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Papua New Guinea

General Information about Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea in the South Pacific and is located just north of Australia. Numerous offshore islands also belong to Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea has a population of almost 6 million people and is one of the most diverse countries in the world. Melanesian Pidgin is the most commonly spoken language in Papua New Guinea. There are also over 820 indigenous languages spoken and English. Roman Catholic is the chosen religion of 22% of the popuation and Lutheran is the second most popular religion. Other branches of Christianity are also followed. Papua New Guinea's capital and largest city is Port Moresby which is located on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea on the shore ofthe Gulf of Papua. Port Moresby was named in 1873 after it's European founder's father.

The Lake Kutubu area is one of the five national parks in Papua New Guinea. Local legends say the lake was formed when a woman cut down a fig tree whilst looking for water. Legend says that whatever the tree touched would turn to water, resulting in the lake. Lake Kutubu has beautiful scenery and 10 of the 14 species of fish that are found in the lake are not found anywhere else. One of the most popular attraction of Papua New Guinea is the prospect of climbing to the summit of Mt Wilhelm in the nations highlands. The base of Mt Wilhelm have great waking tracks and beautiful landscapes.

Climate

Find Out About The Climate In Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea experiences a hot monsoonal tropical type climate with climatic conditions varying in the high and lowlands. If your planning a trip to Papua New Guinea between December and March then you should be prepared for some wet weather as this period is affected by the north west monsoonal conditions. Papua New Guinea enjoys warm weather conditions throughout the year with average highs of 30-32 degrees with temperatures rarely falling below 23 degrees. Temperatures are cooler up in the highlands with frosts in the evenings being common for areas above 6,500 feet, with occasional snow falls. Papua New Guinea also experiences some trade winds that blow in from the south east as well monsoons coming in from the north west. Care must be taken when visiting as Papua New Guinea is sometimes prone to frequent earthquakes, landslides and tsunamis.

Geography

Geographical Information On Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea which is a country of Oceania which is a geographical region of many islands set mainly in the Pacific Ocean. The eastern half of Papua New Guinea is the second largest island in the world and was originally claimed by Germany and the United Kingdom in 1885 until Australia took over the country in 1902 during World War I. It wasn't until 1975 that Papua New Guinea gained its independence from Australia. Papua New Guinea is officially known as the Independent State of Papua New Guinea is a group of islands is located between the Coral Seal and the South Pacific Ocean just east of Indonesia. Papua New Guinea has a total area of 462,840 square kilometres which includes 9,980 square kilometres of water. The coastline of Papua New Guinea extends for over 5,152 kilometres over the islands many coastal lowlands. The terrain of the island is mostly mountainous with rolling foothills. Along the eastern parts of Papua New Guinea you will find the main towns of Port Moresby and Lae. Other important islands are New Ireland, New Britain, Manus and Bougainville. Found in the Bismarck Range is the highest point of Papua New Guinea which rises to over 4,509 metres and is also known in the local Kuman language as Enduwa Kombuglu

Economy

Learn About The Economy Of Papua New Guinea

The agricultural industry of Papua New Guinea is the most popular form of employment, employing over 85 percent of the population while contributing just over 36 percent of the economy. Papua New Guinea is extremely rich in natural resources however these have not been developed as much as they could have been, mainly due to high costs of developing infrastructure. The main exports of Papua New Guinea are oil, gold, copper ore, logs, palm oil, coffee, cocoa, crayfish and prawns with over thirty percent of these exports going go Australia. The official currency of Papua New Guinea is the Kina.

Hostels in Papua New Guinea

Must Explore would like to wish you an enjoyable stay in Papua New Guinea.

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