West Papua (province)

West Papua (province)

West Papua (Indonesian: Papua Barat) is a province of Indonesia covering the western peninsula of the island of New Guinea. It is the least-populous province of Indonesia and one of two situated in Indonesian New Guinea, with the province of Papua also lying to the east. 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. Its first census, in 2010, recorded some 760,855 people.