Continuing our Going Global theme, we’re taking ‘shallow dives’ into some of the more exotic, far-flung, or lesser-known locations that make up the 80+ countries and territories where Orchid’s Sage Add-ons have taken root.
We’ve already visited the landlocked African Kingdom of Eswatini, Aruba in the Caribbean, and American Samoa in the South Pacific. This time we follow the Orchid trail to Australia’s nearest neighbour, Papua New Guinea (PNG).
Ten (or so) things you may not know about…Papua New Guinea
(Most of the information below is sourced from Wikipedia.)
- PNG is the world's third largest island country, comprising the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia.
- The Torres Straight separates the PNG and Australian mainlands. At the straight's narrowest point the two are about 150km (80 miles) apart.
Maritime distances can be reduced by ‘island hopping’, with Queensland’s Sabai Island being less the 4km from the PNG mainland.
- Today's Australia and New Guinea were originally joined as the supercontinent of Sahul. They remained connected by a land bridge until sea levels rose about 10,000 years ago.
- From 1884 until World War 1 the northern part (New Guinea) was ruled by Germany, and the southern part (Papua) by Britain. This was followed by nearly 60 years of Australian administration of both territories. After World War II the two were combined, and Papua New Guinea eventually became independent in 1975.
- PNG has more languages than any other country.
There are over 820 indigenous languages, representing 12% of the world's total, but most have fewer than 1,000 speakers.
- It is also one of the world’s most rural countries, with only 13% of its population living in urban centres in 2019.
- The rugged terrain largely explains why the size of the highly dispersed population is…unknown!
Official government estimates are around 9 million, but a 2020 survey, using satellite imagery supported by ‘ground truthing’, suggested it was more like 17 million!
- Most of PNG's people live in ‘customary communities’, with nearly 40% living relatively independently of the cash economy.
The PNG Constitution explicitly expresses the wish for "traditional villages and communities to remain as viable units of Papua New Guinean society".
- PNG is famous for its frequent seismic activity, being located on the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, where several tectonic plates collide. Multiple fatal earthquakes have occurred in the past quarter century. The worst, in July 1998, triggered a 50-foot-high tsunami that claimed the lives of well over 2000 people.
- Sport is an important part of PNG culture.
Rugby league is by far the most popular sport and has been described as a replacement for tribal warfare as a way of explaining the local enthusiasm for the game.
Orchid EFT's Global Footprint
Orchid’s EFT Processing supports 800+ bank formats - about as many formats as there are languages in Papua New Guinea!
PNG is also one of the 80+ countries where EFT Processing, now available for both Sage 300 and Sage Intacct, has found a home.
From Aruba to Zimbabwe, Eswatini to Ethiopia, we may already have the format you need. If not, just let us know and we can set it up!
