| Provincial-level divisions of Papua New Guinea | |
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| Category | Unitary state |
| Location | Independent State of Papua New Guinea |
| Number | 22 provincial-level divisions: 20 Provinces 1 Autonomous Region 1 National Capital District |
| Populations | Provinces only: Smallest: 50,231 (Manus) Largest: 674,810 (Morobe) |
| Areas | Provinces only: Smallest: 2,100 km2 (800 sq mi) (Manus) Largest: 98,190 km2 (37,911 sq mi) (Fly River) |
| Subdivisions |
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 New Guinea portal |
For administrative purposes, Papua New Guinea is divided into administrative divisions called provinces. There are 22 provincial-level divisions, which include 20 provinces, the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, and the National Capital District of Port Moresby.
In 2009, the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea created two additional provinces, that officially came into being on 17 May 2012.[1] They were Hela Province, which was split from Southern Highlands Province, and Jiwaka Province, which was split from Western Highlands Province.[2]
Each province forms a provincial electorate, called a constituency, for the PNG national parliament. The 22 provincial members are chosen from single-member electorates. Each provincial member becomes governor of their province unless they take a ministerial position, in which case the governorship passes to an open member of the province.[3]
- ^ "PNG’S new province Hela, Jiwaka declared" Archived 24 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine, The National, 17 May 2012
- ^ Post-Courier, "Jiwaka, Hela set to go!" 15 July 2009 Archived 16 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "About Our Parliament". National Parliament of Papua New Guinea.