Pegunungan Bintang Regency or Bintang Mountains Regency ("Bintang" means "star") is a regency in the Indonesian province of Highland Papua. It was created on 11 December 2002 from the north-eastern districts of Jayawijaya Regency. It covers an area of 15,683 km2, and had a population of 65,434 at the 2010 Census[2] and 77,872 at the 2020 Census;[3] the official estimate as at mid 2024 was 114,581 – comprising 61,112 males and 53,469 females.[1] The administrative centre is the town of Oksibil.

Name

Pegunungan Bintang is the Indonesian name for the Star Mountains, a mountain range that is also shared by Papua New Guinea. Similarly, Star Mountains Rural LLG in Western Province, Papua New Guinea 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 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 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.[4][5][6]

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.[7]

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).[8]

Administrative Districts

The Bintang Mountains Regency comprises thirty-four districts (distrik), tabulated below with their current areas and their populations within those current areas at the 2010 Census[2] and 2020 Census,[3] together with the official estimates as at mid 2024.[1] The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of administrative villages (kampung) in each district, and its post code.

Kode
Wilayah
Name of
District
(distrik)
Area
in
km2
Pop'n
2010
Census
Pop'n
2020
Census
Pop'n
mid 2024
Estimate
Admin
centre
No.
of
villages
Post
code
95.02.04 Iwur 833 2,279 1,530 3,882 Iwur 10 99432
95.02.17 Kawor 835 1,084 790 3,623 Arintap 7 99433
95.02.19 Tarup 470 1,235 1,130 3,064 Tarup 7 99434
95.02.18 Awinbon 872 517 730 1,177 Awinbon 5 99431
95.02.01 Oksibil 248 4,087 6,410 6,949 Mabilabol 8 99415
95.02.09 Pepera 196 1,173 1,560 2,756 Pepera 7 99417
95.02.11 Alemsom 476 2,021 3,070 4,342 Alemsom 12 99411
95.02.15 Serambakon 265 1,935 3,900 3,166 Wanbakon 8 99418
95.02.13 Kalomdol 124 1,185 2,030 2,505 Dabolding 5 99412
95.02.14 Oksop 317 1,948 2,170 3,367 Oksop 5 99416
95.02.24 Oksebang 22 611 670 1,163 Kubiphkop 4 99427
95.02.12 Okbape 246 799 1,210 3,028 Bape 6 99414
95.02.16 Ok Aom 133 1,222 1,310 2,101 Bulankop 6 99413
95.02.06 Borme 602 2,845 5,920 7,450 Borme 13 99452
95.02.10 Bime 726 3,922 6,910 6,924 Turwe 10 99451
95.02.32 Eipumek 306 4,071 2,070 5,004 Eipumek 14 99453
95.02.27 Weime 261 2,529 1,340 3,224 Weime 9 99446
95.02.33 Pamek 204 1,876 1,430 3,999 Pamek 11 99454
95.02.34 Nongme 526 2,042 1,020 1,588 Nongme 7 99445
95.02.26 Batani 833 1,401 1,330 2,041 Batani 7 99441
95.02.03 Okbibab 237 1,918 3,640 3,723 Abmisibil 12 99403
95.02.08 Aboy 1,054 975 1,180 3,053 Aboy 7 99401
95.02.25 Okbab 617 3,390 4,210 7,685 Borban 12 99403
95.02.31 Teiraplu 1,469 1,356 2,020 2,430 Teiraplu 10 99405
95.02.30 Jetfa 330 611 870 2,401 Yefta 6 99402
95.02.02 Kiwirok 254 2,679 3,020 3,988 Polobakon 12 99421
95.02.07 Kiwirok Timur
(East Kiwirok)
404 1,942 2,430 3,239 Okyop 9 99422
95.02.20 Okhika 91 1,318 1,690 2,335 Okelwel 4 99424
95.02.22 Oklip 46 1,640 2,110 2,234 Oklip 7 99425
95.02.21 Oksamol 267 2,322 2,740 3,139 Tinibil 12 99426
95.02.04 Batom 476 4,144 4,050 3,785 Batom 11 99442
95.02.28 Murkim 359 675 810 1,263 Bias 4 99444
95.02.19 Mofinop 811 1,128 1,010 1,516 Mot 5 99443
95.02.23 Okbemtau 769 2,554 1,580 2,437 Okngam 9 99423
Totals 15,683 65,434 77,872 114,581 Oksibil 277

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".

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2025, Kabupaten Pegunungan Bintang Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.9502)
  2. ^ a b Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011.
  3. ^ a b Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021.
  4. ^ "Bintang Mountains Regency", papua.us (in indonesian). Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  5. ^ "BIG dan Pegunungan Bintang Tandatangani NK untuk Menunjang Konservasi Ekosistem". BIG (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  6. ^ "Kabupaten Pegunungan Bintang | BPK Perwakilan Provinsi Papua" (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  7. ^ "Tentang Pegunungan Bintang". Pemerintah Kabupaten Pegunungan Bintang (in Indonesian). 2022-11-09. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  8. ^ Eberhard, David M.; Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D., eds. (2019). "Indonesia languages". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (22nd ed.). Dallas: SIL International.
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