Madang Province
| Madang Province | ||
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 Madang Province in Papua New Guinea |
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| Coordinates: 5°10′S 145°20′E / 5.167°S 145.333°E | ||
| Country | Papua New Guinea | |
| Capital | Madang | |
| Districts | ||
| Government | ||
| • Governor | Jim Kas 2012- | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 28,886 km2 (11,153 sq mi) | |
| Population (2011 census) | ||
| • Total | 493,906 | |
| • Density | 17/km2 (44/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | AEST (UTC+10) | |
Madang is a province on the northern coast of mainland Papua New Guinea. The province has many of the country's highest peaks, active volcanoes and its biggest mix of languages. The capital is the town of Madang.
Human contact with the New Guinea mainland has extended through the past 50,000 years, and scientists have found evidence of human settlement 12,000 to 15,000 years ago near Simbai. In the past 6,000 years sailors ultimately originating from around Taiwan or the Malay Archipelago have traversed this area, leaving their mark in the Austronesian languages which are unevenly distributed along the coastline amongst the Papuan language villages.
The Yabob and Bilbil people used big sailing canoes to trade their pots from Karkar Island to western Morobe. They were part of the Vitiaz Strait trade network. Bundi was the centre of trade between Astrolabe Bay and the Highlands. Trade involved shells, salt, clay pots and wooden bowls from the lowlands and stone axes, feathers and women from the Asaro, Simbu and Jimi valleys.
Madang Province is a large region approximately 300 kilometres long and 160 kilometres wide with four large and many small offshore islands. The province totals 29,000 square kilometres and has a population of 365,106 (2000 census).
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