西巴布亚为新几内亚岛（或称伊里安岛）的西部，分为印度尼西亚的巴布亚省和西巴布亚省。

西巴布亚原是属于荷兰的殖民地。1959年，经过选举于1961年4月5日宣布独立，1962年8月15日，印度尼西亚军队在苏联支持下入侵，在美国的压力下，荷兰宣布将西新几内亚交给联合国托管，这里成为美国和苏联的角斗场，到1963年5月1日，印度尼西亚正式接管，改名为“西伊里安”，苏哈托下台后，2001年，通过法律，西巴布亚获得“特殊自治权”。

Western New Guinea or West Papua is part of Indonesia consisting of the western half of the island of New Guinea and smaller islands to its west. The region is administered as two provinces: Papua and West Papua. The eastern half of New Guinea is the country of Papua New Guinea. The population of approximately 3.6 million comprises ethnic Papuans, Melanesians, and Austronesians. The region is predominantly dense forest where numerous traditional tribes live such as the Dani of the Baliem Valley, although the majority of the population live in or near coastal areas. The largest city in the region is Jayapura. The official and most commonly spoken language is Indonesian. Estimates of the number of tribal languages in the region range from 200 to over 700, with the most widely spoken including Dani, Yali, Ekari and Biak. The predominant religion is Christianity (often combined with traditional beliefs) followed by Islam. The main industries include agriculture, fishing, oil production, and mining.