Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is an island country in Oceania with its capital in Port Moresby and about 10.8 million people. Papua New Guinea has more than 800 living languages, and Tok Pisin, a creole, lets people from different language groups talk to each other.

Papua New Guinea in purple, with Port Moresby marked. Outline from the same detailed coastlines the games use.

Capital: Port Moresby
Continent: Oceania
Population (2025): 10.8 million
Land area: 452,860 km² (174,850 sq mi)
Island country: Yes, shares an island

Find it among 14 Oceania countries →Explore Papua New Guinea on the map Name difficult islands

The story of Papua New Guinea

Where the name comes from

Papua is often linked to Malay papuah, “curly-haired”; Spanish explorer Ortiz de Retez named New Guinea because he thought its people looked like those of Africa’s Guinea coast.

First people

Papuan communities have lived here for at least 40,000 years, and farmers at Kuk Swamp grew crops about 7,000 years ago; Austronesian voyagers came later.^1,2

Known for

Papua New Guinea has more than 800 living languages, and Tok Pisin, a creole, lets people from different language groups talk to each other.³

Outside contact

German and British protectorates began in 1884; Australia ran British Papua from 1906 and took German New Guinea in 1914, ruling it under a mandate from 1921.⁴