Papua New Guinea: Flag and Facts
Papua New Guinea's flag is split on a diagonal from the top left corner: a red upper half with a yellow bird of paradise in flight, and a black lower half with five white Southern Cross stars.
- Official name
- Independent State of Papua New Guinea
- Capital
- Port Moresby
- Region
- Melanesia
- Population
- 10 million (2025)
- Languages
- English, Hiri Motu, Tok Pisin
- Currency
- Papua New Guinean kina
- Area
- 462,840 km² (178,703 sq mi)
- People
- Papua New Guinean
- Calling code
- +675
- Highest point
- Mount Wilhelm 4,509 m
- Independence
- 16 September 1975 (from the Australia-administered UN…)
- National symbols
- bird of paradise
- Borders
- Indonesia
About Papua New Guinea
Red, black, and yellow have long been the traditional colors of the land. The bird of paradise ties the flag to tribal culture across the region and marks the rise of the nation itself. Those five stars show the link with Australia and other South Pacific neighbors.
Humans arrived between 50,000 and 60,000 years ago. Mountains, jungle, and river valleys kept groups apart, which is why the country has so many ethnic groups and languages. Austronesian sailors settled the coast around 500 B.C. In 1884, Germany claimed the north and, days later, Britain took the south and named it Papua. Australia ran both after World War I. When gold turned up on the Bulolo River in the 1920s, prospectors pushed into the highlands and found about a million people living in communities that outsiders had never reached. Independence came on 16 September 1975.
Did you know?
- Mount Wilhelm climbs to 4,509 meters, higher than anywhere else in Papua New Guinea.
- Papua New Guinea has three official languages: English, Hiri Motu, and Tok Pisin.
- The country fills the eastern half of New Guinea, and Indonesia holds the western half.
Want to test yourself? The random flag generator has a quiz mode, and the full flags of the world page shows every flag at once.
Questions about Papua New Guinea
What is the capital of Papua New Guinea?
Port Moresby, with around 410,000 residents.
What currency does Papua New Guinea use?
The kina, shown with the letter K.
Sources
- CIA World Factbook, checked October 8, 2026
- REST Countries data (mledoze/countries), checked October 8, 2026
- Flag artwork: flag-icons (MIT), checked October 8, 2026
Facts are compiled from these open sources and rewritten in our own words. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.