Page "Papua New Guinea" Paragraph 1

Papua New Guinea is one of the most culturally diverse countries on Earth.

According to recent data, 841 different languages are listed for the country, although 11 of these have no known living speakers.

( A detailed series of language maps of Papua New Guinea may be found at Ethnologue ) There may be at least as many traditional societies, out of a population of about 6. 2 million.

It is also one of the most rural, as only 18 % of its people live in urban centres.

The country is one of the world's least explored, culturally and geographically, and many undiscovered species of plants and animals are thought to exist in the interior of Papua New Guinea.