West Papua or
Western New Guinea is part of
Indonesia consisting of the western half of the island of
New Guinea and smaller islands to its west. The region is administered as two provinces:
Papua and
West Papua. The eastern half of New Guinea is the country of
Papua New Guinea. The population of approximately 3.6 million comprises ethnic
Papuans,
Melanesians, and
Austronesians. The region is predominantly dense forest where numerous traditional tribes live such as the
Dani of the Baliem Valley, although the majority of the population live in or near coastal areas. The largest city in the region is
Jayapura. The official and most commonly spoken language is
Indonesian. Estimates of the number of tribal languages in the region range from 200 to over 700, with the most widely spoken including Dani, Yali, Ekari and Biak. The predominant religion is Christianity (often combined with traditional beliefs) followed by Islam. The main industries include agriculture, fishing, oil production, and mining.