🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea

National Flag

Geography & Borders

Indonesia

Introduction & Background

Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; /ˈpæp(j)uə...ˈɡɪni, ˈpɑː-/, also US: /ˈpɑːpwə-, ˈpɑːpjə-, ˈpɑːpə-/;11 Template:Lang-tpi; Template:Lang-ho), officially12 the Independent State of Papua New Guinea (Template:Lang-tpi; Template:Lang-ho), is a country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia (a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia). Its capital, located along its southeastern coast, is Port Moresby. The country is the world's third largest island country, with an area of 462,840km2 (178,700mi2).13

At the national level, after being ruled by three external powers since 1884, including nearly 60 years of Australian administration starting during World War I, Papua New Guinea established its sovereignty in 1975. It became an independent Commonwealth realm in 1975 with Elizabeth II as its queen. It also became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations in its own right.