What is West Papua (province)?
[[File:West Papua in Indonesia.svg|thumb|West Papua shown in red within the map of [[Indonesia]].]] [[Image:Flag of West Papua (vectorised).svg|thumb|150px|Flag]] [[Image:Coat of arms of West Papua.svg|thumb|90px|Coat of arms]] '''West Papua''' is a [[Provinces of Indonesia|province]] of [[Indonesia]]. It is on the [[New Guinea|New Guinea island]] and has many [[Peninsula|peninsulas]] and [[Island|islands]]. [[Manokwari]] is the main city. Around 561,403 people lived there in mid-2022, making it the second least populous [[Provinces of Indonesia|province]] in [[Indonesia]] after [[Southwest Papua]].<ref>Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2023, ''Provinsi Papua Barat Dalam Angka 2023'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.92)</ref> The [[Dutch Empire|Dutch]] were in [[New Guinea]] until 1962. Then, control went to [[Indonesia]]. West Papua officially became a [[province]] in 1999 and was inaugurated in 2003. Until 2022, it had special status with twelve regencies and one city.<ref>Leonard Andaya (1993), p. 155-6.</ref> West Papua has a medium [[Human Development Index]], second-lowest in [[Indonesia]]. The government is building things like [[Road|roads]] and [[Airport|airports]]. Some worry this might harm [[rainforests]] and native [[Culture|cultures]]. According to [[Bank Indonesia]], West Papua's economy grew by 7.7% in 2018, which is more than the national average.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Newswire|date=2018-12-10|title=Pertumbuhan Ekonomi Papua Barat 7,7 Persen, Dipicu Ekspor LNG|url=https://papua.bisnis.com/read/20181210/415/867811/pertumbuhan-ekonomi-papua-barat-77-persen-dipicu-ekspor-lng|access-date=2024-01-01|website=Bisnis.com|language=id}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=A Highway Megaproject Tears at the Heart of New Guinea's Rainforest|url=https://e360.yale.edu/features/a-highway-megaproject-tears-at-the-heart-of-papuas-rainforest|access-date=2024-01-01|website=Yale E360|language=en-US}}</ref> == History == [[File:Nagarakertagama.jpg|thumb|The ''Nagarakertagama'' mentioned a region in the east called ''Wanin'', present-day O