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 Papua New Guinea Country Profile
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 Papua New Guinea at a Glance| 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 | | 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 | | Resources: | gold, copper, silver, natural gas, timber, oil, fisheries | | Hazards: | active volcanism; situated along the Pacific "Ring of Fire"; the country is subject to frequent and sometimes severe earthquakes; mud slides; tsunamis | | Population: | 6,057,263 (July 2009 est.) |
A Brief Profile of Papua New GuineaThe eastern half of the island of New Guinea - second largest in the world - was divided between Germany (north) and the UK (south) in 1885. The latter area was transferred to Australia in 1902, which occupied the northern portion during World War I and continued to administer the combined areas until independence in 1975. A nine-year secessionist revolt on the island of Bougainville ended in 1997 after claiming some 20,000 lives.
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