heads the Government and the National Alliance Party (NA).
National legislature -
Unicameral Parliament, 109 elective seats (89open constituencies and 20 provincial constituencies).
Last election -
July 2007
Next election due -
July 2012
Head of State -
Governor General representing Queen Elizabeth II. Sir Paulias Matane was sworn in as Governor-General in 2004, and for a second term on 21 July 2010.
Head of Government -
Rt Hon Sir Michael Somare, Prime Minister and Minister for Autonomy and Autonomous Regions
Hon Sam Abal
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Immigration
Hon Paul Tiensten
Minister for National Planning and District Development
Hon Gabriel Kapris
Minister for Commerce and Industry
Hon William Duma
Minister for Petroleum and Energy
Hon Ano Pala
Minister for Justice and Attorney-General
Hon Bob Dadae
Minister for Defence
Hon Dame Carol Kidu
Minister for Community Development, Women and Religion
Hon Arthur Somare
Minister for Public Enterprise
Hon John Hickey
Minister for Agriculture and Livestock
Hon James Marabe
Minister for Education
Hon Sani Rambe
Minister for Internal Security
Hon Sasa Zibe
Minister for Health
Main political parties - National Alliance, Pangu Pati, United Resource Party, United Party, People’s Action Party, National Party, New Generation Party, PNG Party, People’s Progress Party
GDP -
US$9.6 billion (IMF, 2010 estimate)
GDP growth -
7.2% (2007); 6.7% (2008); 4.5% (IMF, 2009 estimate) 8.0% (IMF, 2010 projection)
GDP per capita -
US$1,293 (IMF, 2009 estimate)
Exports of Goods (FOB) -
US$5.74 billion (IMF 2010 estimate)
Main exports
(% of 2008 total exports)
| Fuels and mining products (e.g. copper, gold, crude petroleum) | 43.8% |
| Agricultural products (palm oil, coffee, cocoa) | 23.6% |
| Manufactures | 4.1% |
Principal Export markets (% of 2008 total exports) -
| European Union | 10.7% |
| Australia | 10.5% |
| China | 4.0% |
| Japan | 3.8% |
| United States | 2.7% |
Import of Goods (CIF) -
US$5.24 billion (IMF 2010 projection)
Main Imports
(% of 2008 total imports)
| Manufactures | 60.5% |
| Fuels and mining products | 16.2% |
| Agricultural products | 16.2% |
Principal Import markets (% of 2008 total imports) -
| Australia | 58.7% |
| United States | 7.6% |
| Singapore | 7.2% |
| Japan | 5.3% |
| China | 3.2% |
Current account balance -
US$-459 million (EIU, 2009 final); US$ -31million (EIU, 2010 estimate)
Total Debt -External debt US$2.37 billion (2008 estimate); Foreign exchange reserves US$1.99 billion (2008)
Inflation -
8.2% (IMF, 2009 estimate)
Government budget -
K7,489.7 million (2010 forecast)
NZ Exports (FOB) -
NZ$161.80 million year to June 2010
Main Exports to June 2010 (FOB, NZ$ million)
| Sheep meat | 29.88 |
| Iron or non-alloy steel (clad) | 18.26 |
| Quicklime | 10.21 |
| Milk Powder, butter and cheese | 13.29 |
| Textiles | 8.90 |
| Iron/steel products for construction | 8.75 |
| Machinery (Refrigerators) | 13.07 |
| Electrical Products | 7.49 |
| Trailers | 5.84 |
| Light Aircraft | 5.07 |
| Frozen vegetables | 3.68 |
| Other | 37.36 |
NZ Imports (CIF) - NZ$7.37 million year to June 2010
NB A contract purchase of approx. NZ$100 million worth of petroleum is made every second year, i.e. 2008, 2010, representing a significant spike in import volume statisticsMain Imports to December 2009 (CIF, NZ$7.37 million)
| Coffee | 4.91 |
| Timber | 0.98 |
| Palm Oil | 0.72 |
| Unidentified (value not over $10,000) | 0.38 |
| Cocoa | 0.16 |
| Passenger Motor Vehicles | 0.08 |
| Plastic | 0.03 |
| Other | 0.11 |
NZAID programme allocations:
2007/08: NZ$21.5 million
2008/09: NZ$22.5 million
2009/10: NZ$27 millionOther key bilateral donors (2009):
Australia: A$457.2 million (2010-2011 estimate)
EU: €36.6 million (2009)
Japan: ¥1,195 million (2009)Earliest evidence of human occupation in PNG dates back 50,000 years. Early inhabitants were scattered hunter-gatherer societies who eventually developed extensive networks of trade and ceremonial contact. Europeans had known about New Guinea since first sightings by Portuguese and Spanish navigators in 1512. But it was only in 1828 that the Dutch claimed sovereignty over the western part of the island. In 1884, Germany annexed north eastern New Guinea and the BismarckArchipelago as ‘Kaiser Wilhemsland’. Four years later, the remaining eastern areas became a British colony. In 1914, Australia occupied German New Guinea, and from 1921 administered what had been the British and German sectors under a League of Nations mandate. In 1941 Japan occupied the north. In 1945 Australia was again given responsibility for PNG’s administration under UN trusteeship arrangements. PNG gained independence in 1975.
Though parties and party allegiances within the PNG parliamentary system are fluid, PNG has had an unbroken record of democratic continuity since independence. The independent judiciary and bodies like the Office of the Ombudsman are respected, the media has a free voice, and civil society is active. Instability remains a feature of the PNG political landscape, however. Women are chronically under-represented, with Dame Carol Kidu currently PNG’s only female MP.
Sir Michael Somare returned as Prime Minister (for the fourth time since 1975) following the general election in July 2007. The 2007 election was held under a new ‘limited preferential’ voting system, designed to ensure that successful candidates enjoy more support within their electorates and to encourage more alliance building between parties. Sir Michael’s National Alliance (NA) party won 27 seats out of 109, and formed an alliance with 13 other parties to ensure the support of 86 out of 109 MPs.
An initial 18-month period during which no-confidence motions are not allowed expired in February 2009. Since then the size and complexity of the coalition has posed challenges for the Government’s cohesiveness, and fracture lines have appeared. In July 2010, PNG’s Supreme Court ruled that elements of the 2003 Organic Law on the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates (OLIPPAC) were unconstitutional. This ruling has opened up the government to political challenge and a period of political uncertainty has ensued.PNG’s extensive mineral deposits (gas, oil, gold and copper) and other natural resources (forests, fisheries) would, in a more developed country, provide a sure foundation for potential prosperity, but PNG’s weak governance, widespread tribal contestation and corruption make widespread prosperity less certain. The previous Government put in place a “Medium Term Development Strategy” (MTDS) that pursued “export-driven growth, rural development and poverty reduction, including through good governance and the promotion of agriculture, forestry and fisheries on an ecologically sustainable basis”. Boosted by resurgent commodity prices, PNG’s real GDP grew by 7.2% and 6.7% in 2007 and 2008 respectively, before slowing to 4.5% in 2009, largely as a result of reduced exports in the wake of the global economic crisis. Growth is widely predicted to accelerate in 2010-2014 to 7-8%, fuelled by strong consumption and investment in the mining sector.
In December 2009, an Exxon Mobil-led consortium agreed a US$15 billion, 20-year deal to liquefy the Southern Highlands’ natural gas and export it to China, Taiwan, and Japan. The project will produce 6.6 million tons of liquefied natural gas each year, equivalent to nearly a quarter of Australia’s entire production, and is predicted to add significantly to the size of Papua New Guinea’s economy.
PNG nevertheless continues to face huge development challenges. About 85% of PNG’s population relies on subsistence agriculture and fishing for survival, sometimes in some of the most isolated spots on the planet. These communities receive little trickle down benefits from commodity exports, and PNG remains one of the least developed nations on earth. The UNDP’s 2009 Human Development Index ranked it 148th of 182 countries surveyed, lower than any other country in the Pacific. Life expectancy at birth in PNG is only 60.7 years. Only 57.8% of adults are literate, and only half of all children have access to primary school education.
Priority issues facing PNG include health, education, transport and public utilities infrastructures and services, major law and order problems, difficult land ownership and access issues, corruption and inefficient government, and the threat of environmental degradation and unsustainable resource management by both domestic and foreign operators.
Another issue with potential serious consequences for PNG (and the region) is the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS. The World Health Organisation estimates that 2% (over 100,000) of PNG’s population is HIV positive, with another 150 people infected each month. The government, together with a number of international donors and organisations, are working together on the issue.PNG pursues a basic foreign policy of selective engagement, with a primary focus on the Asia-Pacific region. It is a member of the UN, the WTO, the Commonwealth and APEC. It is also an observer at ASEAN and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) meetings. As the largest Pacific Island state, PNG plays a major role in the Pacific Islands Forum. It hosted the October 2005 Forum meeting and served as PIF Chair in 2005-06, then returned as Interim Chair for most of 2006-07. PNG is also a core member of the sub-regional Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG).
PNG’s individual external linkages continue to be dominated by its complex and asymmetrical relationship with Australia. Australia currently provides the bulk of of all external aid to PNG (with an estimated A$457.2 million for the 2010-2011 year), and is PNG’s main trading partner. For Australia, PNG is its nearest neighbour and a key part of its immediate security environment.
PNG shares a land border with Indonesia, which brings with it the task of responding to the sensitive secessionist ambitions of some groups in West Papua. PNG has also continued a policy of engagement with countries in Southeast and North Asia. Engagement with China has been particularly intense and fast-growing, with PNG receiving substantial Chinese aid and investment (China is now PNG’s second largest trade partner behind Australia). PNG has also consolidated links with Malaysia, the Philippines, SouthKorea, Japan and others over the last decade.Diplomatic links were formally established soon after PNG achieved independence in 1975, building on official New Zealand representation in the country before that. The relationship now includes regular political-level consultations, a large development assistance programme, defence co-operation activities and a network of commercial and business linkages. Up to two and a half thousand New Zealanders are estimated to live and work in PNG, although few New Zealand businesses have an ongoing PNG presence.
There are regular high level visits between the two countries. Amongst other contacts, in recent years Foreign Ministers from both countries have met regularly to discuss regional and international issues of interest, and to promote developments in the bilateral relationship.
New Zealand and PNG are close partners at both the regional and bilateral levels. We share common views on a range of international issues and co-operate actively in the many multilateral and regional bodies in which we are both members. NewZealand played a pivotal role in establishing the “Friends of PNG” group, which was instrumental in offering international support to the country during its financial crisis in mid 1999.
In trade, PNG is New Zealand’s second largest market in the Pacific region (behind Fiji, not including Australia) with our exports to June 2010 valued at NZ$162 million, a 7% increase on 2009, (Import levels fluctuate significantly due to the large imports of petroleum which occur every second year.)
Defence co-operation between New Zealand and the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) is conducted under the Mutual Assistance Programme (MAP). A number of PNGDF personnel receive staff and trade training in NewZealand at Waiouru or through attachments to the Officer Cadet School. ANew Zealand Defence Adviser is based in Port Moresby. A NZDF officer is also currently serving as Deputy Chief of Staff in PNGDF HQ, from October 2009.
In 2009-10 New Zealand’s ODA to PNG was NZ$27 million and is projected to rise to $29m in 2010/11. The New Zealand Aid Programme has two major objectives: improving social services in education and health and improving livelihood opportunities for people in rural areas. The main programme focus areas are health, education and rural economic development. The programme also makes provision for some assistance to Bougainville, primarily community policing and building the capacity of the Bougainville administration. A team of seven New Zealand police are stationed in Bougainville to support the Autonomous Bougainville Government’s (ABG) policing capability, and law and order.
PNG also benefits directly from the New Zealand Aid Programme’s regional programmes that are focused on law and justice, governance, environment, health, education and trade/economy; and through NZAID's support to regional agencies such as the University of the South Pacific, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme, the Forum Fisheries Agency, and the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Programme. In 2009/10 the value of these non-bilateral sources is estimated to total over NZ$7 million.
NewZealand’s involvement in the Bougainville peace process and subsequent peace monitoring missions was a special chapter in New Zealand-Papua New Guinea relations, and remains an important element in our bilateral relationship.
The Bougainville crisis and separatist insurgency lasted from 1989-1997, and was sparked by local landowner concerns over the operation of the Panguna copper and gold mine. NewZealand became actively involved in ending the conflict, and hosted and mediated a series of meetings between parties. The peace process culminated in the signing of the Bougainville Peace Agreement in August 2001. This was given legal effect in PNG through the unanimous adoption of the 2002 Bougainville Peace Agreement Act, which provides for greater autonomy for the Bougainville within the PNG state and a referendum on Bougainville’s future political status by 2015.
New Zealand also led the initial truce-monitoring group that deployed to Bougainville in 1997 and was the second largest contributor (after Australia) to the later Peace Monitoring Group. In 2005 the election and inauguration of the first Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) under the leadership of President Joseph Kabui marked an important point for Bougainville. Following Kabui’s sudden death, Bougainville held Presidential elections in December 2008, won by James Tanis. Former Governor of the Bougainville Interim Provincial Government (2000-2004), John Momis was elected President in May 2010. The immediate challenge for the ABG is to develop the Bougainville economy to a point where it can deliver essential social services and infrastructure and increase the well-being of local people.
The Safetravel website provides a travel advisory for travellers to Papua New Guinea [external link].
NZ citizens require visas to visit PNG, and PNG citizens need a visa to visit NZ.top of page
