An island in the southwestern part of the Pacific Ocean. Territory - 35 sq. km. Population - 1.8 thousand (1977); partly composed of Anglo-Polynesian mestizos. The administrative center is Kingston. The official language is English. Discovered by the English navigator J. Cook in 1774. From 1788 to 1855 it served as a place of exile. By the 1913 act, it was declared an Australian territory. Managed by an administrator appointed by the Australian Government. In 1957, the Island Council, consisting of 8 members, was created as an advisory body under the administrator. The main occupation of the population is agriculture and fishing. Tourism has developed rapidly in recent years. There are several political parties and groups. One of the largest is Pangu Party (Party of United Papua New Guinea), founded in 1965. The Congress of Trade Unions operates (since 1975 it is a member of the ICFTU). About 40% of the population is engaged in subsistence farming. Main crops: coconut, coffee, cocoa, rice, tea, etc. There are deposits of copper, iron, nickel, lead, manganese, platinum, gold, brown coal. Since 1972, the prom. exploitation of the richest copper deposits on Bougainville Island. It is being carried out by the largest open pit copper ore mining complex in the capitalist world (the Bougainville Copper company with British, Australian and Japanese capital). Most of it is exported to Japan. The monetary unit is kina. 0.7 kina = $ 1 (1978).
