Papua New Guinea: Map & History
Papua New Guinea is mapped in the atlas for 1946 CE – 2024 CE, with a peak mapped extent of about 483,568 km².
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Papua New Guinea (PNG), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island nation in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia. It has a land border with Indonesia to the west and maritime borders with Australia to the south and the Solomon Islands to the east. Its capital is Port Moresby. The country's 462,840 km2 (178,700 mi2) includes a large mainland and hundreds of islands.
Modern Countries Once Part of Papua New Guinea
At its mapped extent, Papua New Guinea covered territory in 1 present-day country. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Papua New Guinea's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Papua New Guinea in Depth
History
Archaeological evidence indicates that modern humans first arrived in what became New Guinea and Australia, as well as the Bismarck Archipelago, around 42,000 to 45,000 years ago. Bougainville was settled by around 28,000 years ago, and the more distant Manus Island by around 20,000 years ago. These were part of the earliest migrations of humans from Africa, and the resulting populations remained relatively isolated from the rest of the world throughout prehistory. Rising sea levels isolated New Guinea from Australia about 10,000 years ago, although Aboriginal Australians and New Guineans had already diverged from each other from about 37,000 years ago.
Government and politics
Papua New Guinea is a Commonwealth realm with Charles III as king. The monarch's representative is the governor-general of Papua New Guinea, who is elected by the unicameral National Parliament of Papua New Guinea. The National Parliament elects the prime minister of Papua New Guinea, who is then appointed by the governor-general. The other ministers are appointed by the governor-general on the prime minister's advice and form the National Executive Council of Papua New Guinea, which acts as the country's cabinet. The National Parliament sits for a maximum of five years.
Economy
Papua New Guinea is classified as a developing economy by the International Monetary Fund. The economy is largely dependent on natural resources, with capital investment concentrated in mining and oil, while most labour is employed in agriculture. As of 2018, natural resource extraction made up 28% of overall GDP, with substantial contributors including minerals, oil, and natural gas. Measuring economic growth is difficult due to the resource-dependent economy distorting GDP. Other metrics such as Gross national income are hard to measure. Even historical GDP estimates have changed dramatically. As of 2019, PNG's real GDP growth rate was 3.8%, with an inflation rate of 4.3%.
Culture
Melanesian culture developed without significant external influence due to the isolation of New Guinea. This culture places significant importance on relationships, both between people and between a person and aspects of the natural environment. The importance of relationships is seen in the Kula ring trade, where items are traded to maintain relationships rather than for direct economic benefit. Connections to and ownership of land are important, although these are generally at the community level rather than an individual one. Local in-group relations are a strong component of the wantok system, and so treatment by individuals of those in their communities will often differ from the way they treat those of other communities.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Papua New Guinea (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Papua New Guinea: Frequently Asked Questions
When did Papua New Guinea exist?
Papua New Guinea is dated to 1946 CE – 2024 CE, in the Industrial era.
What was the capital of Papua New Guinea?
The capital of Papua New Guinea was Port Moresby.
How large was Papua New Guinea at its peak?
At its peak in 2024 Papua New Guinea covered about 483,568 km².
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