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West Papua (Indonesian province)

West Papua
Papua Barat
Province
Raja Ampat Islands
Flag of West Papua
Flag
Official seal of West Papua
Seal
Motto: Cintaku Negeriku (Indonesian)
(My love, my country)
Location of West Papua
Location of West Papua
Coordinates (Manokwari): 0°52′S 134°5′E / 0.867°S 134.083°E / -0.867; 134.083Coordinates: 0°52′S 134°5′E / 0.867°S 134.083°E / -0.867; 134.083
Country Indonesia
Capital Manokwari
Largest city Sorong
Government
 • Governor Abraham Octavianus Atururi
 • Vice Governor Irene Manibuy
Area
 • Total 140,375.62 km2 (54,199.33 sq mi)
Area rank 5th
Population (2014)
 • Total 877,437
 • Density 6.3/km2 (16/sq mi)
Demographics
 • Ethnic groups Melanesian, Papuan (51.5%), Javanese (14.8%), Bugis (5.3%), Ambonese (4.4%), Butonese (4.1%), Makassar (2.3%), Kei (2.2%), Toraja (1.8%), Minahasa (1.8%), Seram (1.3%), Flores (1%), Sundanese (0.95%), Batak (0.95%), Ternate (0.9%), Others ( Gebe, Tobelo, ... etc ) (6.8%)
 • 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)
Vehicle registration PB
HDI Decrease 0.612 (Low)
HDI rank 32nd (2014)
Website www.papuabaratprov.go.id

West Papua (Indonesian: Papua Barat) is a province of Indonesia. It covers the two western peninsulas of the island of New Guinea. Its capital is Manokwari, although the largest city is Sorong, and the 2010 census recorded a population of 760,855; the latest official estimate (as at January 2014) is 877,437.

West Papua Province was created from the western portion of Papua (province) in February 2003, initially under the name of West Irian Jaya (Indonesian: Irian Jaya Barat); it received its current name in 2007. The province covers the Bird's Head (Doberai) and Bomberai peninsulas and the surrounding islands of Raja Ampat. With a population of 877,437 in 2014, it is the least populous province of Indonesia except for the newly created province of North Kalimantan.

Even after Indonesia's independence in 1945, Papua and Irian Jaya were 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 by 1969 the UN should oversee a plebiscite of the people of Papua and 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'. But, the vote was in fact conducted by consensus decision-making, or consensus of elders, numbering 1,000 of these men had been selected by the Indonesian military. This body was coerced into unanimously voting to remain part of Indonesia; the territory was named as the province of Irian Jaya, later Papua.


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