Contact Us   |   FAQ   |   Site Map
Direct Travel Insurance
Papua New Guinea flag Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Quick Facts
Region:
Australia and the South Pacific
Full Name:
Independent State of Papua New Guinea
Capital City:
Port Moresby
Language Spoken:
Melanesian Pidgin serves as the lingua franca,
English spoken by 1%-2%,
Motu spoken in Papua region note: 820 indigenous languages spoken (over one-tenth of the world's total)
Personnel risk: HIGH
Evacuation risk: MODERATE
The eastern half of the island of New Guinea - second largest in the world - was divided between Germany (north) and the UK (south) in 1885. The latter area was transferred to Australia in 1902, which occupied the northern portion during World War I and continued to administer the combined areas until independence in 1975. A nine-year secessionist revolt on the island of Bougainville ended in 1997 after claiming some 20,000 lives.