Districts of Papua New Guinea

I added areas and updated capitals using source [13] (see Provinces of Papua New Guinea).

The 2011 census shows 87 districts in Papua New Guinea.

DistrictHASCPop-2000Pop-2011Area(km.²)Capital
AbauPG.CE.AB38,37855,5697,124Abau
Aitape-LumiPG.SA.AL53,38272,3195,689Aitape
AlotauPG.MB.AL74,64499,5397,835Alotau, Rabaraba
Ambunti-DreikikirPG.ES.AT55,39771,49110,784Ambunti
Anglimp-South WaghiPG.JI.SW96,570194,1091,970Minj
AngoramPG.ES.AN68,79698,13517,546Angoram
BogiaPG.MD.BG57,10475,0673,978Bogia
BuloloPG.MR.BL77,232101,5687,180Bulolo
Central BougainvillePG.NS.KI41,48558,6602,592Arawa, Kieta
ChuavePG.CH.CH36,07439,021550Chuave
DauloPG.EH.DA30,96045,783625Asaro
DeiPG.WL.DE49,76781,016576Dei
Esa'alaPG.MB.EA42,64454,4672,322Esa'ala
FinschhafenPG.MR.FI45,28754,6722,642Gagidu
GazellePG.EN.GZ89,776129,3173,700Keravat
GoilalaPG.CE.GL27,34536,0927,587Tapini
GorokaPG.EH.GK71,870103,396296Goroka
GuminePG.CH.GM35,97656,860708Gumine
HenganofiPG.EH.HE55,76862,904941Henganofi
HuonPG.MR.HG59,52377,5647,401Salamaua
Ialibu-PangiaPG.SL.IP50,79963,4782,412Ialibu
IjivitariPG.NO.PP67,97599,76212,709Ijivitari
ImbongguPG.SL.IB60,08680,9941,032Imbonggu
JimiPG.JI.JI37,38571,3792,375Tabibuga
KabwumPG.MR.KW41,88343,4722,778Kabwum
Kagua-EravePG.SL.KG54,51574,1393,497Kagua
KainantuPG.EH.KA91,771126,248989Kainantu
Kairuku-HiriPG.CE.KH78,784121,58610,215Bereina, Konedobu
KandepPG.EG.KD47,40073,1022,001Kandep
Kandrian-GloucesterPG.WN.KG55,71674,26512,499Kandrian
Karimui-NomanePG.CH.KM36,33452,1593,474Karimui
KaviengPG.NI.KV53,42183,1622,983Kavieng
KeremaPG.GU.KM65,498107,2317,318Malalaua, Kerema
KerowagiPG.CH.KG54,85093,107547Kerowagi
KikoriPG.GU.KK41,40050,96627,154Kikori
Kiriwina-GoodenoughPG.MB.KG49,96663,9161,107Kiriwina
KokopoPG.EN.KO58,34587,829408Kokopo
Komo-MagarimaPG.HE.KM64,16296,1533,928Magarima
Kompiam-AmbumPG.EG.KM44,33254,6242,963Kompiam
Koroba-Lake KopiagoPG.HE.KR69,57573,8555,272Kopiago
Kundiawa-GemboglPG.CH.KD58,45478,521475Kundiawa
LaePG.MR.LA119,178148,934Lae
Lagaip-PorgeraPG.EG.LP91,002158,8734,608Lagaip, Porgera
LufaPG.EH.LF45,86861,0571,358Lufa
MadangPG.MD.MG86,693110,9782,565Madang
ManusPG.MN.MN43,38760,4852,000Lorengau
MaprikPG.ES.MP57,80672,2351,097Maprik
MarkhamPG.MR.KP49,36962,4954,311Kaiapit
Mendi-MunihuPG.SL.MD96,413144,6291,354Mendi
MenyamyaPG.MR.MY68,54687,2093,729Menyamya
Middle FlyPG.WE.BM55,85379,34944,479Balimo
Middle RamuPG.MD.MR57,87978,8927,222Simbai
Mount HagenPG.WL.HC86,951123,299523Mount Hagen
Mul-BaiyerPG.WL.MB56,68683,0361,376Baiyer
NamatanaiPG.NI.NA64,929110,9056,574Namatanai
National Capital DistrictPG.NC.NC254,158364,125240Port Moresby
NawaePG.MR.NW35,05944,5563,129Boana
Nipa-KutubuPG.SL.NI98,505147,0056,794Nipa
North BougainvillePG.NS.BK73,091109,0233,007Buka
North FlyPG.WE.KI50,91462,85021,846Kiunga
North WaghiPG.JI.NW51,84378,499453Banz
NukuPG.SA.NU46,02158,1583,503Nuku
Obura-WonenaraPG.EH.OW29,68839,9193,916Aiyuiri
OkapaPG.EH.OK62,04173,3932,110Okapa
PomioPG.EN.PM44,96471,83611,071Pomio
RabaulPG.EN.RL27,04839,38795Rabaul
Rai CoastPG.MD.RC56,29983,2185,433Rai Coast
RigoPG.CE.RG39,47656,5095,072Kwikila
Samarai-MuruaPG.MB.SA43,15858,5903,081Bwagaoia
Sina Sina-YonggomuglPG.CH.SN38,01556,805358Yonggomugl
SohePG.NO.KK65,09086,54710,026Sohe
South BougainvillePG.NS.BN60,58481,6753,785Buin
South FlyPG.WE.DA46,53759,15231,864Daru
SumkarPG.MD.KA67,05284,9442,001Karkar
TalaseaPG.WN.TL128,792189,9997,888Kimbe
Tambul-NebilyerPG.WL.TR60,82375,4991,824Nebilyer
Tari-PoriPG.HE.TA52,21079,4411,298Tari
TelefominPG.SA.TE35,58748,88216,333Telefomin
Tewae-SiassiPG.MR.SS43,32754,3402,535Sialum
Unggai-BenaPG.EH.UB45,00667,125922Bena
Usino-BundiPG.MD.UB40,07960,8077,687Usino
Vanimo-Green RiverPG.SA.VA50,75169,05210,295Vanimo
WabagPG.EG.WB58,75073,6491,090Wabag
WapenamandaPG.EG.WP53,54771,7971,042Wapenamanda
WewakPG.ES.WE63,96587,7612,284Wewak
Wosera-GawiPG.ES.WG49,40862,0309,055Wosera
Yangoru-SaussiaPG.ES.YS47,80958,8782,660Yangoru

Change history:

Sorin Cosoveanu provided a document copied around 2003 (by his son) from a government website which has since vanished. It gives populations (as of an unspecified date), areas, capitals, and division into districts. As it turns out, the Pacific Island Travel  website (retrieved 2010-01-13) has identical information. There are links to pages for each province. The total population is close to the 1990 census total. We have to assume that the list of districts is current as of roughly 1990-1993. Here is the list of 104 districts derived from that source.

DistrictHASCPopulationCapital
AbauPG.CE.AB31,088Kupiano
AforePG.NO.AF10,348
AitapePG.SA.AI24,750
AlotauPG.MB.AL26,789
AmanabPG.SA.AM21,848
AmbuntiPG.ES.AT31,223
AngoramPG.ES.AN48,394
BaimuruPG.GU.BR7,109
BalimoPG.WE.BM25,867
BiallaPG.WN.BL25,720
BogiaPG.MD.BG51,468
BoluboluPG.MB.BB24,511
BuinPG.NS.BN45,048
BukaPG.NS.BK50,713Buka Passage
ChuavePG.CH.CH31,241
DaruPG.WE.DA23,302
Esa'alaPG.MB.EA24,738
FinschhafenPG.MR.FI47,177
GarainaPG.MR.GR7,541
GemboglPG.CH.GB17,048
GloucesterPG.WN.GC12,009
GoilalaPG.CE.GL22,073Tapini
GorokaPG.EH.GK98,790
GuminePG.CH.GM32,858
Hagen CentralPG.WH.HC108,629Mount Hagen
Hagen NorthPG.WH.HN86,134Muglamp
HenganofiPG.EH.HE37,671
HiriPG.CE.HI28,731Konedobu, NCD
HuonPG.MR.HU149,591Lae
IalibuPG.SH.IA30,093
IhuPG.GU.IH9,739
IomaPG.NO.IO7,781
JimiPG.WH.JI33,354Tabibuga
KabwumPG.MR.KW38,685
KaguaPG.SH.KG45,496
KaiapitPG.MR.KP36,207Mutzing
KainantuPG.EH.KA80,838
KaintibaPG.GU.KB14,654
KairukuPG.CE.KA29,548Bereina
KandepPG.EG.KD41,961
KandrianPG.WN.KD21,630
KarimuiPG.CH.KM12,204
KarkarPG.MD.KA29,296
KaviengPG.NI.KV23,937
KeremaPG.GU.KM7,891
KerowagiPG.CH.KG36,251
KietaPG.NS.KI58,239
KikoriPG.GU.KK9,430
KiraPG.NO.KR2,359
KimbePG.WN.KB70,305
KiungaPG.WE.KI22,032
KokodaPG.NO.KK11,966
KokopoPG.EN.KO46,696
KompiamPG.EG.KM22,852
KonosPG.NI.KN13,508
KorobaPG.SH.KR40,108
KundiawaPG.CH.KD36,537
LagaipPG.EG.LG50,973Laiagam
LihirPG.NI.LH6,805Potzlaka
LosuiaPG.MB.LS26,607
LufaPG.EH.LF30,485
LumiPG.SA.LM28,162
MadangPG.MD.MG87,700
MalalauaPG.GU.ML19,787
ManusPG.MN.MN32,713Lorengau
MaprikPG.ES.MP111,302
MarawakaPG.EH.MK11,814
MendiPG.SH.MD57,102
MenyamyaPG.MR.MY41,711
Middle RamuPG.MD.MR33,097Aiome
MisimaPG.MB.MS20,706Bwagaoia
MoreheadPG.WE.MH7,861
MumengPG.MR.MM16,703
Mussau EmiraPG.NI.ME3,234Palakau
NamatanaiPG.NI.NA26,925
National Capital DistrictPG.NC.NC188,089Waigani
New HanoverPG.NI.NH12,332Taskul
NipaPG.SH.NI65,453
NomadPG.WE.NO15,083
NukuPG.SA.NU25,583
OkapaPG.EH.OK38,904
PangiaPG.SH.PA24,459
PomioPG.EN.PM28,870
PopondettaPG.NO.PP53,510
PorgeraPG.EG.PR16,385
RabarabaPG.MB.RR20,996
RabaulPG.EN.RL108,798
Rai CoastPG.MD.RC23,237Saidor
RigoPG.CE.RG29,407Kwikila
SamaraiPG.MB.SA14,137
SiassiPG.MR.SS10,103Semo
SinasinaPG.CH.SN17,510Kamtai
TabubilPG.WE.TB9,403
TariPG.SH.TA54,276
TambulPG.WH.TR28,374
TelefominPG.SA.TE21,319
TufiPG.NO.TU10,354
Upper RamuPG.MD.UR27,613Walium
VanimoPG.SA.VA17,349
WabagPG.EG.WB59,698
WaghiPG.WH.WH79,101Minj
WapenamandaPG.EG.WP43,364
WauPG.MR.WA30,038
WewakPG.ES.WE62,895

 

I haven't been able to find definite information about district changes between 1990 and the present. Some changes can be inferred by comparing the 1990 list with the 2010 list, with the help of a map. These are my inferences, province by province.

  1. Bougainville: apparently there were only renamings: Buin became South Bougainville, Buka became North Bougainville, and Kieta became Central Bougainville.
  2. Central: Hiri and Kairuku districts merged to form Kairuku-Hiri.
  3. Chimbu: Gembogl and Kundiawa districts merged to form Kundiawa-Gembogl. Names of Karimui and Sinasina changed to Karimui-Nomane and Sina Sina-Yonggomugl, respectively.
  4. Eastern Highlands: The situation is unclear. Marawaka district disappeared, and Daulo, Obura-Wonenara, and Unggai-Benna districts were created. Geography suggests that Obura-Wonenara may just be a new name for Marawaka. Population suggests that something was split from Goroka, and geography suggests that it was Daulo.
  5. East New Britain: Gazelle district split from something, probably Rabaul.
  6. East Sepik: Wosera-Gawi and Yangoru-Saussia districts created. Its location suggests that Yangoru-Saussia was split from either Maprik or Wewak. Name of Ambunti changed to Ambunti-Dreikikir.
  7. Enga: Lagaip and Porgera districts merged to form Lagaip-Porgera.
  8. Gulf: Baimuru, Ihu, Kaintiba, and Malalaua districts disappeared, presumably by merging with one of the remaining districts. Geography suggests that Ihu, Kaintiba, and Malalaua merged with Kerema. Baimuru could have merged with either one. If population balance was a goal, however, Baimuru and Ihu could both have merged with Kikori.
  9. Madang: Karkar and Upper Ramu districts disappeared, and Sumkar and Usino-Bundi districts were created. Since Usino and Bundi are in the upper reaches of the Ramu River, it's a good bet that Upper Ramu was renamed Usino-Bundi. It's also possible that Karkar was renamed Sumkar.
  10. Milne Bay: Bolubolu, Losuia, Misima, and Rabaraba districts disappeared, and Kiriwina-Goodenough district was created. Since Losuia is on Kiriwina Island in the Trobriand group and Bolubolu is on Goodenough Island in the D'Entrecasteaux group, it's likely that Bolubolu and Losuia merged to form Kiriwina-Goodenough. Based on population and proximity, Rabaraba probably merged with Alotau. Similar factors point toward Misima merging with Samarai to form Samarai-Murua.
  11. Morobe: Garaina, Kaiapit, Mumeng, and Wau districts disappeared, and Bulolo, Lae, Markham, and Nawae districts were created. Probably Lae was split from Huon. Judging by population and location, Garaina, Mumeng, and Wau may have merged to form Bulolo. Since Kaiapit is the capital of Markham, that was probably a renaming. Nawae could have been split from Finschhafen, Huon, Kaiapit, or Mumeng.
  12. New Ireland: Konos, Lihir, Mussau Emira, and New Hanover districts disappeared. Based on geography, Mussau Emira and New Hanover probably merged with Kavieng. Lihir probably merged with Namatanai. Konos is about halfway between Kavieng and Namatanai, and could have merged with either one.
  13. Northern: all of the districts - Afore, Ioma, Kokoda, Kira, Popondetta, and Tufi - disappeared, and Sohe and Ijivitari were created. Considering their capitals, Sohe undoubtedly was the successor to Kokoda, and Ijivitari to Popondetta. Judging by populations, the other four districts might all have merged with Sohe.
  14. Sandaun: Aitape and Lumi districts merged to form Aitape-Lumi. Almost certainly Amanab and Vanimo merged to form Vanimo-Green River.
  15. Southern Highlands: Ialibu and Pangia districts merged to form Ialibu-Pangia. Names of Kagua, Koroba, Mendi, Nipa, and Tari districts were extended by hyphenation. What remains to be explained is the appearance of Imbonggu and Komo-Magarima districts. I have no helpful information about Imbonggu. Komo-Magarima could have been split from Nipa, Tari, or both.
  16. Western Highlands: Hagen Central, Hagen North, and Waghi districts disappeared, and Anglimp-South Waghi, Dei, Mount Hagen, Mul-Baiyer, and North Waghi districts were created. Some districts must have been merged and others split, so any detailed description must be highly conjectural. Waghi district was presumably split into two parts, which became North Waghi and part of Anglimp-South Waghi. Hagen Central and Hagen North were redistributed in some way, so that part of Hagen Central became Mount Hagen. Another part of Hagen Central may have merged with Tambul to form Tambul-Nebilyer. Jimi district probably remained unchanged. Beyond that it would be rash to speculate.
  17. Western: all of the districts - Balimo, Daru, Kiunga, Morehead, Nomad, and Tabubil - disappeared, and Middle Fly, North Fly, and South Fly were created. Based on geography, Kiunga and Tabubil must have merged to form North Fly; Balimo and Nomad merged to form Middle Fly; and Daru and Morehead merged to form South Fly.
  18. West New Britain: probably Bialla and Kimbe districts merged to form Talasea; Gloucester and Kandrian districts merged to form Kandrian-Gloucester.

Other names of subdivisions:

  1. Ambunti-Dreikikir: Ambunti-Drekikier, Ambunti-Drekikir (variant)
  2. Anglimp-South Waghi: Angalimp-South Wahgi (variant)
  3. Daulo: Asaro-Watabung (variant)
  4. Finschhafen: Finschafen, Finschhafan (variant)
  5. Huon: Huon-Gulf (variant)
  6. Ialibu-Pangia: Kewabi Rural (variant)
  7. Kandrian-Gloucester: Kandrian (variant)
  8. Karimui-Nomane: Karamui-Nomane (variant)
  9. Kiriwina-Goodenough: Kiriwini-Goodenough (variant)
  10. Komo-Magarima: Komo-Margarima (variant)
  11. Kompiam-Ambum: Kompiam (variant)
  12. Koroba-Lake Kopiago: Koroba-Kopiago (variant)
  13. Mendi-Munihu: Mendi (variant)
  14. Mount Hagen: Hagen (variant)
  15. North Waghi: North Wahgi (variant)
  16. Sina Sina-Yonggomugl: Sinssina-Yonggamugi (variant)
  17. Tari-Pori: Tari-Pari (variant)
  18. Tewae-Siassi: Tawae-Siassi, Tewai-Siassi (variant)
  19. Unggai-Benna: Unggai-Beni (variant)
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