Indonesia (West Papua)
Country Facts
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Population – 800,000 |
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Language – Indonesian (official) |
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Nationality – Indonesian |
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Size – 115,364 sq km |
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Capital - Manokwari |
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Bordering Countries – Papua New Guinea |
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Religion – Christianity, Islam |
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Highest HIV rates in Indonesia |
West Papuan independence activists have campaigned for nearly 40 years
to split from Indonesia, while a low-level armed rebellion has simmered
and human rights groups accuse Indonesia of widespread abuses there.
The conflict surrounding independence and Indonesian control is in part based in the quality of life in West Papua. The region has a significantly higher poverty level than the remainder of Indonesia and the poverty levels are continuing to increase.
According to the United Nations Development Programme, it is not possible for West Papua to meet the Millennium Development Goals, and this poverty is only increasing the levels of conflict in the region.
In terms of economic development and resources, the majority of natural resources are raw minerals. Access to these minerals is not available to the people of the region, however, because Indonesia provided a private U.S. company with the rights to construct the largest copper and gold mine in the world in West Papua, before it even had control of the region. Without access to these raw materials, economic development in West Papua is extremely difficult.
