West Papua, formerly Irian Jaya Barat, is an Indonesian province located in Indonesia Papua. It covers most of the two western peninsulas of the island of New Guinea, the eastern half of the Bird's Head Peninsula and the whole of the Bomberai Peninsula, along with nearby smaller islands. The province is bordered to the north by the Pacific Ocean, to the west by Southwest Papua Province, the Halmahera Sea and the Ceram Sea, to the south by the Banda Sea, and to the east by the province of Central Papua and the Cenderawasih Bay. Manokwari is the province's capital and largest city. With an estimated population of 569,570 in mid-2023, West Papua is the least populous province in Indonesia after South Papua, following the separation off in 2022 of the western half of the Bird's Head Peninsula to create the new province of Southwest Papua, containing 52% of what had been West Papua's population.
The Bird's Head Peninsula or Doberai Peninsula, is a large peninsula that makes up the northwest portion of the island of New Guinea, comprising the Indonesian provinces of Southwest Papua and West Papua. It is often referred to as The Vogelkop, and is so named because its shape looks like a bird's head on the island of New Guinea. The peninsula at the opposite end of the island is called the Bird's Tail Peninsula. The peninsula just to the south is called the Bomberai Peninsula.
Sorong is the largest city and the capital of the Indonesian province of Southwest Papua. The city is located on the western tip of the island of New Guinea with its only land borders being with Sorong Regency. It is the gateway to Indonesia's Raja Ampat Islands, species rich coral reef islands in an area considered the heart of the world's coral reef biodiversity. It also is the logistics hub for Indonesia's thriving eastern oil and gas frontier. Sorong experienced rapid growth during the decade from 2010, and further growth is anticipated as Sorong becomes linked by road to other frontier towns in Papua's Bird's Head Peninsula. The official estimate of population as at mid 2023 was 294,978 - comprising 154,543 males and 140,435 females. The suburban area of Sorong city contains tropical rainforest and mangrove forest that has increasingly become popular as ecotourism attractions especially for birdwatching or wildlife watching.
Raja Ampat, or the Four Kings, is an archipelago located off of the northwest tip of Bird's Head Peninsula, Southwest Papua province, Indonesia. It comprises over 1,500 small islands, cays, and shoals around the four main islands of Misool, Salawati, Batanta, and Waigeo, and the smaller island of Kofiau.
Sorong Regency is a regency of the Southwest Papua province of Indonesia. It covers an area of 13,075.28 km2, and had a population of 70,619 at the 2010 Census, and 118,679 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as of mid-2023 was 129,963. Its administrative centre is the town of Aimas. Sorong Regency surrounds Sorong City (Kota) on the landward side; the city is administratively independent of the Regency and is not included in the above statistics; Sorong City has an airport, Sorong Airport, which also serves the Regency.
Salawati is one of the four major islands in the Raja Ampat Islands in Southwest Papua, Indonesia. Its area is 1,623 km2. Salawati is separated from New Guinea to the southeast by the Sele Strait, and from Batanta to the north by the Pitt Strait.
Teminabuan is a district in South Sorong Regency, Southwest Papua, Indonesia. The district serves as the administrative capital of South Sorong Regency. It had a population of 11,627 at the 2010 Census and 19,491 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 19,876. The town is located in the southwestern-central part of the Bird's Head Peninsula. The area was bombed between January and March 1967. It is served by Teminabuan Airport.
Maybrat Regency is a regency of Southwest Papua Province of Indonesia. It has an area of 5,461.69 km2 (2,108.77 sq mi), and had a population of 33,081 at the 2010 Census and 42,991 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 46,287. The administrative centre is the town of Kumurkek, in Aifat District. The Maybrat language is spoken in the regency.
Raja Ampat Regency is a regency of Southwest Papua Province of Indonesia. The regency, which was formed by separating the archipelago from Sorong Regency, based on the Law 26 of 2002, was inaugurated on 12 April 2003. It consists of a number of groups of islands situated off the north-west end of West Papua; the four main islands from south to north are Misool, Salawati, Batanta, and Waigeo. At present, the regency covers a land area of 7,559.60 km2, with a total area stated as 67,379.61 km2. It had a population of 42,508 at the 2010 Census and 64,141 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 68,501. The principal town lies at Waisai on Waigeo Island.
South Sorong Regency is a regency of Southwest Papua province of Indonesia. It has an area of 6,570.23 km2, and had a population of 37,900 at the 2010 Census and 52,469 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 54,277. The administrative centre is the town of Teminabuan.
Tambrauw Regency is a regency of Southwest Papua Province, Indonesia, in the Bird's Head Peninsula of Papua Island. It was created on 29 October 2008 from what had been an eastern part of Sorong Regency, originally as part of the province of West Papua. Much of the regency is located on the Tamrau Mountains that the local government declarated Tambrauw as a "conservation regency".
Seget is a Papuan language of the Bird's Head Peninsula of New Guinea. It is spoken southwest of Sorong, in Walian, Sailolof, Segum, and Seget villages in Sorong Regency, Southwest Papua. Walian and Sailolof are villages (kampung) located in Salawati. Seget and Segun are currently districts in Sorong Regency.
Puragi, or Iwaro, is a Papuan language of the Bird's Head Peninsula spoken in Puragi village, Matemani District, South Sorong Regency, Southwest Papua.
Yahadian is a Papuan language of the Bird's Head Peninsula of Southwest Papua. It is spoken in Yahadian village, Kais District, South Sorong Regency.
Southwest Papua is the 38th province of Indonesia to be created, and was split off from West Papua on 8 December 2022. Despite being named southwest, it is a misnomer and this province is actually located in the northwest edge of Papua. The province comprises the Greater Sorong area which consists of Sorong City, Sorong Regency, South Sorong Regency, Maybrat Regency, Tambrauw Regency, and Raja Ampat Regency. The Bill (RUU) on the Establishment of the Southwest Papua Province was passed into law and therefore it became the 38th province in Indonesia with effect from 8 December 2022.
The Salawati Kingdom is the Islamic kingdom that once stood in Salawati Island, Raja Ampat Regency, Southwest Papua. The center of the Salawati kingdom was located in the Samate village which is currently located in the North Salawati district.
The province of Southwest Papua in Indonesia is divided into regencies. The regencies are turn are divided administratively into districts, also known in Indonesian as distrik or kecamatan.
Indonesia 