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Papua New Guinea (PNG), located to the north of Australia, occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and comprises the mainland and approximately 600 islands. It is bordered by Indonesia to the west and the Solomon Islands to the east. Its economy is dominated by the agriculture, minerals and oil and gas sectors. GDP per capita in 2007 was approximately US$987.

PNG is home to an estimated population of 6.3 million, comprising Melanesians, Papuans, Micronesians and Polynesians.  It has a culture that is rich and diverse, just the same as its vast flora and fauna.  There are more than 800 distinct languages in this unique country but Hiri Motu and Pidgin are the most widely used. English is the official language in education, businesses and government. PNG's unit of currency is the Kina which is divided into 100 toea.

PNG became fully independent on September 16, 1975 and has a freely elected democratic government. General elections are held every five years.

The head of State is Queen Elizabeth II, represented by the Governor General, who is appointed by the National Parliament. The national legislature consists of a unicameral National Parliament. The National Parliament comprises 109 seats, with 89 elected from open electorates and 20 from provincial electorates. Members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms. The National Executive Council, presided over by the Prime Minister, has executive powers. The Prime Minister is chosen by majority vote in parliament and appointed by the head of state.

PNG has a diversity of political parties and alliances and no one political ideology dominates. As a result, no single party has ever achieved an absolute majority in parliament and coalition governments are the norm.  In the past, this resulted in numerous votes of no-confidences, however, since the introduction of the Organic Law on Provincial and Local Level Governments, PNG has enjoyed stability in the political arena. The current Somare government, led by Sir Michael Somare, was the first to serve a full term in ofice (2002 - 2007) without a vote of no-confidence.  The most recent elections took place in 2007. This election resulted in the return of a coalition Government led by Sir Michael, leader of the dominant party in the coalition, the National Alliance.  Sir Somare was the inaugural Prime Minister of PNG and is a respected elder statesman of PNG politics.

PNG became the 142nd member of the United Nations on October 10, 1975 and is a member of the British Commonwealth. It is also a member of other global organisations including the World Trade Organisation, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation and has  observer status at the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The country has a vibrant and multifaceted economy with two distinct systems operating side by side. The vast majority of PNG people live in a traditional, non-monetary barter economy that existed long before European colonisation began. Co-existing with this is a modern economic system based on mining, petroleum, fishing, forestry and agriculture. PNG’s main exports are gold, copper, oil, coffee, tea, copra, oil palm, forest and marine products.

PNG is richly endowed with natural resources but development of these resources has been hampered by rugged terrain and the high cost of developing infrastructure. Given the rugged terrain, infrastructure is concentrated around major projects and urban areas. The proposed  PNG LNG Project, which will commercialise approximately half of PNG’s existing discovered gas resource, has the potential to transform the country’s economy. PNG LNG will significantly boost GDP and export earnings, increase Government earnings at all levels, provide royalty payments to landowners  and local governments and create employment opportunities. The Project will be the largest resource development undertaken in PNG history.

In an independent economic impact study released in February 2008, ACIL Tasman estimated that PNG LNG will bring total direct cash flow to the State and landowners of approximately US$32 billion over 30 years. It also estimated that GDP will more than double and oil and gas exports will quadruple.