Approximately half the large island of New Guinea and around 600 other islands comprise Papua New Guinea, which is sited directly north of the continent of Australia. It has a land surface area of a little under 500,000 square kilometres and a population of approximately seven million. The western portion of the main island is now known as Papua and was recently transferred to Indonesian control.

The Independent State of Papua New Guinea gained its independence from Australia peacefully in 1975. It is part of the British Commonwealth Realm and has an elected unicameral parliament. Considerable political instability has been experienced since independence with regular allegations of corruption of its politicians and officials.

Approximately 83% of the population live rurally in some form of subsistence farming activity, making it one of the least urbanised countries in the world. One third of the population live in severe poverty, surviving on less than $US1.25 per day. Many parts of the country are very remote, particularly the central highlands, and are almost inaccessible.

There are over 870 different languages spoken, of which Tok Pisin, English, and Hiri Motu are the official ones. Over 95% of the population adhere to Christianity, with the Roman Catholic and Evangelical Lutheran Churches being the most prominent and the United Church, Seventh-Day Adventist and Pentecostal churches also being well-represented.