Capital punishment in Papua New Guinea Capital punishment in Papua New Guinea In Papua New Guinea (PNG), also officially known as the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, capital punishment (also called the "death penalty" or "execution") is a legal form of punishment. Despite its legality, capital punishment has not been imposed in PNG in over sixty years. The last known execution took place under the colonial administration of Australia. The last execution is understood to have been done by way of hanging and took place in the capital city of PNG, Port Moresby, in November 1954. Within the Pacific Islands Forum, all countries (albeit not
Languages of Papua New Guinea Languages of Papua New Guinea The languages of Papua New Guinea today number over 850. These languages are spoken by the inhabited tribal groups of Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. In 2006, Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare stated that "Papua New Guinea has 832 living languages (languages, not dialects)" making it the most linguistically diverse place on earth. Its official languages are Tok Pisin, English, Hiri Motu and Papua New Guinean Sign Language. Tok Pisin, an English-based creole, is the most widely spoken, serving as the country's lingua franca. Papua New Guinean Sign Language became the fourth official language in