secessionist revolt on the island of Bougainville ended in
1997 after claiming some 20,000 lives.

Geography
Papua New Guinea

Location:

Oceania, group of islands including the eastern half of the island
of New Guinea between the Coral Sea and the South Pacific Ocean,
east of Indonesia

Geographic 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
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive fishing zone: 200 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: 0.49%
permanent crops: 1.4%
other: 98.11% (2005)

Irrigated land:

NA

Total renewable water resources:

801 cu km (1987)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

total: 0.1 cu km/yr (56%/43%/1%)
per capita: 17 cu m/yr (1987)

Natural hazards:

active volcanism; situated along the Pacific "Ring 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, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:

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

People
Papua New Guinea

Population:

5,931,769 (July 2008 est.)

Age structu