The Independent State of Papua New Guinea (PNG or PNG for short) is located in the southwest of the South Pacific, south of the equator, with an area of 463000 square kilometers (the same size as Heilongjiang Province). Administratively, it is divided into 20 provinces, one autonomous region and the national capital region. In 2020, the population will be 8935000 (about one third of the population of Heilongjiang Province), with Melanesian ethnic groups accounting for 98%. The official language of PNG is English, with 850 local languages, and Pijin is popular in most areas.

(1) One of the four "Guinea" countries

Among the 197 countries in the world, there are four countries with "Guinea" in their names, namely the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, the Republic of Guinea, the Republic of Guinea Bissau and the Independent State of Papua New Guinea. The first three are in Africa, mainly black, and the last one is in Oceania. Guinea was the first independent country, inheriting the name "Guinea"; Later, in order to distinguish between the two independent countries, one added the word "capital Bissau" to its name and became Guinea Bissau; The other joined the equator and became Equatorial Guinea. In the name of Papua New Guinea, "Papua" refers to dark brown curly hair. Because it is similar to the coast of the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa, it is named New Guinea.

(2) The second largest country in Oceania

Indonesia in Asia is the only land neighbor of Papua New Guinea. The dividing line between Asia and Oceania passes through the west of New Guinea Island. The western half of New Guinea Island belonging to Indonesia belongs to Oceania, so Indonesia is a transcontinental country. Papua New Guinea is the country with the second largest area and the second largest population in Oceania. It is often misunderstood as an Asian country, possibly because Papua New Guinea has a low sense of existence in Oceania and is closer to Asia.

(3) The exclusive economic zone ranks 16th in the world

The exclusive economic zone of Papua New Guinea is 2.4 million square kilometers, five times its land area. The area of PNG's exclusive economic zone ranks 16th among 197 countries in the world, which is about the same size as India's exclusive economic zone, but its land area is much smaller than India's. The vast exclusive economic zone makes PNG an important fishery resource country in the South Pacific region. It catches 150000 to 200000 tons of tuna annually, accounting for 20-30% of the catch in the Pacific region and 10% of the total catch in the world.

(4) The Head of State is the Queen

Papua New Guinea is one of the 15 members of the Commonwealth Kingdom and one of the 54 members of the Commonwealth. PNG implements a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The British Queen is the nominal head of state. The British Queen's title in Solomon Islands is "Elizabeth II, the Queen of Papua New Guinea and its dependent territories and territories by God, the head of the British Commonwealth". PNG's parliament adopts a unicameral system. The head of government is the Prime Minister, who is the leader of the majority party in the parliament.

(5) Five-star flag

Eight of the 197 countries in the world use the five-star flag, and PNG is one of them. Of course, it is not necessarily a red five-star, but also a white five-star and a blue five-star. The meaning of the five stars in the five-star flag varies from country to country. The five stars on PNG's national flag represent the Southern Cross, indicating that the country is located in the southern hemisphere. Can you name six other countries besides Papua New Guinea and China?

(6) Bougainville Autonomous Region

Bougainville is isolated to the east of PNG and geographically closer to Solomon Islands to its east; Before the European colonial era, Bougainville and Solomon Islands had closer personnel exchanges, trade ties and cultural exchanges than PNG. Bougainville is the location of Panguna Copper Mine, the largest copper mine in PNG. As the contradictions among the central government, local government, development companies and landowners of the mining area in PNG intensified, the local people resorted to force to close the copper mine in 1988 and declared independence in 1990. In 2005, the Bougainville Autonomous Government was established and the society became stable. In the independence referendum in 2019, 98% of voters voted for independence, but this referendum has no legal effect. In 2021, the PNG government and Bougainville Autonomous Region reached an agreement that Bougainville will become an independent country formally no earlier than 2025 and no later than 2027.

(7) Husband and wife quarrel for entertainment

People in Papua New Guinea regard the quarrel between husband and wife as the best way of entertainment. The more noisy the couple, the more loving they are. All parts of the country have special venues for couples to quarrel. Whenever couples come here to compete, the viewers will automatically come to cheer them up. They will blush when they quarrel for a few words. The more fierce the quarrel is, the better the entertainment effect will be. Whoever can put the other party in a difficult situation with the most harsh and vicious language will be regarded as the highest level of quarrel. Both sides will not stop until their lips and tongues become stiff. The couple will happily go home arm in arm, and the entertainment will end at the same time.

(8) More than 800 tribes

There are more than 800 tribes in Papua New Guinea, including dozens of small tribes and three to five hundred large ones. Many tribes still retain the habits of primitive society. Some tribes worship pigs very much. Tribal chiefs dig holes in their noses and insert the tips of wild boar's claws. Women and children live in the same house with pigs. There are also wild boar heads on the paper money; Ashalo people will smear mud on their bodies and wear masks with horrible shapes at the same time; After the death of their loved ones, Dani women cut off their fingers to drive away the ghosts that would not be scattered; Jimmy people taboo flying foxes, owls and other birds with short beaks; The adult men of the highland tribe cannot lift heavy things, otherwise it will be regarded as a great shame.

(9) Paradise bird

The bird of paradise is the national bird of Papua New Guinea. There are bird of paradise on the national flag and national emblem. Because of its bright feathers and gorgeous body, the bird of paradise is also known as the "bird of paradise", "sunbird", "goddess bird", etc. There are 39 different species of paradise birds in the world, while Papua New Guinea has 38 species.

(10) Paradise for underwater photographers

Papua New Guinea has more than 600 islands of different sizes. The 8300km coastline is full of world-class diving resorts, such as barrier reefs, coral reef walls, marginal reefs, seaweed clumps, sunken ships, etc. In addition to very rich diving spots, there are more than 600 kinds of hard corals and soft corals, as well as 3000 kinds of coral fish in the oceans of PNG. The species of marine organisms are twice as many as those in the Red Sea and five times as many as those in the Caribbean. It can be said that PNG is an absolute paradise for marine organisms. Divers can not only find small and rare marine creatures, but also see various large marine creatures, such as devil fish, hammerhead sharks, dugongs, whale sharks, dolphins, and even whales; Storms of pelagic fish such as barracuda, tuna and mackerel are also frequent visitors here. The underwater photography taken here has won many international awards and is known as the "paradise of underwater photographers".

Papua New Guinea is rich in oil and natural gas. Its output of gold and copper ranks 11th and 10th in the world, and it has the third largest tropical rainforest in the world, but its economy is backward. The agricultural output value accounts for 30% of GDP, and the agricultural population accounts for 87% of the total population. In 2020, the total GDP will be 23.28 billion US dollars, and the per capita GDP will be only 2650 US dollars, about a quarter of China's per capita GDP. The poverty rate is as high as 37%, the illiteracy rate is 34%, and the neonatal mortality rate is 39.67 ‰. In the United Nations 2019 Human Development Report, Fiji's human development index ranks 155th among 189 countries, belonging to the "low level of human development".