Western Highlands is a province of Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...

. The provincial capital is Mount Hagen

Mount Hagen

Mount Hagen is third largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is the capital of the Western Highlands Province and is located in the large fertile Wahgi Valley in central mainland Papua New Guinea, at an elevation of ....

. The province covers an area of 8,500 km², and there are 440,025 inhabitants (2000 census), making the Western Highlands one of the most densely populated provinces. Tea

Tea

Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...

 and coffee

Coffee

Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...

 are grown in the Western Highlands. Mount Wilhelm

Mount Wilhelm

Mount Wilhelm is the highest mountain in Papua New Guinea at . It is part of the Bismarck Range and the peak is the point where three provinces intersect, Simbu, Western Highlands and Madang...

, the tallest mountain in Papua New Guinea, is on the border of the Western Highlands.

Split to create Jiwaka Province

In July 2009, Parliament passed legislation to create two new provinces by 2012. One of these is to be created by removing Jimi District

Jimi District

Jimi District is a district of the Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Tabibuga. The population of the district was 37,479 at the 2000 census....

, North Waghi District

North Waghi District

North Waghi District is a district of the Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Banz. The population of the district was 51,282 at the 2000 census....

, and the South Waghi part of Anglimp-South Waghi District

Anglimp-South Waghi District

Anglimp-South Waghi District is a district of the Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Minj. The population of the district was 96,413 at the 2000 census....

 from the Western Highlands Province to form the new Jiwaka Province. "Jiwaka" is a portanteau word combining the first two letters each of Jimi, Waghi and Kambia.

Economy

The Western Highlands economy is primarily based on coffee. Coffee is grown on plantations and small-holder blocks. They are picked, dried and processed for export. In addition, tea is also a major crop grown and processed, but in plantations by Wr Carpenters & Company Limited for local consumption and export. Apart from these, vegetables are grown for the domestic market, and sold mainly to markets Lae and Port Moresby.

Districts and LLGs

There are seven districts

Districts and LLGs of Papua New Guinea

||This page is a list of districts and Local-Level Government areas of Papua New Guinea.On the highest level, Papua New Guinea is divided into four Regions. Below, Papua New Guinea has 20 province-level divisions: 18 integrated provinces, the autonomous province of North Solomons and the National...

 in the province. Each district has one or more Local Level Government (LLG) areas. For census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

 purposes, the LLG areas are subdivided into wards and those into census units.

District	District Capital	LLG Name
Anglimp-South Waghi District Anglimp-South Waghi District Anglimp-South Waghi District is a district of the Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Minj. The population of the district was 96,413 at the 2000 census....	Minj	Anglimp Rural
		South Waghi Rural
Dei District Dei District Dei District is a district of the Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Dei. The population of the district was 50,033 at the 2000 census....	Dei	Muglamp Rural
		Kotna Rural
Mount Hagen District Mount Hagen District Mount Hagen District is a district of the Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Mount Hagen. The population of the district was 86,517 at the 2000 census....	Mount Hagen Mount Hagen Mount Hagen is third largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is the capital of the Western Highlands Province and is located in the large fertile Wahgi Valley in central mainland Papua New Guinea, at an elevation of ....	Mount Hagen Rural
		Mount Hagen Urban
Mul-Baiyer District Mul-Baiyer District Mul-Baiyer District is a district of the Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Baiyer. The population of the district was 56,536 at the 2000 census....	Baiyer	Baiyer Rural
		Lumusa Rural
		Mul Rural
Jimi District Jimi District Jimi District is a district of the Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Tabibuga. The population of the district was 37,479 at the 2000 census....	Tabibuga	Jimi Rural
		Kol Rural
North Waghi District North Waghi District North Waghi District is a district of the Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Banz. The population of the district was 51,282 at the 2000 census....	Banz	North Waghi Rural
		Nondugl Rural
Tambul-Nebilyer District Tambul-Nebilyer District Tambul-Nebilyer District is a district of the Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Nebilyer. The population of the district was 60,825 at the 2000 census....	Nebilyer	Mount Giluwe Rural
		Nebilyer Rural

Members of the National Parliament

The province and each district is represented by a Member of the National Parliament

National Parliament of Papua New Guinea

The National Parliament of Papua New Guinea is the unicameral national legislature in Papua New Guinea. It was first created in 1964 as the House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea, but gained its current name with the granting of independence in 1975....

. There is one provincial electorate

Electoral district

An electoral district is a distinct territorial subdivision for holding a separate election for one or more seats in a legislative body...

 and each district is an open electorate. The following table lists Members before and after the 2007 general election

Results of the Papua New Guinean general election, 2007

Counting of the official results of the Papua New Guinean general election to elect members of the 2007–2012 National Parliament, held from 30 June 2007 to 14 July 2007, was largely completed by 6 August, the deadline for the return of writs. Counting in two seats was delayed for a further few days...

.

Electorate	Previous member (party)	2007 winner (party)
Western Highlands Provincial	Paias Wingti Paias Wingti Paias Wingti is a Papua New Guinean political figure. He served as the third Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea between 1985 and 1988, and again from 1992 to 1994.Wingti is a member of the Jika Tribe of the Western Highlands province...  (PDM People's Democratic Movement The People's Democratic Movement is a political party in Papua New Guinea.It was founded by Paias Wingti in 1985, after his faction left the Pangu Party. Wingti served as prime minister from 1985 to 1988 and from 1992 to 1994... )	Tom Olga Tom Olga Tom Olga is a Papua New Guinea politician. He has been the independent Governor of Western Highlands Province and the member for Western Highlands Provincial in the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea since July 2007....  (Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... )
Angalimp-South Wahgi Open	Jamie Maxtone-Graham (PCP PNG Country Party The PNG Country Party is the result of earlier political developments prior to the Independence of Papua New Guinea. There were attempts in 1964 to 1968 in formation of political parties... )	Jamie Maxtone-Graham (PCP PNG Country Party The PNG Country Party is the result of earlier political developments prior to the Independence of Papua New Guinea. There were attempts in 1964 to 1968 in formation of political parties... )
Baiyer-Mul Open	Kuri Kingal (PDM People's Democratic Movement The People's Democratic Movement is a political party in Papua New Guinea.It was founded by Paias Wingti in 1985, after his faction left the Pangu Party. Wingti served as prime minister from 1985 to 1988 and from 1992 to 1994... )	Sani Rambi Sani Rambi Sani Rambi is a Papua New Guinea politician. He has been a National Alliance member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea since July 2007, representing the Baiyer-Mul Open electorate. Rambi, a businessman from Mount Hagen, defeated People's Democratic Movement MP Kuri Kingal, who had been...  (NA National Alliance Party (Papua New Guinea) The National Alliance Party is a political party in Papua New Guinea. It was founded in 1995 by Bernard Narokobi, Moi Avei, Bart Philemon and Masket Iangalio, who invited Sir Michael Somare to lead them to the 1997 elections after he had been sacked as leader of the Pangu Party.National Alliance... )
Dei Open	Melchior Pep (RDP Rural Development Party The Rural Development Party is a political party in Papua New Guinea. The party won 4 out of 109 seats in the 2007 General Elections... )	Puri Ruing Puri Ruing Puri Ruing is a Papua New Guinea politician. He has been a Papua New Guinea Party member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea since July 2007, representing the electorate of Dei Open. He previously represented the electorate from 1997 to 2002....  (PNGP)
Hagen Open	William Duma (URP United Resources Party The United Resources Party is a political party in Papua New Guinea. The party won 5 out of 109 seats in the 2007 General Elections... )	William Duma (URP United Resources Party The United Resources Party is a political party in Papua New Guinea. The party won 5 out of 109 seats in the 2007 General Elections... )
Jimi Open	Francis Kunai (PNP)	Waka Goi Waka Goi Wake Goi is a Papua New Guinea politician. He has been a Papua New Guinea Party member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea since July 2007, representing the Jimi Open electorate...  (PNGP)
North Wahgi Open	Michael Kal (PNP)	Benjamin Mul Benjamin Mul Benjamin Ngents Mul is a Papua New Guinea politician. He has been a Papua New Guinea Party member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea since July 2007, representing the electorate of North Wahgi Open....  (PNGP)
Tambul-Nebilyer Open	Mark Anis (PDM People's Democratic Movement The People's Democratic Movement is a political party in Papua New Guinea.It was founded by Paias Wingti in 1985, after his faction left the Pangu Party. Wingti served as prime minister from 1985 to 1988 and from 1992 to 1994... )	Benjamin Poponawa Benjamin Poponawa Benjamin Poponawa is a Papua New Guinea politician. He has been a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea since July 2007, representing the electorate of Tambul-Nebilyer Open...  (elected as Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...  then joined NA National Alliance Party (Papua New Guinea) The National Alliance Party is a political party in Papua New Guinea. It was founded in 1995 by Bernard Narokobi, Moi Avei, Bart Philemon and Masket Iangalio, who invited Sir Michael Somare to lead them to the 1997 elections after he had been sacked as leader of the Pangu Party.National Alliance... )