Papua

Papua, propinsi (or provinsi; province) of Indonesia on the western half of the island of New Guinea. It is one of four provinces established in 2022 when the former, larger Papua province was divided. The present-day province occupies northeastern Indonesian New Guinea and smaller islands to the west, such as Sorenarwa (Yapen) and the Biak (Schouten) Islands. Papua is bounded by the Pacific Ocean on the north, the country of Papua New Guinea on the east, Highland Papua and Central Papua on the south, and, beyond Papua’s smaller islands, West Papua on the west. The capital of Papua is Jayapura, on the province’s northeast coast. Area 31,923 square miles (82,680 square km). Pop. (2025 est.) 1,060,550.

Geography

The northern coastal lowlands of Papua province are separated from the island’s interior by the Van Rees and Foja (Gauttier) ranges, the latter rising to approximately 7,320 feet (2,230 meters). South of these ranges lies the east-west valley of the Tariku and Taritatu rivers, which converge in this basin to form the Mamberamo River. The Mamberamo then flows northwestward to the Pacific, bisecting the coastal plain. The southern boundary of the province lies along the northern slopes of the Maoke Mountains—the 400-mile (644-km) western segment of New Guinea’s central highlands—where the river valley begins to gradually rise in elevation.

The province is heavily forested. The coastal lowlands and river valley are covered in dense tropical rainforests; the Van Rees and Foja ranges are covered in tropical montane forest; and mangrove forests line much of the island’s west coast. Among the many varieties of trees are palms (sago, coconut, and nipa), sandalwood, ebony, rubber, casuarina, cedar, and breadfruit. Orchids and ferns are especially abundant in the rainforest understory.

More From Britannica

World War II: Western New Guinea

Papua lies within the Australian faunal region, which means that its animal life is more like that of Australia and New Zealand than that of western Indonesia and the Southeast Asian mainland. Notable mammals include marsupials, such as tree kangaroos and cuscuses; monotremes (egg-laying mammals), including several types of echidnas; and a broad array of bats, terrestrial rats, and water rats. Snakes, crocodiles, frilled lizards, and tortoises are among the common reptiles. Typical birdlife includes cassowaries (a type of flightless bird), birds-of-paradise, megapodes (mound builders), bowerbirds, plumed herons, green pigeons, and lories (a type of parrot).

As of the early 21st century hundreds of Indigenous—or Papuan—peoples together account for a majority of the province’s population. The remainder consists of immigrants, largely from Celebes (Sulawesi), Java, and the Moluccas. The Indigenous groups speak numerous Papuan languages, and most others speak Austronesian languages. The bulk of the population is Christian (primarily Protestant); Muslims make up the largest religious minority. Local religions are practiced by some of the Papuan communities.

Within the present-day province of Papua, the city of Jayapura and its environs on the northeast coast is the most densely populated, largely by immigrants from other parts of Indonesia and ethnically mixed communities of Papuan and non-Papuan descent. The province’s interior remains sparsely populated and is predominantly home to Indigenous communities. There are also significant population centers on the Biak (Schouten) Islands, particularly on Numfoor and Biak, which are inhabited mainly by Indigenous groups.

Access for the whole family!

Bundle Britannica Premium and Kids for the ultimate resource destination.

Subscribe

Most of Papua’s people are engaged in agriculture (including forestry and fishing). Rice is the chief food crop, although cassava, sweet potatoes, soybeans, corn (maize), green beans, and peanuts (groundnuts) are also important. Other notable farm products include palm oil, cocoa, and nutmeg. The forests yield timber and copal (varnish resin), and assorted finfish, and the products of Papua’s fisheries include shrimp, oysters and other shellfish, sea cucumbers, and seaweed. Agricultural activities support a small manufacturing sector, the principal products of which include processed foods, lumber, wooden furniture, and other wooden goods.

For administrative purposes, Papua is divided into several kabupaten (regencies) as well as the municipality of Jayapura. Those units are further divided into distrik (districts), which in turn contain kampung (villages) at the lowest administrative level. The chief executive of Papua is the governor.

History

The first Europeans to sight the island of New Guinea were the Portuguese in 1511, and what is now the Indonesian portion of the island was subsequently visited by Spanish, Dutch, German, and English explorers. The English attempted to found a colony near Manokwari (now in West Papua) in 1793. The Dutch claimed the western half of New Guinea in 1828, but their first permanent administrative posts, at Fakfak (now in West Papua) and Manokwari, were not set up until 1898. Haji Misbach, a Muslim communist, was exiled by the Dutch to western New Guinea in 1924, and three years later about 1,300 communists were imprisoned there after an uprising in Java. The Japanese occupied the northern part of Dutch New Guinea during World War II until Allied forces recaptured Hollandia (now Jayapura) in 1944. The Netherlands regained sovereignty over western New Guinea at the end of the war and retained it after officially recognizing Indonesia’s independence in 1949. However, in 1962, after protracted negotiations, the region was placed under United Nations administration, and in 1963 it was transferred to Indonesia, with the provision that a plebiscite would be held there by 1969 to decide its future status.

Opposition to Indonesian rule, led by the Free Papua Movement (Organisasi Papua Merdeka; OPM), erupted almost immediately. The plebiscite took place in 1969, and, although the results were suspect, the area became the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya. The OPM continued to resist Indonesian rule, and violence broke out periodically. In 1999 Indonesian Pres. B.J. Habibie divided the area into three provinces: Irian Jaya, Central Irian Jaya, and West Irian Jaya. Largely perceived as a “divide-and-rule” maneuver, the partition met with strong local opposition and consequently was annulled the following year by Habibie’s successor, Abdurrahman Wahid. Wahid not only returned the region to the status of a single province but also granted it a significant degree of autonomy.

In January 2002, just a few months after Megawati Sukarnoputri assumed the presidency, Irian Jaya officially changed its name to Papua. Meanwhile, Megawati resurrected the idea of dividing the province, and in 2003, without consulting the residents of Papua or the local government, the province was split into West Irian Jaya (Irian Jaya Barat) and Papua. An interim governor was appointed for West Irian Jaya, and a legislature was installed the following year. Although the constitutionality of the division of the province was disputed for some years, Papua and West Irian Jaya were officially recognized as separate entities by Megawati’s successor, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Both provinces held direct general elections in 2006, and in 2007 West Irian Jaya became known as West Papua.

In the following years tensions related to pro-independence sentiment and proposals to divide Papua persisted. In 2019 a series of racist incidents targeting Papuan students in Java triggered widespread protests throughout Papua and other parts of Indonesia. The central government responded with heightened security measures, temporary Internet blackouts, and arrests of activists, which drew criticism from human rights organizations. In 2021, Indonesian authorities designated the OPM and its armed wing as a terrorist organization. That same year, Indonesia passed a controversial revision of Papua’s Special Autonomy Law, increasing the central government’s fiscal control, authorizing it to alter provincial boundaries without local consent, and reducing the power of representative local government.

These legislative changes paved the way for a major administrative restructuring in 2022. The central government divided the province of Papua into four parts: Papua, Central Papua, Highland Papua, and South Papua. The present-day province of Papua was left with a reduced territory centered on northeastern Indonesian New Guinea. Jayapura continued to be Papua’s capital. At the same time, the neighboring West Papua province was split in two: West Papua and Southwest Papua; thus, six provinces now constitute Indonesia’s administrative presence in western New Guinea. The stated aim of the restructuring was to improve local governance and accelerate development, but international observers viewed the move as a strategy to weaken separatist momentum and increase central oversight.