Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is an Oceanian country that occupies 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 western half of New Guinea forms the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua.

Did you know that:
1. Papua New Guinea has the most languages worldwide, with over 820 indigenous languages used. The most used is Enga, followed by Melp, Huli, and English is used in the government and education system.
2. Only 18% of the people in Papua New Guinea live in urban areas.
3. Until 1933 the country used sea-shells as its national currency. Post that, it switched to the Kina, PGK.
4. With roads being limited, air travel is the common form of transportation for larger freight.  Papua New Guinea has two international airfields and 578 mostly unpaved airstrips.
5. It’s one of the least explored areas worldwide, believed to have many undiscovered species of plants and animals.
6. The world’s only known poisonous bird, the Hooded Pitohui (Pitohui dichrous) is native to Papua New Guinea.
7. The country holds ceremonies where hundreds of valuables or pigs are distributed to all the guests.
8. Even until the 1950’s cannibalism and headhunting were rampant in Papua New Guinea.