Pegunungan Bintang Regency or Bintang Mountains Regency ("Bintang" means "star") is a

regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

in the

Indonesian province Provinces are the first-level administrative divisions of Indonesia. They were formerly called first-level provincial regions (), before the Reform era. Provinces have a local government, consisting of a governor () and a regional legislativ ...

Highland Papua Highland Papua () is a provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, which roughly follows the borders of the Papuan customary region of Lano-Pago (often shortened to La Pago). It covers an area of and had a population of 1,467,050 according to ...

. It was created on 11 December 2002 from the north-eastern districts of

Jayawijaya Regency Jayawijaya Regency is one of the List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, regencies (''kabupaten'') in the Indonesian province of Highland Papua. It occupies an area of 13,925.31 km2 in the Baliem Valley, situated in the central highlands o ...

. It covers an area of 15,683 km², and had a population of 65,434 at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 77,872 at the 2020 Census;Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. the official estimate as at mid 2024 was 114,581 – comprising 61,112 males and 53,469 females.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2025, ''Kabupaten Pegunungan Bintang Dalam Angka 2025'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.9502) The administrative centre is the town of

Oksibil Oksibil is a town and a district of Highland Papua in Indonesia that is also the administrative centre of the Pegunungan Bintang Regency Pegunungan Bintang Regency or Bintang Mountains Regency ("Bintang" means "star") is a regency in the Indones ...

Name

''Pegunungan Bintang'' is the Indonesian name for the

Star Mountains The Star Mountains ( Dutch ( colonial)'': Sterrengebergte''; Indonesian'': Pegunungan Bintang'') are a mountain range in eastern end of Highland Papua, Indonesia and the western Papua New Guinea, stretching from the eastern end of Indonesia t ...

, a mountain range that is also shared by

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

. Similarly,

Star Mountains Rural LLG Star Mountains Rural LLG is a local-level government situated in the Star Mountains in North Fly District of Western Province of Papua New Guinea. In the year 2000, the LLG had 1691 homes, and a population of 12,114 people. (6776 men and 5338 wo ...

Western Province, Papua New Guinea Western Province is a coastal province in southwestern Papua New Guinea, bordering the Indonesian provinces of Highland Papua and South Papua. The provincial capital is Daru. The largest town in the province is Tabubil. Other major settlements ar ...

is also named after the same mountain range.

Geography

Pegunungan Bintang Regency, located in Papua Pegunungan Province, Indonesia, has very distinctive geographical characteristics and is influenced by mountainous topography. This regency is part of the

Maoke Mountains The Maoke Mountains is a mountain range in the province of Central Papua and Highland Papua. It extends over 692 km and is composed of the Sudirman and Jayawijaya ranges. It is part of the larger New Guinea Highlands The New Guinea Highla ...

that stretch across the Papua region, so that most of its territory consists of mountainous areas with high peaks and deep valleys. This topography makes the Pegunungan Bintang area have rich biodiversity, thanks to the dense tropical forests that cover most of its territory. The tropical rainforests in this area not only function as ecosystem buffers but also as providers of natural resources. In addition, Pegunungan Bintang Regency has a number of rivers, especially the Digoel River and lakes, most of which flow south towards the

Arafura Sea The Arafura Sea (or Arafuru Sea) lies west of the Pacific Ocean, overlying the continental shelf between Australia and Western New Guinea (also called Papua), which is the Indonesian part of the Island of New Guinea. Geography The Arafura Sea is ...

.The rivers in this area tend to have a fast flow due to the steep slopes of the mountains. The climate in this area is a tropical climate with relatively stable temperatures throughout the year and high rainfall, which supports the growth of lush vegetation. The mountainous and difficult-to-reach geographical conditions affect the transportation infrastructure in this regency, which is generally limited. Roads often become inaccessible during the rainy season, so air transportation is one of the main options for connecting this area to other regions. These overall geographical conditions influence various aspects of life in the Bintang Mountains, including the economy, infrastructure and way of life of the local people.

Border Area

Astronomically, Pegunungan Bintang Regency is located between 3°04'00” – 5°20'00” South Latitude and 140°05'00” – 141°00'00” East Longitude. While geographically, Pegunungan Bintang Regency borders Keerom Regency and Jayapura Regency to the north, Boven Digoel Regency to the south, Yahukimo Regency to the west and Papua New Guinea to the east.

Languages

The Yetfa and Murkim languages are spoken in the eponymous Jetfa and Murkim districts. Other indigenous Papuan languages of Pegunungan Bintang Regency are Lepki (Lepki-Murkim family), Kimki (isolate), Towei (Pauwasi), Emem (Pauwasi), and Burumakok (Ok, Trans-New Guinea).

Administrative Districts

The Bintang Mountains Regency comprises thirty-four

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

(''distrik''), tabulated below with their current areas and their populations within those current areas at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 2020 Census,Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. together with the official estimates as at mid 2024.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2025, ''Kabupaten Pegunungan Bintang Dalam Angka 2025'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.9502) The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of

administrative village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban village ...

s (''kampung'') in each district, and its post code. The number of districts increased dramatically prior to 2010, created by the division of the six original districts (whose names are given in bold above and are numbered from 95.02.01 to 95.02.06). The 28 new districts (numbered from 95.02.07 to 95.02.34) are shown as follows: *Kawor, Tarup, and Awinbon were created from parts of Iwur District *Pepera, Alemsom, Serambakon, Kolomdol, Oksop, Ok Sebang (formerly Sebang), Ok Bape, and Ok Aon were created from parts of Oksibil District *Bime, Epumek, Weime, Pamek, Nongme, and Batani were created from parts of Borme District *Aboy, Okbab, Teiraplu, and Yefta were created from parts of Okbi District *East Kiwirok, Okhika, Oklip, and Oksamol (formerly Warasamo) were created from parts of Kiwirok District *Murkim, Mofinop, and Okbemta were created from parts of Batom District Note that while the Regency's official number is 95.02, the document printed for 28 February 2025 bears the (incorrect) reference of "94.17".

References

External links

Statistics publications from Statistics Indonesia (BPS)
{{Highland Papua Regencies of Highland Papua Mamberamo basin Eilanden basin