Papua New Guinea (PNG) is administratively divided into provinces, districts and Local-Level Governments (LLGs). The country has 22 province-level divisions, consisting of 20 provinces, the Autonomous Region of Bougainville and the National Capital District. Each province is further divided into districts, while districts contain one or more LLGs.

The National Statistical Office recorded a national population of 10,185,363 people in the 2024 Census.

This guide provides a convenient list of Papua New Guinea districts, organized by province and broad region. It also includes basic administrative information such as the province, region, district centre and Local-Level Governments (LLGs) where government sources provide the information.

Papua New Guinea regions

Papua New Guinea is commonly grouped into four broad regions:

1. Southern Region
2. Highlands Region
3. Momase Region
4. New Guinea Islands Region

The regions are not the country’s primary administrative divisions, but they are widely used for government administration, business, development and other activities. (finance.gov.pg)

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1. Southern Region

The Southern Region includes Central, Gulf, Milne Bay, Northern (Oro), Western, Southern Highlands and the National Capital District.

Central Province

District	District centre	LLGs / administrative note
Abau	Kupiano	Amazon Bay, Aroma, Cloudy Bay
Goilala	Tapini	Guari, Tapini, Woitape
Rigo	Kwikila	Rigo Central, Rigo Coastal, Rigo Inland

The Department of Finance identifies Abau, Goilala and Rigo among Central Province’s districts and lists their district capitals and LLGs. (finance.gov.pg)

Note: Current Department of Finance material also lists Kairuku-Hiri in Central Province, whereas it does not appear in the supplied Parliament list. This is one of the administrative differences readers should be aware of. (finance.gov.pg)

Gulf Province

District	District centre	LLGs
Kerema	Kerema	Central Kerema, East Kerema, Kaintiba, Kerema Urban, Kotidanga, Lakekamu-Tauri
Kikori	Kikori	Baimuru, East Kikori, Ihu, West Kikori

Gulf Province is located along the southern coast of Papua New Guinea, with Kerema as its provincial capital. (finance.gov.pg)

Milne Bay Province

District	District centre	LLGs
Alotau	Rabaraba	7 LLGs
Esa’ala	Esa’ala	3 LLGs
Kiriwina-Goodenough	Losuia	2 LLGs
Samarai-Murua	Misima	4 LLGs

Milne Bay’s districts include Alotau, Kiriwina-Goodenough, Samarai-Murua and Esa’ala. (finance.gov.pg)

National Capital District

District	Basic description
Moresby North-East	Part of the National Capital District
Moresby North-West	Part of the National Capital District
Moresby South	Part of the National Capital District

The National Capital District is the country’s capital territory and includes Port Moresby.

Northern (Oro) Province

District	District centre
Ijivitari	Popondetta
Popondetta	Popondetta
Sohe	Kokoda

Government administrative information identifies Ijivitari, Popondetta and Sohe as districts in Northern/Oro Province. (finance.gov.pg)

Western Province

District	District centre	LLGs
Middle Fly	Balimo	5 LLGs
North Fly	Kiunga	5 LLGs
South Fly	Daru	4 LLGs

Western Province is also known as the Fly Province. The Department of Finance lists North Fly, Middle Fly and South Fly and provides their district centres and LLG structures. (finance.gov.pg)

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2. Highlands Region

The Highlands Region contains some of Papua New Guinea’s most heavily populated and agriculturally important areas. It includes the provinces of Chimbu, Eastern Highlands, Enga, Hela, Jiwaka, Southern Highlands and Western Highlands.

Chimbu (Simbu) Province

District	District centre
Chuave	Chuave
Gumine	Gumine
Karimui-Nomane	Karamui
Kerowagi	Kerowagi
Sinasina-Yonggomugl	Kamtai
Kundiawa-Gembogl	Kundiawa

The Department of Finance currently lists six districts in Chimbu/Simbu Province. (finance.gov.pg)

Note: The supplied Parliament list contains five of these names and does not include Kundiawa-Gembogl. It also spells Karimui-Nomane as “Karimui-Nomane,” while government material uses “Karamui Nomane.” (finance.gov.pg)

Eastern Highlands Province

District	District centre
Daulo	Daulo
Goroka	Goroka
Henganofi	Henganofi
Kainantu	Kainantu
Lufa	Lufa
Obura-Wonenara	Obura-Wonenara
Okapa	Okapa
Unggai-Bena	Unggai-Bena

Eastern Highlands is centred on Goroka and is known for its highland agricultural communities and cultural heritage. The Department of Finance maintains district and LLG information for the province. (finance.gov.pg)

Enga Province

District	District centre
Kandep	Kandep
Kompiam-Ambum	Kompiam
Lagaip-Porgera	Porgera
Wabag	Wabag

Hela Province

District	District centre
Koroba-Kopiago	Koroba
Magarima	Magarima
Tari-Pori	Tari
Komo-Hulia*	Komo

Hela became a separate province in 2012 after being separated from Southern Highlands Province. The Department of Finance currently lists Tari-Pori, Komo-Hulia, Koroba-Kopiago and Magarima. (finance.gov.pg)

*The supplied list gives “Komati”. Current Department of Finance material identifies the district as Komo-Hulia, so this name should be checked against the Parliament page before final publication. (finance.gov.pg)

Jiwaka Province

District	District centre
Anglimp-South Waghi	Minj
Jimi	Tabibuga
North Waghi	Banz

Jiwaka became a province in 2012 and consists of three districts. Government information gives Minj, Tabibuga and Banz as the respective district centres. (finance.gov.pg)

Southern Highlands Province

District	District centre
Ialibu-Pangia	Ialibu
Imbonggu	Imbonggu
Kagua-Erave	Kagua
Mendi-Munihu	Mendi
Nipa-Kutubu	Nipa

Southern Highlands is one of PNG’s major Highlands provinces and has important agricultural and energy resources. (finance.gov.pg)

Western Highlands Province

District	District centre
Dei	Dei
Hagen Central	Hagen
Mul-Baiyer	Baiyer
Tambul-Nebilyer	Nebilyer

The provincial capital of Western Highlands is Mount Hagen. Government information lists four districts in the province. (finance.gov.pg)

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3. Momase Region

The Momase Region consists of East Sepik, Madang, Morobe and West Sepik (Sandaun). The Department of Finance describes the region as comprising four provinces and 25 districts in its administrative structure. (finance.gov.pg)

East Sepik Province

District	District centre
Angoram	Angoram
Ambunti-Dreikikir	Ambunti
Maprik	Maprik
Wewak	Wewak

The Sepik River is one of the defining geographical features of East Sepik. Wewak is the provincial capital. (finance.gov.pg)

Administrative note: Current Department of Finance information also lists Yangoru-Saussia and Wosera-Gawi, which are not present in the supplied Parliament list. (finance.gov.pg)

Madang Province

District	District centre
Bogia	Bogia
Madang	Madang
Middle Ramu	Simbai
Rai Coast	Rai Coast
Sumkar	Karkar
Usino-Bundi	Usino

The Department of Finance lists six districts in Madang Province and provides their district centres and LLGs. (finance.gov.pg)

Note: The supplied list contains “Bogiadab”. Government administrative records use Bogia, so “Bogiadab” should be checked before publication. (finance.gov.pg)

Morobe Province

District	District centre
Bulolo	Bulolo
Finschhafen	Gagidu
Huon Gulf	Salamaua
Kabwum	Kabwum
Lae	Lae
Markham	Kaiapit
Menyamya	Menyamya
Nawae	Oana
Tewai-Siassi	Wasu

Morobe is one of Papua New Guinea’s major provinces and includes Lae, the country’s second-largest city and an important commercial and industrial centre. Government records list nine administrative districts. (finance.gov.pg)

West Sepik (Sandaun) Province

District	District centre
Aitape-Lumi	Aitape
Nuku	Nuku
Telefomin	Telefomin
Vanimo-Green River	Vanimo

West Sepik, officially West Sepik Province and also commonly known as Sandaun, occupies the north-western part of Papua New Guinea. Vanimo is the provincial capital. (finance.gov.pg)

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4. New Guinea Islands Region

The New Guinea Islands Region includes the island provinces of East New Britain, Manus, New Ireland, West New Britain and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.

East New Britain Province

District	District centre
Gazelle	Kerevat
Kokopo	Kokopo
Pomio	Pomio
Rabaul	Rabaul

Kokopo is the provincial capital of East New Britain. Government records provide district and LLG information for all four districts. (finance.gov.pg)

Manus Province

District	District centre
Manus / Lorengau	Lorengau

Manus is an island province centred on Manus Island. Lorengau is the provincial town and administrative centre. (finance.gov.pg)

New Ireland Province

District	District centre
Kavieng	Kavieng
Namatanai	Namatanai

Kavieng is the provincial capital, while Namatanai is an important administrative centre in the southern part of New Ireland. (finance.gov.pg)

West New Britain Province

District	District centre
Nakanai	—
Talasea	Talasea

West New Britain is located in the Bismarck Archipelago and is known for its volcanic landscapes, islands, forests and agricultural production.

Autonomous Region of Bougainville

District	Basic administrative area
Central Bougainville	Central Bougainville
North Bougainville	North Bougainville
South Bougainville	South Bougainville

Bougainville has a special autonomous status within Papua New Guinea and is therefore treated differently from the country’s ordinary provinces. The national Department of Finance nevertheless includes the Autonomous Region of Bougainville among PNG’s 22 province-level divisions. (finance.gov.pg)

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Quick Reference: District Variables

When comparing Papua New Guinea districts, the following variables are particularly useful:

Variable	What it tells you
District	Official or commonly used district name
Province	Province or province-level administration
Region	Southern, Highlands, Momase or New Guinea Islands
District centre	Main administrative centre
LLGs	Local-Level Governments within the district
Population	Number of residents
Area	Approximate land area
Population density	Population relative to land area
Main industries	Agriculture, mining, fisheries, forestry, services, etc.
Major towns	Important urban or commercial centres
Geographical features	Mountains, rivers, islands, coastline and other notable features

Population and other statistics

Population is an especially useful variable for comparing districts, but figures should be tied to a specific census year. Papua New Guinea’s National Statistical Office reports 10,185,363 people nationally in the 2024 Census and publishes population data by province.

For district-level population work, the NSO also publishes district projections and historical census datasets. For example, its population projection material provides annual district estimates and projections, including figures for districts such as South Fly, North Fly, Middle Fly, Kerema, Kikori and Abau.

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How Papua New Guinea’s Administrative System Works

Papua New Guinea’s administrative structure can be viewed as a hierarchy:

Country → Province/Province-level division → District → LLG → Ward → Census unit

Each district contains one or more Local-Level Government areas, while LLGs are further divided into wards and census units for census purposes.

This structure is important because a district is not simply a geographical name. District administrations are important for public service delivery, infrastructure, development programs, government finance and representation.

Why district information matters

A district-by-district directory can be useful for:

• Government and public administration
• Electoral research
• Population research
• Development planning
• Business and investment research
• Education and health planning
• Geographic and demographic studies
• Journalists and researchers
• Students studying Papua New Guinea
• People looking for information about particular districts

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Papua New Guinea is a diverse country made up of 22 province-level divisions, numerous districts and hundreds of Local-Level Governments. Its districts range from the densely populated Highlands and urban areas around Port Moresby and Lae to remote island, coastal, river and mountainous communities.

Understanding the districts provides a useful starting point for understanding Papua New Guinea’s geography, population, government administration and development landscape.