The Kina, denoted by PGK, is the national currency of Papua New Guinea. The currency, which is made of 100 Toea, was first introduced on April 19, 1975 supplanting the Australian dollar.
The coins in circulation are in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 20 and 50 Toea as well as 1 Kina. Banknotes that are in circulation include the 2 Kina, 5 Kina, 10 Kina, 20 Kina, and 50 Kina notes.
Sovereign Ratings for Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea is not rated.
What does it look like?
Political Structure
Papua New Guinea's political system is a constitutional monarchy with parliamentary democracy. The government is divided into three branches: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial branches.
The executive branch consists of the chief of state, head of government, and cabinet. The chief of state is the reigning monarch at the time that is often represented by the governor general. The head of government is the prime minister and the cabinet is the National Executive Council appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister.
The legislative branch consists of a unicameral National Parliament that is sometimes referred to as the House of Assembly. The House of Assembly consists of 109 seats that are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms.
The judicial branch is the Supreme Court whose chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the proposal of the National Executive Council after consultation with the minister responsible for justice. The other judges are appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission.
Prominent Figures
Governor General: Sir Paulius Matane
Prime Minister: Sir Michael Somare
Governor, Central Bank: Wilson Kamit
Key Economic Factors
Economic Overview: Papua New Guinea has an abundance of natural resource; however, their exploitation has been hindered by the rugged terrain and high cost of developing infrastructure. Subsistence agriculture provides for 85% of the population. 72% of export earnings are through mineral deposits including oil, copper, and gold. Australia supplies an annual aid package of $240 million which accounts for 20% of the national budget. Papua, however, still faces economic challenges as Prime Minister Michael Somare attempts to gain further investor confidence, continue efforts to privatize government assets, maintain the support of Parliament, and balance relations with Australia.
Industries: Copra crushing, palm oil processing, plywood production, wood chip production, mining of gold, silver, and copper, crude oil production, construction and tourism.
Import Commodities: Machinery, transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, fuels and chemicals.
Export Commodities: Oil, gold, copper ore, logs, palm oil, coffee, cocoa, crayfish and prawns.
Agriculture - products: Coffee, cocoa, coconuts, palm kernels, tea, rubber, sweet potatoes, fruit, vegetables, poultry and pork.
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