Autonomous Region of Bougainville in the context of "Solomon Islands"

For administrative purposes, Papua New Guinea is divided into administrative divisions called provinces. There are 22 provincial-level divisions, which include 20 provinces, the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, and the National Capital District of Port Moresby.

In 2009, the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea created two additional provinces, that officially came into being on 17 May 2012. They were Hela Province, which was split from Southern Highlands Province, and Jiwaka Province, which was split from Western Highlands Province.

8°00′S 159°00′E / 8.000°S 159.000°E / -8.000; 159.000

The Solomon Islands is an island group (archipelago) in the western South Pacific Ocean, north-east of Australia. The archipelago is in the Melanesian subregion and bioregion of Oceania and forms the eastern boundary of the Solomon Sea. The many islands of the archipelago are distributed across the sovereign states of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. The largest island in the archipelago is Bougainville Island, which is a part of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (currently a part of Papua New Guinea) along with Buka Island, the Nukumanu Islands, and a number of smaller nearby islands. Much of the remainder falls within the territory of Solomon Islands and include the atolls of Ontong Java, Sikaiana, the raised coral atolls of Bellona and Rennell, and the volcanic islands of Choiseul, Guadalcanal, Makira, Malaita, New Georgia, the Nggelas, Santa Isabel, and the Shortlands. The Santa Cruz Islands are not a part of the archipelago.

6°14′40″S 155°23′02″E / 6.24444°S 155.38389°E / -6.24444; 155.38389

Bougainville Island (/ˈbuːɡənvɪl/ , /ˈboʊɡənvɪl/ ; Tok Pisin: Bogenvil) is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, which is part of Papua New Guinea. Its land area is 9,300 km (3,600 sq mi). The highest point is Mount Balbi, on the main island, at 2,715 m (8,907 ft).

Buka Island is the second-largest island in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, in eastern Papua New Guinea. It is in Buka Rural LLG of North Bougainville District, with the Autonomous Region's and district's capital city of Buka on the island.

The island is separated by the narrow Buka Passage from the northwestern coast of Bougainville Island, and has an area of approximately 500 km (190 sq mi). Buka, Bougainville Island and the Tabar Islands and their surrounding waters are identified as being part of the Solomon Archipelago terrestrial ecoregion and marine ecoregion.

5°25′19″S 154°40′22″E / 5.42194°S 154.67278°E / -5.42194; 154.67278

Buka is a town located on the southern coast of Buka Island, in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, in eastern Papua New Guinea. It is administered under Buka Rural LLG. It is the capital of North Bougainville District and the interim capital of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville. It contains Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral.