Pegunungan Bintang Regency or Bintang Mountains Regency is a regency in the Indonesian province of Highland Papua. It was created on 11 December 2002 from the north-eastern districts of Jayawijaya Regency. It covers an area of 15,683 km2, and had a population of 65,434 at the 2010 Census and 77,872 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2022 was 78,466 - comprising 42,362 males and 36,104 females. The administrative centre is the town of Oksibil.

Name

Pegunungan Bintang is the Indonesian name for the Star Mountains, a mountain range that is also shared by Papua New Guinea. Similarly, Star Mountains Rural LLG in Western Province, Papua New Guinea is also named after the same mountain range.

Geography

Pegunungan Bintang Regency, located in Papua Pegunungan Province, Indonesia, has very distinctive geographical characteristics and is influenced by mountainous topography. This regency is part of the Maoke Mountains that stretch across the Papua region, so that most of its territory consists of mountainous areas with high peaks and deep valleys. This topography makes the Pegunungan Bintang area have rich biodiversity, thanks to the dense tropical forests that cover most of its territory. The tropical rainforests in this area not only function as ecosystem buffers but also as providers of natural resources. In addition, Pegunungan Bintang Regency has a number of rivers, especially the Digoel River and lakes, most of which flow south towards the Arafura Sea.The rivers in this area tend to have a fast flow due to the steep slopes of the mountains. The climate in this area is a tropical climate with relatively stable temperatures throughout the year and high rainfall, which supports the growth of lush vegetation. The mountainous and difficult-to-reach geographical conditions affect the transportation infrastructure in this regency, which is generally limited. Roads often become inaccessible during the rainy season, so air transportation is one of the main options for connecting this area to other regions. These overall geographical conditions influence various aspects of life in the Bintang Mountains, including the economy, infrastructure and way of life of the local people.

Border Area

Astronomically, Pegunungan Bintang Regency is located between 3°04'00” – 5°20'00” South Latitude and 140°05'00” – 141°00'00” East Longitude. While geographically, Pegunungan Bintang Regency borders Keerom Regency and Jayapura Regency to the north, Boven Digoel Regency to the south, Yahukimo Regency to the west and Papua New Guinea to the east.

Languages

The Yetfa and Murkim languages are spoken in the eponymous Yetfa and Murkim districts. Other indigenous Papuan languages of Pegunungan Bintang Regency are Lepki (Lepki-Murkim family), Kimki (isolate), Towei (Pauwasi), Emem (Pauwasi), and Burumakok (Ok, Trans-New Guinea).

Administrative Districts

The Bintang Mountains Regency comprises thirty-four districts (distrik), tabulated below with their current areas and their populations within those current areas at the 2010 Census and 2020 Census, together with the official estimates as at mid 2022. The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of administrative villages (kampung) in each district, and its post code. The number of districts increased dramatically prior to 2010, created by the division of the six original districts (whose names are given in bold above and are numbered from 95.02.01 to 95.02.06). The 28 new districts (numbered from 95.02.07 to 95.02.34) are shown as follows: