Papua New Guinea: Capital, Flag and Fun Facts

About Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea covers the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and hundreds of smaller islands, just north of Australia. It has rugged mountains, thick rainforests, volcanoes and coral reefs. It is famous for having more languages than any other country, with over 800.

About Port Moresby

Port Moresby is on the south coast of the island of New Guinea, beside the Gulf of Papua. It is the country's largest city and main port, named in 1873 by British naval captain John Moresby after his father, Admiral Fairfax Moresby.

Fun facts about Papua New Guinea

1. More than 800 languages are spoken here, more than in any other country in the world.
2. Queen Alexandra's birdwing, the world's largest butterfly, lives only in Papua New Guinea.
3. The national flag, with a golden bird-of-paradise and the Southern Cross, was designed by a 15-year-old schoolgirl.
4. Mount Wilhelm is the country's highest peak, at 4,509 metres.
5. At the Kuk Early Agricultural Site, a UNESCO site, people have farmed the wetlands for about 7,000 years.
6. New Guinea, which it shares with Indonesia, is the second-largest island in the world after Greenland.