Papua New Guinea Kina - PGK

Overview

The Kina is the official currency of Papua New Guinea. It is divided in a hundred toea. The Kina was issued on 19 April 1975, replacing the Australian Dollar. The term Kina comes from the Tolai area of Kuanua and refers to a precious pearl shell widely used in the area for buying and selling.

Economy

• Over 75% of the nation's inhabitants are completely reliant on a subsistence economy.
• Vast amounts of mineral resources (oil, copper, and gold) can be found in Papua New Guinea, making up nearly 3/4 of exports. Coffee, cocoa, tea, and palm oil are also major exports.
• Papua New Guinea faces numerous challenges that prevent high economic growth, including its rugged terrain, high infrastucture development costs, law and order issues, and a poor system of land title.
• Papua New Guinea’s economy is highly dependent imports for manufactured materials.

History

• In 1975, a 1 Kina coin was introduced - spherical with a hole in the centre. This designation was gotten smaller since 2006 while its larger predecessor was removed from circulation in December, 2008.
• Large denomination bills were introduced starting in 1977 with the 20 kina note. In 1990, a 50 kina banknote was inroduced, and in 2005 they launched the 100 kina note.
• In 1980, 50 toea coins were introduced, though they were intended for commemorative means and were not consistent in design.
• In 2008, a new, bimetallic, 2 kina coin was introduced to replace the two kina note.

General Information