coordinates: 6 00 S, 147 00 E

Map references: Oceania

Area: total: 462,840 sq km

land: 452,860 sq km

water: 9,980 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly larger than California

Land boundaries: total: 820 km

border countries: Indonesia 820 km

Coastline: 5,152 km

Maritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic baselines

continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM

territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate: tropical; northwest monsoon (December to March), southeast
monsoon (May to October); slight seasonal temperature variation

Terrain: mostly mountains with coastal lowlands and rolling foothills

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m

highest point: Mount Wilhelm 4,509 m

Natural resources: gold, copper, silver, natural gas, timber, oil,
fisheries

Land use: arable land: 0.1%

permanent crops: 1%

permanent pastures: 0%

forests and woodland: 92.9%

other: 6% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Natural hazards: active volcanism; situated along the Pacific "Rim
of Fire"; the country is subject to frequent and sometimes severe
earthquakes; mud slides; tsunamis

Environment - current issues: rain forest subject to deforestation
as a result of growing commercial demand for tropical timber;
pollution from mining projects; severe drought

Environment - international agreements: party to: Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geography - note: shares island of New Guinea with Indonesia; one of
world's largest swamps along southwest coast

Papua New Guinea People

Population: 5,049,055 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 38.7% (male 993,248; female 960,647)

15-64 years: 57.63% (male 1,507,064; female 1,402,666)

65 years and over: 3.67% (male 87,779; female 97,651) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.43% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 32.15 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 7.88 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.03 mal