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
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
land: 452,860 sq km
[see also: Area - land country ranks ]
water: 9,980 sq km
[see also: Area - water country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 56

Area - comparative:
slightly larger than California

Land boundaries:
total: 824 km
[see also: Land boundaries - total country ranks ]
border countries (1): Indonesia 824 km

Coastline:
5,152 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

Maritime claims:
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - territorial sea country ranks ]
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
[see also: Maritime claims - continental shelf country ranks ]
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - exclusive fishing zone country ranks ]

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

Terrain:
mostly mountains with coastal lowlands and rolling foothills

Elevation:
mean elevation: 667 m
[see also: Elevation - mean elevation country ranks ]
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:
agricultural land: 2.6% arable land 0.7%; permanent crops 1.5%; permanent pasture 0.4%
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
forest: 63.1%
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 34.3% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - other country ranks ]

Irrigated land:
0 sq km (2012)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Population - distribution:
population concentrated in the highlands and eastern coastal areas on the island of New Guinea; predominantly a rural distribution with only about one-fifth of the population residing in urban areas

Natural hazards:
active volcanism; situated along the Pacific "Ring of Fire"; the country is subject to frequent and sometimes severe earthquakes; mud slides; tsunamis
volcanism: severe volcanic activity; Ulawun (2,334 m), one of Papua New Guinea's potentially most dangerous volcanoes, has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; Rabaul (688 m) destroyed the city of Rabaul in 1937 and 1994; Lamington erupted in 1951 killing 3,000 people; Manam's 2004 eruption forced the island's abandonment; other historically active volcanoes include Bam, Bagana, Garbuna, Karkar, Langila, Lolobau, Long Island, Pago, St. Andrew Strait, Victory, and Waiowa

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; generally east-west trending highlands break up New Guinea into diverse ecoregions; one of world's largest swamps along southwest coast