Papua (province)

Papua is an Indonesian province that stretches along the northern coast of Western New Guinea and includes several island groups in Cenderawasih Bay to the west. Its borders roughly match the traditional Papuan region of Mamta–Saireri, and it is split into eight regencies and one city, Jayapura, which serves as the provincial capital. To the east lies Papua New Guinea, to the north the Pacific Ocean, to the west Cenderawasih Bay, and to the south the provinces of Central Papua and Highland Papua. It also has a maritime boundary with Palau in the Pacific. Along with the five other Papuan provinces, Papua enjoys a greater level of autonomy than most Indonesian provinces.

Before 2003, the province covered all of Western New Guinea—a region also called "Papua"—and was known as Irian Barat from 1963 to 1973, then Irian Jaya from 1973 to 2002. In 2002, it took on its current name and was granted special autonomous status under Indonesian law. The western part of the original province was split off in 2001 to form West Papua, and in July 2022, three more provinces—Central Papua, Highland Papua, and South Papua—were carved out. What remains today is a much smaller northern area around Jayapura, along with the islands in Cenderawasih Bay. As of mid-2025, the population within these current borders was estimated at 1,073,640 people, with a growth rate of about 1.31% per year.

The province is run by a directly elected governor and a regional legislature called the People's Representative Council of Papua (DPRP). A distinctive body is the Papuan People's Assembly, created in 2005 under the Papua Special Autonomy Law. This assembly brings together tribal chiefs, religious leaders, and women representatives to handle arbitration and speak for Papuan customs. Since 2014, the DPRP has had 55 members elected every five years, plus 14 appointed through special autonomy, making 69 members total. Its leadership includes one chairperson and three deputy chairs, drawn from the parties with the most seats. The current members were sworn in on 31 October 2019, based on the 2019 general election. Thirteen political parties are represented; the NasDem Party and the Democratic Party each hold eight seats, while the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle has seven.

Papua is one of seven provinces with special autonomy status—the others being Aceh, West Papua, Southwest Papua, Central Papua, Highland Papua, and South Papua (Jakarta and Yogyakarta have similar special status as regions). Under Law 21/2001, the provincial government has authority over all administrative sectors except five: foreign affairs, security and defense, monetary and fiscal matters, religion, and justice. It can issue local regulations to implement the autonomy, including rules for districts and municipalities. Thanks to this status, Papua receives substantial special autonomy funds meant to benefit indigenous peoples. However, the province has low fiscal capacity and relies heavily on unconditional transfers and the autonomy fund, which made up about 55% of total revenues in 2008.

To let local communities benefit from timber production, the provincial government issued several decrees. These created a Timber Logging Permit for Customary Communities, allowing small-scale extraction on 250 to 1,000 hectares for one year through community cooperatives. A Permit to Manage Customary Forests allowed larger concessions up to 2,000 hectares for up to 20 years. Logging companies also had to pay compensation to local communities, on top of all other fees and taxes collected by the national government.

As of 2022, after the separation of Central Papua, Highland Papua, and South Papua, the remaining province consists of eight regencies and one city. These cover a northern belt from Waropen Regency to Keerom Regency, plus the island groups to the northwest. Originally, the area now making up Papua Province had three regencies: Jayapura, Yapen Waropen, and Biak Numfor. Jayapura City was split from Jayapura Regency on 2 August 1993 and made a separate administration. On 11 December 2002, three new regencies were created: Keerom and Sarmi from parts of Jayapura Regency, and Waropen from part of Yapen Waropen Regency (the rest became Yapen Islands). On 18 December 2003, Supiori was created from part of Biak Numfor Regency, and on 15 March 2007, Mamberamo Raya was formed.