The New Guinea Portal
Introduction
Native name: Papua, Niugini, Niu Gini | |
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Geography | |
Location | Oceania (Melanesia) |
Archipelago | Melanesia and Malay Archipelago |
Area | 785,753 km2 (303,381 sq mi) |
Area rank | 2nd |

New Guinea (Tok Pisin: Niugini; Hiri Motu: Niu Gini; Indonesian: Papua, or Nugini, historically Irian) is the world's second-largest island with an area of 785,753 km2 (303,381 sq mi). Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the 150-kilometre (81-nautical-mile; 93-mile) wide Torres Strait, though both landmasses lie on the same continental shelf. Numerous smaller islands are located to the west and east. The eastern half of the island is the major land mass of the independent state of Papua New Guinea. The western half, known as Western New Guinea, forms a part of Indonesia and is organized as the provinces of Papua and West Papua. The largest cities on the island are Jayapura (capital of Papua, Indonesia) and Port Moresby (capital of Papua New Guinea). (Full article...)
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; /ˈpæp(j)uə ... ˈɡɪni, ˈpɑː-/, also US: /ˈpɑːpwə-, ˈpɑːpjə-, ˈpɑːpə-/; Tok Pisin: Papua Niugini; Hiri Motu: Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea (Tok Pisin: Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; Hiri Motu: Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia (a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia). Its capital, located along its southeastern coast, is Port Moresby. The country is the world's third largest island country with an area of 462,840 km2 (178,700 sq mi). (Full article...)
Western New Guinea, also known as Papua or Indonesian New Guinea, is the western portion of the Melanesian island of New Guinea which is administered by Indonesia. Since the island is alternatively named as Papua, the region is also called West Papua (Indonesian: Papua Barat). Lying to the west of Papua New Guinea and considered part of the Australian continent, the territory is mostly in the Southern Hemisphere and includes the Schouten and Raja Ampat archipelagoes. The region is predominantly covered with ancient rainforest where numerous traditional tribes live such as the Dani of the Baliem Valley although a large proportion of the population live in or near coastal areas with the largest city being Jayapura. (Full article...)
Selected article -
Did you know (auto-generated)
- ... that Soetran was nicknamed the "Clove Governor" after he obligated families in Papua to cultivate cloves?
- ... that the northern water dragon migrated from New Guinea into Wallacea less than one million years ago?
- ... that the clinical trials of British scientist Peter Pharoah helped eradicate congenital iodine deficiency syndrome (cretinism) in Papua New Guinea?
- ... that the designer of the flag of Papua New Guinea, Susan Karike, had a gallery at the national museum named after her?
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