Page last updated on January 28, 2014

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

Geographic coordinates:
6 00 S, 147 00 E

Map references:
Oceania

Area:
total: 462,840 sq km
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 55
land: 452,860 sq km
water: 9,980 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly larger than California

Land boundaries:
total: 820 km
border countries: Indonesia 820 km
[see also: Land boundaries country ranks ]

Coastline:
5,152 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

Maritime claims:
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm

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

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
[see also: Elevation extremes - lowest point country ranks ]
highest point: Mount Wilhelm 4,509 m

Natural resources:
gold, copper, silver, natural gas, timber, oil, fisheries

Land use:
arable land: 0.65%
[see also: Land use - arable land country ranks ]
permanent crops: 1.51%
other: 97.84% (2011)

Irrigated land:
0 sq km (2003)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Total renewable water resources:
801 cu km (2011)
[see also: Total renewable water resources country ranks ]

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 0.39 cu km/yr (57%/43%/0%)
[see also: Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) - total country ranks ]
per capita: 61.3 cu m/yr (2005)

Natural hazards:
active volcanism; situated along the Pacific "Ring of Fire"; the country is subject to frequent and sometimes severe earthquakes; mud slides; tsunamis
volcanism: severe volcanic activity; Ulawun (elev. 2,334 m), one of Papua New Guinea's potentially most dangerous volcanoes, has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; Rabaul (elev. 688 m) destroyed the city of Rabaul in 1937 and 1994; Lamington erupted in 1951 killing 3,000 people; Manam's 2004 eruption forced the island's abandonment; other historically active volcanoes include Bam, Bagana, Garbuna, Karkar, Langila, Lolobau, Long Island, Pago, St. Andrew Strait, Victory, and Waiowa

Environment - current issues:
rain forest subject to deforestation as a result of growing commercial demand for tropical timber; pollution from mining projects; severe drought

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
shares island of New Guinea with Indonesia; one of world's largest swamps along southwest coast