trip indonesia now (west papua)

West Papua Province (Indonesian: Provinsi Papua Barat) is a province of Indonesia. It covers the western peninsula of the island of New Guinea. Its capital is Manokwari and the 2010 census recorded a population of 760,855.^[1]
Prior to 2007, the province was known as West Irian Jaya (Indonesian: Irian Jaya Barat). The region covers the Bird's Head (Doberai) and Bomberai peninsulas and the surrounding islands of Raja Ampat.

West Papua Province Provinsi Papua Barat
Province
Manokwari, capital of West Papua
Flag Seal
Motto: Cintaku Negeriku (Indonesian) (My love, my country)
Location of West Papua in Indonesia
Coordinates (Manokwari): 0°52′S 134°5′ECoordinates: 0°52′S 134°5′E
Country	Indonesia
Capital	Manokwari
Government
• Governor	Abraham Octavianus Atururi
Area
• Total	140,375.62 km2 (54,199.33 sq mi)
Population (2010)
• Total	760,855
• Density	5.4/km2 (14/sq mi)
Demographics
• Ethnic groups	Melanesian, Papuan
• Religion	Protestantism (53.77%), Islam (38.4%), Roman Catholicism (7.03%), Hinduism (0.11%), Buddhism (0.08%)
• Languages	Indonesian (official)
Time zone	EIT (UTC+09)
Website	PapuaBaratProv.go.id

Demographics

With a population of 760,855,^[1] it is the least populous province of Indonesia.

Administrative divisions

The capital of West Papua province is Manokwari. The province is administratively divided into twelve regencies (kabupaten) and one autonomous city (kota), listed below with their (provisional) populations at the 2010 Census.

Name	Area (km2)	Population Estimate 2005	Population Census 2010	Capital
Arfak Mountains Regency (Pegunungan Arfak)		*	23,877	Anggi
Raja Ampat Regency	6,084.50	35,948	42,471	Waisai
Sorong (city)	1,105.00	146,390	190,341	Sorong
Sorong Regency	19,736.25	86,870	70,635	Aimas
South Manokwari Regency		*	18,564	Ransiki
South Sorong Regency	16,807.00	54,270	37,579	Teminabuan
Fak-Fak Regency	14,320.00	58,160	67,153	Fak-Fak
Kaimana Regency	18,500.00	36,714	46,243	Kaimana
Manokwari Regency	14,448.50	151,824	139,964	Manokwari
Maybrat Regency	13,203.00	*	33,735	Kumurkek
Tambrauw Regency[2]	5,587.75	*	11,465	Fef
Teluk Bintuni Regency	18,637.00	46,784	52,403	Bintuni
Teluk Wondama Regency	12,146.62	*	26,311	Rasiei

* The 2005 population of Arfak Mountains, Maybrat, South Manokwari, Tambrauw and Teluk Wondama Regencies are included in the figures for the regencies from which they were subsequently removed.

Subsequent to the 2010 Census, two new regencies - South Manokwari Regency (Manokwari Selantan) and Arfak Mountains Regency (Pegunungan Arfak) - were created from parts of the Manokwari Regency, while 4 districts of Manokwari Regency were added to Tambrauw Regency. The 2010 Census figures quoted above for all four of these regencies relate to their area as established in 2013.

Administrative history

Even after Indonesia's independence in 1949, Irian Jaya was retained by the Dutch for various reasons. However, Indonesia claimed all of the territory of the former Dutch East Indies, including the Dutch New Guinea holdings, so it invaded Irian Jaya in 1961. It was agreed that the UN should oversee a plebiscite of the people of West Papua, in which they would be given two choices: to remain part of Indonesia or to become an independent nation. This vote was referred to as the 'Act of Free Choice'. However, the vote was instead conducted by musyawarah, or consensus of elders, with approximately^[a] 1,000 men selected by the Indonesian military. This body was coerced into unanimously voting to remain part of Indonesia, and became the province of Irian Jaya, later Papua. The result of the vote was rejected by Papuan nationalists, who established the Free Papua Movement (OPM). The independence movement for West Papua has continued, primarily through peaceful protest and international pressure, but also guerrilla warfare against Indonesian administration.^[6]

Map of West Papua

Sunset, Raja Ampat

West Papua was created from the western portion of Papua province in February 2003, initially under the name of Irian Jaya Barat; it was later renamed Papua Barat (West Papua) on 7 February 2007. In November 2004, an Indonesian court agreed that the split violated Papua's autonomy laws. However, the court ruled that because the new province had already been created, it should remain separate from Papua. The ruling also prohibited the creation of another proposed province, Central Irian Jaya, as that division had not yet been formalised. The split is in line with the general trend of provincial splits that is occurring in all parts of Indonesia in the post-Suharto era. The new province has so far been widely supported by the province's inhabitants, as the new entity created more jobs and more government subsidies flowing into the province.^[7]
The province changed its name to "West Papua" on 7 February 2007. The new name applies from that date, but a plenary session of the provincial legislative council is required to legalise the change of name, and the government needs to then issue a regulation.^[8]