The ongoing conflict in West Papua has largely been overlooked by the outside world. West Papua is also one of the most isolated and undeveloped parts of the world. Home to about four million people, it takes up the western half of New Guinea — the world’s second-biggest island after Greenland — and is split into two large provinces, confusingly named Papua and West Papua. The people of West Papua are divided into more than 250 tribes with more than 400 languages. Demographic data is scarce, but a steady influx of migrants from other islands means that Indigenous Papuans are likely now outnumbered.

Source: International New York Times December 12, 2020 13:30 UTC