Geography & environment — Papua New Guinea
Location, land area, terrain, climate, and natural resources.
Profile updated 2026-06-02
⚡ Geography & environment at a glance
Location, land area, terrain, climate, and natural resources. Key figure for Papua New Guinea: Oceania
Immigration rules and fees change frequently — confirm current requirements on official government or embassy websites.
Location & size
- Geographic Location
Oceania
- Geographic Coordinates
6 00 S, 147 00 E
- Total Area
178,703 Square Miles 462,840 Square Kilometers
- Land Area
174,849 Square Miles 452,860 Square Kilometers
- Water Area
3,853 Square Miles 9,980 Square Kilometers
- Land Boundaries
510 Miles 820 Kilometers
- Border Countries
Indonesia 820 km
- Coastline
3,201 Miles 5,152 Kilometers
Physical geography
- Terrain
mostly mountains with coastal lowlands and rolling foothills
- Highest Point
4,509 Meters
- Highest Point Location
Mount Wilhelm 4,509 m
- Lowest Point Location
Pacific Ocean 0 m
- Natural Resources
gold, copper, silver, natural gas, timber, oil, fisheries
Climate & time
- Time Zone
UTC+10 (15 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) time zone note: Papua New Guinea has two time zones, including Bougainville (UTC+11)
Climate
- Climate
Papua New Guinea lies wholly within the Tropics, and its climate is monsoonal. The "wet" northwest monsoon season extends from December to March and the "dry" southeast monsoon from May to October. Average annual rainfall is high, ranging from 80 to 100 inches. Although many areas have a wet and dry season, these terms are relative. Even in the so‑called dry season, 2–4 inches of rain per month fall in most areas. Many areas receive more than 200 inches, but a few, like Port Moresby, lie in a rain shadow and receive 40 inches or less annually. Although tropical, temperatures are not extreme. Most lowland, coastal, and island areas have a daily average temperature of 81°F, and seasonal variations are slight. In the highlands, temperature varies with altitude. At 6,000 feet, the average temperature is 61°F; daytime temperatures rise to 90°F and nighttime temperatures fall between 40°F and 50°F. Lowland humidity is uniformly about 80% with very little seasonal variation. Humidity fluctuates more in the highlands where temperatures are lower.
- Terrain
mostly mountains with coastal lowlands and rolling foothills
- Location
Oceania, group of islands including the eastern half of the island of New Guinea between the Coral Sea and the South Pacific Ocean, east of Indonesia
- Total Area
178,703 Square Miles 462,840 Square Kilometers
- Border Countries
Indonesia 820 km
Environment
- Environment - Current Issues
rain forest subject to deforestation as a result of growing commercial demand for tropical timber
pollution from mining projects
severe drought
- Environment - International Agreements
party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
