Regional Information - Foreign Ownership > Papua New Guinea, Oceania

Feature Island

Regional Information

Papua New Guinea occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea. Her range also includes numerous offshore islands, some of them shaped like the rare tropical fiords that grace the coast of Papua New Guinea – tropical fingers covered in lush flora, ringed with coral reefs. In this region, expect to see the odd snowfall, butterflies as big as birds, and fiery sunsets from your private island. Papua New Guinea’s infrastructure is somewhat hampered by rugged terrain and the high cost of development.

Papua New Guinea, Oceania

Foreign Ownership of Islands in Papua New Guinea, Oceania

Foreigners will have some difficulty trying to acquire land in Papua New Guinea. The traditional land tenure system of Papua New Guinea is complex and the acquisition of real estate is difficult for anyone outside the system. The state owns less than 5% of the land in Papua New Guinea, but most rural and outlying families have access to land for crops and subsistence enterprises.

The Government continues to search for ways of making land more accessible for investment while trying to retain the benefits of land ownership for the 85% of Papua New Guineans who are dependent on agriculture and subsistence production. The Government is restricted to protecting traditional property rights and this often means that foreigners must negotiate with the local landowners. A program known as the Land Mobilisation Program is working on simplifying procedures for allocating alienated land.

Crime is a problem in Papua New Guinea. Law and order has deteriorated to a level that has consequences on the integrity of property rights and other business activity. The transition from Melanesian traditions to western-style legal systems has not been easy. The growing failure to enforce property and personal rights has shaken the confidence of investors. Private islands for sale in Papua New Guinea are very rare at this point and will probably remain so until foreign investment is easier to administrate and protect.

Regional Statistics for Papua New Guinea, Oceania

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
Population:: 5,670,544
Languages:: Melanesian Pidgin, English, Motu, 820 indigenous languages
Capital:: Port Moresby
Currency:: Kina
Climate:: tropical; northwest monsoon (December to March), southeast monsoon (May to October); slight seasonal temperature variation
Temperature Range:: +25 to +30
Terrain:: mostly mountains with coastal lowlands and rolling foothills
Natural Hazards:: active volcanism; situated along the Pacific "Ring of Fire"; the country is subject to frequent and sometimes severe earthquakes; mud slides; tsunamis