Place:West Papua, Indonesia

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West Papua, formerly Irian Jaya Barat (West Irian), is a province of Indonesia. It covers the two western peninsulas of the island of New Guinea, the Bird's Head Peninsula and the Bomberai Peninsula, along with nearby islands. The province is bordered to the north by the Pacific Ocean, to the west by 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, while Sorong is its largest city. West Papua is the second-least populous province in Indonesia, with a population of 1,134,068 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate for mid 2021 was 1,156,840.

After the Japanese surrender, the Dutch remained in New Guinea until 1962 when they transferred the control of the region to Indonesian government as a part of the New York Agreement. West Papua was legally created as a province in 1999, but it was not inaugurated until 2003. Consisting of twelve regencies and one city, the province has a special autonomous status as granted by Indonesian legislation.

West Papua is well known for its Raja Ampat Islands, which is said by some diving operators to contain the richest marine biodiversity in the world. West Papua has a medium Human Development Index, which is the second lowest among Indonesia's 37 provinces. The Indonesian government has launched the building of ambitious infrastructure projects including the Trans-Papua Highway, airports, and other facilities. Detractors claim they rip through Southeast Asia's and Oceania's last large chunks of tropical rainforests and threatening native cultures. According to Bank Indonesia, West Papua recorded an economic growth rate of 7.7% during 2018, which is higher than the national economic growth.

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