Country name:
conventional long form: Independent State of Papua New Guinea
conventional short form: Papua New Guinea
local short form: Papuaniugini
former: Territory of Papua and New Guinea
abbreviation: PNG
etymology: the word "papua" derives from the Malay "papuah" describing the frizzy hair of the Melanesians; Spanish explorer Ynigo ORTIZ de RETEZ applied the term "Nueva Guinea" to the island of New Guinea in 1545 after noting the resemblance of the locals to the peoples of the Guinea coast of Africa

Government type:
parliamentary democracy (National Parliament) under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm

Capital:
name: Port Moresby
geographic coordinates: 9 27 S, 147 11 E
time difference: UTC+10 (15 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:
20 provinces, 1 autonomous region*, and 1 district**; Bougainville*, Central, Chimbu, Eastern Highlands, East New Britain, East Sepik, Enga, Gulf, Hela, Jiwaka, Madang, Manus, Milne Bay, Morobe, National Capital**, New Ireland, Northern, Southern Highlands, Western, Western Highlands, West New Britain, West Sepik

Independence:
16 September 1975 (from the Australia-administered UN trusteeship)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 16 September (1975)

Constitution:
adopted 15 August 1975, effective at independence 16 September 1975; amended many times, last in 2013; note - in September 2015, the Supreme Court nullified the 2013 constitutional amendment that increased the grace period on motions of no confidence (2016)

Legal system:
mixed legal system of English common law and customary law

International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship:
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Papua New Guinea
dual citizenship recognized: no
residency requirement for naturalization: 8 years

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Grand Chief Sir Bob DADAE (since 28 February 2017)
head of government: Prime Minister Peter Paire O'NEILL (since 2 August 2011); Deputy Prime Minister Charles ABEL (since 4 August 2017)
cabinet: National Executive Council appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister
elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general nominated by the National Parliament and appointed by the chief of state; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the governor general pending the outcome of a National Parliament vote
election results: Peter Paire O'NEILL (PNC) reelected prime minister; National Parliament vote - 60 to 46

Legislative branch:
description: unicameral National Parliament (111 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies - 91 local and 20 provincial - by majority preferential vote; members serve 5-year terms); note - the constitution allows up to 126 seats
elections: last held from 24 June 2017 to 8 July 2017 (next to be held in June 2022)
election results: results pending as of late October 2017; percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA
note: 12 other parties won 2 or fewer seats; association with political parties is fluid

Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice, deputy chief justice, and 28 judges); National Courts (13 courts located in the province capitals, with a total of 19 resident judges)
judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the governor-general upon advice of the National Executive Council (cabinet) after consultation with the National Justice Administration Minister; deputy chief justice and other justices appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, a 5-member body to include the Supreme Court chief and deputy chief justices, the chief ombudsman, and a member of the National Parliament; full-time citizen judges appointed for 10-year renewable terms; non-citizen judges initially appointed for 3-year renewable terms and after first renewal until age 70; appointment and tenure of National Court resident judges NA
subordinate courts: district, village, and juvenile courts

Political parties and leaders:
National Alliance Party or NAP [Patrick PRUAITCH] Papua and Niugini Union Party or PANGU [Sam BASIL] Papua New Guinea Party or PNGP [Belden NAMAH] People's National Congress Party or PNC [Peter Paire O'NEILL] People's Party or PP [Peter IPATAS] People's Progress Party or PPP [Sir Julius CHAN] Social Democratic Party or SDP [Powes PARKOP] Triumph Heritage Empowerment Party or THE [Don POLYE] United Resources Party or URP [William DUMA]
note: as of 8 July 2017, 45 political parties were registered

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Centre for Environment Law and Community Rights or Celcor [Damien ASE] Community Coalition Against Corruption National Council of Women Transparency International Papau New Guinea or TIPNG (chapter of Transparency International)

International organization participation:
ACP, ADB, AOSIS, APEC, ARF, ASEAN (observer), C, CD, CP, EITI (candidate country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMISS, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge D’Affaires Elias Rahuromo WOHENGU (since 30 September 2017)
chancery: 1779 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 805, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 745-3680
FAX: [1] (202) 745-3679

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Catherine EBERT-GRAY (since 23 February 2016); note - also accredited to the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu
embassy: P.O. Box 1492, Port Moresby
mailing address: 4240 Port Moresby Place, US Department of State, Washington DC 20521-4240
telephone: [675] 321-1455
FAX: [675] 321-3423

Flag description:
divided diagonally from upper hoist-side corner; the upper triangle is red with a soaring yellow bird of paradise centered; the lower triangle is black with five, white, five-pointed stars of the Southern Cross constellation centered; red, black, and yellow are traditional colors of Papua New Guinea; the bird of paradise - endemic to the island of New Guinea - is an emblem of regional tribal culture and represents the emergence of Papua New Guinea as a nation; the Southern Cross, visible in the night sky, symbolizes Papua New Guinea's connection with Australia and several other countries in the South Pacific

National symbol(s):
bird of paradise; national colors: red, black

National anthem:
name: "O Arise All You Sons"
lyrics/music: Thomas SHACKLADY
note: adopted 1975