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Overview
BACKGROUND
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 are Kiunga, Ningerum, Olsobip and Balimo.
The province covers 99,300 km² making it the largest province in Papua New Guinea by area.
There are several large rivers that run through the province, including the Fly River and its tributaries the Strickland and Ok Tedi rivers. The largest lake in Papua New Guinea, Lake Murray, is also in Western Province.2 The 2021 estimates of the National Statistics Office put its total population at 315,273 individuals (163,258 males and 152,015 females).