Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a geographically complex country in the eastern half of the New Guinea Islands spread across 600 islands. PNG was first colonized in 1884, and the country was under Australian colonial administration beginning in 1906. PNG became politically independent from Australia in 1975 as a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy. This entry provides an overview of PNG and its media, then explores press freedom, broadcast and print media, and mobile phones and new media.

The country is divided into four regions: Southern, Momase, Highlands, and Islands, each with diverse geographic features. With a population of 7.6 million and home to more than 700 indigenous languages, it is one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world. There are three official ...