LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Papua New Guinea
built 618 days ago
Papua New Guinea is a wild, rugged region, with limited communications. The climate is tropical, and the largely mountainous country is subject to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The native population is largely Melanesian and Papuan but is divided into many distinct cultures. Some 700 different languages are spoken in the region; pidgin English (Tok Pisin) is the lingua franca. About half the population is Christian, with Roman Catholics and Lutherans the largest sects; the rest follow traditional beliefs. Subsistence agriculture supports most of the population; sweet potatoes constitute the main food crop.
Source:
Papua New Guinea is a federal multiparty parliamentary democracy with a population of approximately 6.1 million and more than 800 indigenous tribes. Citizens elect a unicameral parliament. The most recent general elections were held in 2002; there were localized instances of voter intimidation, violence, and influence peddling. A coalition government, led by Prime Minister Michael Somare, was formed following the election. While civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the security forces, there were some instances in which elements of the security forces acted independently of government authority.
Source:
The mainland, which is wide in western Papua New Guinea and narrows in the southeast, has a rugged, mountainous interior. Steep slopes and jagged peaks stretch across the entire island from east to west. In Papua New Guinea, the mountains rise to a maximum elevation of 4,509 m (14,793 ft) at Mount Wilhelm in the Bismarck Range. Among the other ranges is the Owen Stanley in the southeast. Between the mountains are broad valleys that lie more than 1,500 m (4,900 ft) above sea level. These mountains and valleys constitute the central highlands.
Source:
![[Country Map]](http://retrieverimages.lycos.com/images/p/a/p/papua-new-guinea/i/000.jpg)
Papua New Guinea has a history of changes in government coalitions and leadership from within parliament during the 5-year intervals between national elections. New governments are protected by law from votes of no confidence for the first 18 months of their incumbency, and no votes of no confidence may be moved in the 12 months preceding a national election. In an effort to create greater stability by reducing incessant votes of no confidence, the Integrity of Political Parties Act was passed in 1999, forbidding members of each party in parliament from shifting loyalty to another party.
Source:
The first settlers to Papua New Guinea migrated from Southeast Asia probably at least 40,000 years ago during the Pleistocene Epoch, or ice age. At that time the polar ice caps were larger than they are today, and with more water locked in the ice caps, the oceans were considerably shallower. Many of the present Indonesian islands were part of the Asian landmass, so there were fewer water barriers to human migration. New Guinea was attached to Australia and to Indonesia’s easternmost islands by a land bridge, although it was separated from Indonesia’s central islands by water. The earliest immigrants to New Guinea were few in number and were hunter-gatherers. About 5,000 years ago another wave of people migrated from Southeast Asia and settled along the northern coast of New Guinea and on the nearby islands.
Source:
Papua New Guinea lies entirely within the tropics, just south of the Equator and 160km to the north of Australia. With a total land mass of about 473.189sq.km, the country encompasses the eastern part of New Guinea Island - the second largest island in the world, plus some 600 other islands, atolls and coral reefs. A central core of mountains, the Owen Stanley Range, runs east to west rising steeply from the coastal plains. From its highest peaks, 4500 metre high Mt Wilhelm and from downs of other peaks, great rivers like the Sepik and Fly River begin their journey to the sea. Below the mountain chain, fertile coastal plains, flooded delta regions and mangrove swamps exist alongside broad sandy beaches, colourful sheltered bays and dense rainforest.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Papua New Guinea