Papua (Indonesia)

Papua, formerly known as West Irian and Irian Jaya, is a province of Indonesia, comprising the northern coast of Western New Guinea together with island groups in Cenderawasih Bay to the west. It roughly follows the borders of the Papuan customary region of Mamta – Saireri and is divided into eight regencies (kabupaten) and one city (kota), the latter being the provincial capital of Jayapura. It is bordered by the nation of Papua New Guinea to the east, the Pacific Ocean to the north, Cenderawasih Bay to the west, and the provinces of Central Papua and Highland Papua to the south. The province also shares maritime boundaries with Palau in the Pacific. Papua, along with the five other Papuan provinces, has a higher degree of autonomy compared to other Indonesian provinces. Before 2003, the province (known as Irian Barat from 1963 to 1973 and Irian Jaya from 1973 to 2002) covered the entirety of Western New Guinea, a region also known as "Papua". In 2002, Papua adopted its current name and was granted a special autonomous status under Indonesian legislation. In 2001, the western end of the province was split off into a new province of West Papua, and in July 2022 the provinces of Central Papua, Highland Papua, and South Papua were also split off, leaving the current province covering a much smaller northern area around Jayapura, the northern part of the former province, and the islands in the Cenderawasih Bay. The official estimate of the population in mid-2025 of the province within its current borders was 1,073,640 (comprising 560,920 males and 512,720 females), increasing at about 1.31% per year.