Highland Papua

Highland Papua, propinsi (or provinsi; province) of Indonesia on the western half of the island of New Guinea. It is one of four provinces established in 2022 when Papua was divided. The only landlocked province of Indonesia, Highland Papua encompasses much of the Jayawijaya Mountains, the eastern section of the Maoke Range (itself the western segment of New Guinea’s central highlands). It is bounded by the provinces Papua to the north, Central Papua to the west, and South Papua to the south and by the country Papua New Guinea to the east. The capital is Wamena (the seat of Jayawijaya Regency) in the fertile Baliem Valley. Area 19,773 square miles (51,213 square km). Pop. (2024 est.) 1,467,050.

In June 2021 Indonesia revised Papua’s Special Autonomy Law, authorizing the central government to alter provincial boundaries without local consent and reducing the power of representative local government. These changes paved the way for a major restructuring in 2022, when Papua was divided into four provinces: Papua, Central Papua, Highland Papua, and South Papua. At the same time, the neighboring West Papua province was split in two: West Papua and Southwest Papua; thus, six provinces now constitute Indonesia’s administrative presence in western New Guinea. The stated aim of the restructuring was to improve local governance and accelerate development, but international observers viewed the move as a strategy to weaken separatist momentum and increase central oversight.