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Flag of Papua New Guinea

Oceania

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Quick Facts

Capital
Port Moresby
Flag adopted
1971
Population
11,781,559
Area
462,840 km²
Languages
English, Hiri Motu, Tok Pisin
Currency
Papua New Guinean kina (K) — PGK
Demonym
Papua New Guinean
Government
parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy
Subregion
Melanesia
Driving side
Left
Timezones
UTC+10:00
Independence
1975

Religions

  • Protestant 69.6%
  • Roman Catholic 26%
  • Unspecified 3.1%
  • non-Christian 1.4%

About This Flag

The flag of Papua New Guinea is divided diagonally from the upper hoist-side corner to the lower fly-side corner, with the upper-right triangle in red and the lower-left triangle in black. The red triangle features a yellow Raggiana bird-of-paradise in flight, and the black triangle displays five white five-pointed stars arranged as the Southern Cross constellation.

Red and black are traditional colors widely used in Papua New Guinean art and ceremonial body decoration. The Raggiana bird-of-paradise is the national bird and is central to many indigenous cultures, with its plumage used in traditional headdresses.

The Southern Cross represents the country's location in the Southern Hemisphere. The flag was designed by 15-year-old student Susan Karike and adopted on July 1, 1971.

What the colors & design mean

Red represents the traditional colors of Papua New Guinean peoples and the bloodline of the nation. Black represents the people and the fertile land. The Raggiana bird-of-paradise symbolizes unity, freedom, and national pride. The Southern Cross represents geographic identity in the South Pacific.

red black yellow white

Pattern: Diagonal Design

Bordering countries (1)

🇮🇩 Indonesia

Fun Facts

  • The flag was designed by 15-year-old Susan Karike, a high school student who won a national competition — one of the youngest people ever to design a national flag.
  • Papua New Guinea is the most linguistically diverse country in the world, with over 840 living languages — more than 12% of the world's total languages are spoken in this single nation.
  • The Raggiana bird-of-paradise on the flag is endemic to the island of New Guinea and its elaborate plumage is used in traditional ceremonial headdresses throughout the country.
  • Papua New Guinea shares the island of New Guinea with Indonesia's Papua provinces, and the island is the world's second-largest after Greenland.

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