Papua New Guinea 1999-2000
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COUNTRY PROFILE Papua New Guinea This Country Profile is a reference tool, which provides analysis of historical political, infrastructural and economic trends. It is revised and updated annually. The EIU’s quarterly Country Reports analyse current trends and provide a two-year forecast The full publishing schedule for Country Profiles is now available on our web site at http://www.eiu.com/schedule. 1999-2000 The Economist Intelligence Unit 15 Regent St, London SW1Y 4LR United Kingdom The Economist Intelligence Unit The Economist Intelligence Unit is a specialist publisher serving companies establishing and managing operations across national borders. For over 50 years it has been a source of information on business developments, economic and political trends, government regulations and corporate practice worldwide. 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London New York Hong Kong The Economist Intelligence Unit The Economist Intelligence Unit The Economist Intelligence Unit 15 Regent St The Economist Building 25/F, Dah Sing Financial Centre London 111 West 57th Street 108 Gloucester Road SW1Y 4LR New York Wanchai United Kingdom NY 10019, US Hong Kong Tel: (44.20) 7830 1000 Tel: (1.212) 554 0600 Tel: (852) 2802 7288 Fax: (44.20) 7499 9767 Fax: (1.212) 586 1181/2 Fax: (852) 2802 7638 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.eiu.com Electronic delivery EIU Electronic New York: Lou Celi or Lisa Hennessey Tel: (1.212) 554 0600 Fax: (1.212) 586 0248 London: Jeremy Eagle Tel: (44.20) 7830 1183 Fax: (44.20) 7830 1023 This publication is available on the following electronic and other media: Online databases Microfilm FT Profile (UK) NewsEdge Corporation (US) World Microfilms Publications Tel: (44.20) 7825 8000 Tel: (1.718) 229 3000 (UK) DIALOG (US) Tel: (44.20) 7266 2202 Tel: (1.415) 254 7000 CD-ROM University Microfilms Inc (US) Tel: (1.800) 521 0600 LEXIS-NEXIS (US) The Dialog Corporation (US) Tel: (1.800) 227 4908 SilverPlatter (US) M.A.I.D/Profound (UK) Tel: (44.20) 7930 6900 Copyright © 1999 The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited. 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ISSN 0269-8099 Symbols for tables “n/a” means not available; “–” means not applicable Printed and distributed by Redhouse Press Ltd, Unit 151, Dartford Trade Park, Dartford, Kent DA1 1QB, UK Comparative economic indicators, 1998 Gross domestic product $ bn Gross domestic product per head $ Australia 363.6 Australia 19,394 New Zealand 52.7 New Zealand 13,915 Papua New Guinea Tonga (a) (b) Fiji Fiji Solomon Islands (a) Vanuatu (c) Tonga (b) (c) Samoa (c) Vanuatu (a) Solomon Islands (c) Samoa (a) Papua New Guinea 0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 012345 (a) 1997. (b) Fiscal year beginning July 1st. (c) 1996. (a) 1996. (b) Fiscal years beginning July 1st. (c) 1997. Sources: EIU estimates; national sources. Sources: EIU estimates; national sources. Gross domestic product Consumer prices % change, year on year % change, year on year Australia Papua New Guinea Vanuatu (a) Solomon Islands (a) Papua New Guinea Samoa (a) Samoa (a) Fiji Tonga (a) (b) Vanuatu (a) New Zealand Tonga (a) Solomon Islands (a) New Zealand Fiji Australia -4-20246 02468101214 (a) 1997. (b) Fiscal year beginning July 1st. (a) 1997. Sources: EIU estimates; national sources. Sources: EIU estimates; national sources. EIU Country Profile 1999-2000 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 1999 1 July 22nd 1999 Contents Papua New Guinea 3 Basic data 4 Political background 4 Historical background 7 Constitution and institutions 9 Political forces 10 International relations and defence 12 Resources and infrastructure 12 Population 13 Education 13 Health 14 Natural resources and the environment 15 Transport 16 Communications 16 Energy provision 17 The economy 17 Economic structure 18 Economic policy 23 Economic performance 26 Regional trends 27 Economic sectors 27 Agriculture, forestry and fishing 29 Mining and semi-processing 33 Manufacturing 33 Construction 34 Financial services 35 Other services 36 The external sector 36 Trade in goods 38 Invisibles and the current account 39 Capital flows and foreign debt 40 Foreign reserves and the exchange rate 42 Appendices 42 Sources of information 43 Reference tables 43 Population 43 Labour force by sector 44 Indices of formal employment in the private sector by industry 44 Central government finances 45 Central government revenue 45 Central government expenditure 46 Money supply 46 Domestic credit © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 1999 EIU Country Profile 1999-2000 2 46 Interest rates 47 Gross domestic product 47 Gross domestic product by sector 48 Consumer prices 49 Agricultural production volumes 50 Commercial production and value of major forestry, agriculture and marine resources 50 Commercial production and value of major minerals and petroleum 51 Commercial banks, assets 51 Commercial banks, advances outstanding by borrower 52 Commercial banks’ liquid asset holdings 52 Tourist arrivals 52 Exports 53 Foreign trade 53 Main imports 53 Main trading partners 54 Balance of payments, IMF estimates 55 Balance of payments, national estimates 55 Public debt outstanding 56 External debt, World Bank estimates 57 External debt, national estimates 58 Net official development assistance 58 International liquidity 59 Exchange rates EIU Country Profile 1999-2000 © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 1999 Papua New Guinea 3 Papua New Guinea Basic data Land area 462,840 sq km Population 3.61m (provisional at mid-1990 census); 4.21m (mid-1997 estimate) Major islands New Britain, New Ireland, Manus, Bougainville, Buka Main towns Population in ‘000 (1990 census) Port Moresby (capital) 193 Lae 78 Madang 27 Wewak 23 Goroka 18 Rabaul 17 Mount Hagen 17 Climate Tropical Weather in Port Moresby Hottest month, December, 24-32°C (average daily minimum and maximum); (altitude 38 metres) coldest month, August, 23-28°C; driest month, August, 18 mm average rainfall; wettest month, February, 193 mm average rainfall Languages Tok Pisin (Pidgin English), English and Hiri Motu; more than 800 other languages also in use Measures Metric system Currency 1 kina=100 toea. Average exchange rate 1998: Kina2.079:US$1; end-1998 rate: Kina2.051:US$1; July 5th 1999 rate: Kina2.564:US$1. Time 10 hours ahead of GMT Public holidays January 1st (New Year’s Day); Easter; Queen’s Official Birthday; July 23rd (Remembrance Day); September 16th (Independence and Constitution Day); December 25th (Christmas); December 26th (Boxing Day) © The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 1999 EIU Country Profile 1999-2000 4 Papua New Guinea Political background Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a pluralist democracy with an electoral system modelled on that of the UK. It is a member of the Commonwealth and the constitutional head of state is the British monarch. The Queen is represented by the governor-general, who is elected by PNG’s unicameral parliament. Executive power is exercised by the head of state and the National Executive Council (NEC, the cabinet), chaired by the prime minister. The party political system is extremely weak: parties have few ideological precepts or organisational structures, with parliamentary groupings tending to form instead around dominant personalities. Governments since independence, therefore, have tended to be composed of fragile and diverse coalitions, reliant on significant numbers of independent MPs. No prime minister has ever survived a full five-year term in office. Historical background Colonisation and self-rule After being divided between various European powers during the 19th century, give way to independence Australia assumed responsibility for the administration of British New Guinea (the southern part of eastern New Guinea, later renamed Papua) in 1906 and appropriated the German New Guinea territories (the north-eastern part of eastern New Guinea) in 1914. Australia administered the former German territories under a League of Nations mandate until 1942, when the Japanese occupied all of New Guinea and significant parts of eastern Papua. Australia regained control of the New Guinea territory under a UN trusteeship arrangement in 1945. In 1949 the administration of the Papua and New Guinea territories was unified, although the western part of the main island (which had been administered by the Netherlands) was forcibly annexed by Indonesia in 1962, later becoming the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya. The indigenous movement for independence was largely driven by a tiny band of civil servants, intellectuals and a few local leaders, and led by the more economically advanced island regions, particularly Bougainville and the Gazelle peninsular. PNG became internally self-governing in December 1973 and fully independent on September 16th 1975. Votes of no confidence Michael Somare, who headed the last pre-independence government, begin to characterise the remained prime minister following the 1977 general election, although he political system— subsequently lost a vote of no confidence in March 1980. He was replaced as prime minister by the New Ireland-based MP, Julius Chan, the leader of the People’s Progress Party (PPP). Mr Somare regained the premiership at the 1982 general election when his Pangu Pati party won 41 seats in the 102-member parliament.In the July 1987 general election Paias Wingti, the member for the Western Highlands seat and leader of the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM), was re-elected prime minister (he had defeated Mr Somare in a no- confidence vote in 1985).