People of Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea has a total population of almost 5.3 million, comprised mainly of Melanesian race with dark skin, fuzzy hair and friendly smiles. In spite of this Guineans vary in their physical, ethnic and cultural characteristics. Papua New Guinea is, in fact, the most heterogeneous country in the world. Urban areas have the highest population density (the capital of Port Moresby is the largest with around 250,000 people) and squatter settlements have grown rapidly in recent years to accommodate the influx of people from rural areas. But PNG society continues to be characterized by village communities that own the natural resources on which their livelihoods depend, and over 80 percent of the population lives a largely subsistence lifestyle in rural areas. About two-thirds of the population is Christians, Catholicism being the largest denomination in the country.

The centuries old heritage of Melanesian society maintains a strong influence over most of the population. Long before the concept of democracy was established in Europe, Papua New Guinea communities were reaching decisions by consensus and not by the dictates of the most powerful member of the village. It is thought that human habitation of PNG started at least 50,000 years ago and perhaps even earlier. After living for centuries under colonial rule, Papua New Guinea gained independence in 1975.

Its subsequent constitution and national laws guaranteed customary ownership of land and resources over the 97 percent of the country where land remains under community control. As a result, any major decisions regarding development that would impact community resources must be made with the participation and consent of those communities, which has been given as one reason for the quality of the country’s environment.

Papua New Guinea is one of the most linguistically and culturally diverse nations on earth, with 817 living and distinct languages (approximately 1100 on the island of New Guinea), which is approximately one eighth of the world’s human languages in one thousandth of its land area (17 times the languages of Europe in an area the size of France). Tok Pisin and English are now widely accepted as the national language.

Home to more than two million people, Papua Province (formerly Irian Jaya) is Indonesia’s least populous province. While it is an underdeveloped area in terms of average per capita income, health indicators, education and infrastructure, it provides Indonesia important resources including its forests, mineral deposits, and oil and gas reserves. Those not involved in resource extraction live a largely subsistence lifestyle. Both indigenous and immigrant populations have grown rapidly in recent decades, and the province is home to a culturally and ethnically diverse people.