Papua New Guinea 🇵🇬

Quick facts

• Capital: Port Moresby
• Continent: Oceania
• Population: 10,142,619
• Area: 462,840 km²
• Density: 21.9 people per km²
• Currency: PGK
• Languages: English, Tok Pisin
• ISO code: PG

Where Papua New Guinea sits

Papua New Guinea 🇵🇬 is one of 14 countries in Oceania, with its capital at Port Moresby. It covers 462,840 square kilometres — 54th in the world — and is home to about 10,142,619 people, 93rd globally.

The countries it shares a continent with include Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.

How Papua New Guinea compares

Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Papua New Guinea sits closest to Portugal and Hungary. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Sweden and Cameroon.

At 21.9 people per square kilometre it is about 2.7 times below the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by area than by population, so it is more spacious than its population alone suggests.

English is an official language in 58 countries here, among them Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas and Barbados, and 53 others. The PGK is used by Papua New Guinea and no one else.

To see Papua New Guinea next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.

How to remember Papua New Guinea

Port Moresby is on the south coast, facing Australia. For the flag, a golden bird of paradise flies on red and the Southern Cross shines on black.

The flag of Papua New Guinea: red, black, yellow and white

🇵🇬 The flag is divided diagonally, with a yellow bird of paradise on the red upper half and five white stars on the black lower half. Red, black and yellow are the country's traditional colours. The bird of paradise stands for the country and its peoples, and the stars show the Southern Cross.

Region and neighbours

Papua New Guinea is an island country in Oceania covering the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and many smaller islands, north of Australia. It shares land borders with one country: Indonesia. Its only land border is with Indonesia, across the middle of the island of New Guinea.

• Indonesia 🇮🇩 — capital Jakarta

Three facts about Papua New Guinea

1. About 840 languages are spoken in Papua New Guinea, more than in any other country.
2. New Guinea is the second-largest island in the world, after Greenland.
3. Mount Wilhelm, about 4,509 m high, is the highest point in the country.

Sources: Wikipedia: Papua New Guinea, Wikipedia: Flag of Papua New Guinea, Wikipedia: Port Moresby, Wikipedia: New Guinea, CIA World Factbook.

Quiz yourself on Papua New Guinea

• Oceania capitals quiz — match Papua New Guinea to Port Moresby
• Oceania flags quiz — spot the Papua New Guinea flag among its neighbours

Quizzes that include Papua New Guinea

Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Papua New Guinea those are:

• Oceania map quiz — place it on a blank map
• Oceania flags quiz — identify its flag among its neighbours
• Oceania capitals quiz — match it to Port Moresby
• Papua New Guinea capital quiz — five quick questions starting with Papua New Guinea
• Daily Map Challenge — five countries to find on a blank world map, the same five for everyone each day

Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.

Read more about Papua New Guinea

• Capital of Papua New Guinea: Port Moresby — the capital in detail, with size and density rankings
• All 14 countries of Oceania

Nearby countries

• Australia 🇦🇺 — capital Canberra
• Fiji 🇫🇯 — capital Suva
• Kiribati 🇰🇮 — capital Tarawa
• Marshall Islands 🇲🇭 — capital Majuro
• Micronesia 🇫🇲 — capital Palikir
• Nauru 🇳🇷 — capital Yaren
• New Zealand 🇳🇿 — capital Wellington
• Palau 🇵🇼 — capital Ngerulmud
• Samoa 🇼🇸 — capital Apia
• Solomon Islands 🇸🇧 — capital Honiara
• Tonga 🇹🇴 — capital Nukuʻalofa
• Tuvalu 🇹🇻 — capital Funafuti

Frequently asked questions

What are the colours of the Papua New Guinea flag?

The flag of Papua New Guinea is divided diagonally, with a yellow bird of paradise on the red upper half and five white stars on the black lower half. Red, black and yellow are the country's traditional colours. The bird of paradise stands for the country and its peoples, and the stars show the Southern Cross.

Which countries border Papua New Guinea?

Papua New Guinea shares land borders with Indonesia. Its only land border is with Indonesia, across the middle of the island of New Guinea.

How can I remember the capital of Papua New Guinea?

Port Moresby is on the south coast, facing Australia. For the flag, a golden bird of paradise flies on red and the Southern Cross shines on black.