ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief historical background and a description of major events in Papua New Guinea. It also provides basic political, economic, and social data arranged in the following categories: polity, economy, population, purchasing power parities, life expectancy, ethnic groups, capital, political rights, civil liberties, and status. The chapter discusses the progress and decline of political rights and civil liberties in Papua New Guinea. Citizens of Papua New Guinea can change their government through elections and enjoy most basic rights. The 1975 constitution vests executive power in a prime minister and the cabinet. The army, army-backed paramilitary groups, and the Bougainville Revolutionary Army have been accused of extrajudicial killings and the torture of civilians and fighters during the Bougainville conflict. Papua New Guinea's trade unions are independent, and workers routinely bargain collectively. The government poorly enforces laws on minimum wages, working hours, and benefits, the US State Department report said.
