New Guinea, (Malay: Papua), with an area of 786,000 km², is the second largest island in the world after Greenland. The western part, western New Guinea with the provinces Papua and Irian Jaya Barat, was occupied by Indonesia in 1963. The east of the island has been part of the independent state since 1975 Papua New Guinea.
background
The island of New Guinea is located in the north of the Australian continent, from whose mainland it was only separated as a result of the rise in sea levels after the last ice age 8000 years ago (Torres Strait). In the west it represents the link to Southeast Asia.
New Guinea is near the equator. The island has the largest tropical forest in Australia, the richest coral reefs in the world and the richest biodiversity outside of the Amazon. The number of over a thousand indigenous languages is also unique in the world.
