Papua New Guinea is divided into four regions, which are its broadest

administrative divisions Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. While the 22 provincial-level divisions are the primary administrative divisions of PNG, the regions are quite significant in daily life, as they are often the basis for organisation of government services (such as police), corporate operations, sporting competitions, and even the machinations of politics.

Overview

For instance, there has been much discussion over the years of how many prime ministers have come from each region, and whether a particular region is due to provide the next one. Ministers and departmental heads are often appointed with an eye to maintaining an overall balance between the regions.

Regions

People generally identify quite strongly with their region, and inter-region rivalries can be intense. There are four regions, each of which comprises a number of provinces: *

Highlands Region Highlands Region is one of four regions of Papua New Guinea. Subdivision The Region is administratively divided into seven provinces: * Chimbu (Simbu) *Eastern Highlands * Enga *Hela * Jiwaka * Southern Highlands * Western Highlands See also * ...

: Chimbu (Simbu),

Eastern Highlands :''"Eastern Highlands" also refers to Eastern Highlands Province in Papua New Guinea, and part of the Great Dividing Range, Australia.'' The Eastern Highlands, also known as the Manica Highlands, is a mountain range on the border of Zimbabw ...

, Enga,

Hela HeLa (; also Hela or hela) is an immortalized cell line used in scientific research. It is the oldest and most commonly used human cell line. The line is derived from cervical cancer cells taken on February 8, 1951, named after Henrietta ...

, Jiwaka, Southern Highlands, and Western Highlands. *

Islands Region The New Guinea Islands Region is one of four regions of Papua New Guinea (PNG), comprising the Bismarck Archipelago and north-western Solomon Islands Archipelago, located north-east of New Guinea island (the mainland). This is the least populo ...

: Bougainville (North Solomons),

East New Britain East New Britain is a province of Papua New Guinea, consisting of the north-eastern part of the island of New Britain and the Duke of York Islands. The capital of the province is Kokopo, not far from the old capital of Rabaul, which was largely des ...

, Manus, New Ireland, and

West New Britain West New Britain is a province of Papua New Guinea on the islands of New Britain. The provincial capital is Kimbe. The area of the province is 20,387 km² with a population of 264,264 as of the 2011 census. The province's only land border is ...

. *

Momase Region Momase Region is one of four regions of Papua New Guinea. Its largest city is Lae, the second city of the nation. The name Momase is a portmanteau of the constituent provinces, Morobe, Madang and Sepik (East and West). Momase is by far the most li ...

: East Sepik,

Madang Madang (old German name: ''Friedrich-Wilhelmshafen'') is the capital of Madang Province and is a town with a population of 27,420 (in 2005) on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. It was first settled by the Germans in the 19th century. Histo ...

, Morobe, and Sandaun (West Sepik). * Southern Region:

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...

Milne Bay Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, south-eastern Papua New Guinea. More than long and over wide, Milne Bay is a sheltered deep-water harbor accessible via Ward Hunt Strait. It is surrounded by the heavily wooded Stirling Range to th ...

, Oro (Northern), and Western (Fly River). ''Momase'' is a recently devised

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsMorobe'', ''

'', and ''

Sepik The Sepik () is the longest river on the island of New Guinea, and the second largest in Oceania by discharge volume after the Fly River. The majority of the river flows through the Papua New Guinea (PNG) provinces of Sandaun (formerly West Se ...

''.