Papua New Guinea: national assessment report

Abstract

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a unique country. It is located on the eastern half of the island of New Guinea including the large islands of the Bismarck Archipelago including New Britain. New Ireland, and Bougainville further to the east. Its population of 5.7 million people is scattered throughout the 464 000 km2 of landmass including more than 600 small islands. PNG is a very rich country in terms of its natural resources which includes mineral, petroleum, gas, forestry, fisheries, land and agricultural resources. It is often described as an 'island of gold floating on a sea of oil'. Its' varied marine, volcanic, mountainous, swampy, freshwater, and forest environment is home to 6 percent of the world's total biodiversity. Nowhere else on this planet is its biological diversity equally matched by its cultural diversity than it is in PNG. The people speak over 800 different languages and belong to a thousand different tribes with their unique social, cultural and political features. This has presented both opportunities for and the constraints against Western-style modernization in PNG.