New Guinea is the world’s second-largest island located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The island is separated from Australia by the Torres Strait, though both landmasses lie on the same continental shelf. Numerous smaller islands are located to the west and east.

The eastern half of the island is the major land mass of the independent state of Papua New Guinea.  Included are the Trobriand Islands, an archipelago of coral atolls off the east coast of New Guinea, which are part of the nation of Papua New Guinea and are in Milne Bay Province.

The western half, known as Western New Guinea, forms a part of Indonesia and is organized as the provinces of Papua, Central Papua, Highland Papua, South Papua, and West Papua. The largest cities on the island are Jayapura (capital of Papua, Indonesia) and Port Moresby (capital of Papua New Guinea).  The name Papua was used to refer to parts of the island before contact with the West, however its etymology is unclear.