 the autonomous region of bougainville, previously known as the north solomons province, is an autonomous region in papua new guinea. the largest island is bougainville island (also the largest of the solomon islands archipelago), and the province also includes buka island and assorted outlying islands including the carterets. the capital is temporarily buka, though it is expected that arawa will once again become the provincial capital. the population of the province is 249,358 (2011 census). bougainville island is ecologically and geographically part of the solomon islands archipelago but not, politically, part of the nation of solomon islands. buka, bougainville, and most of the solomons are part of the solomon islands rain forests ecoregion. ==history==  the island was named after the french navigator louis antoine de bougainville (whose name has also been lent to the creeping tropical flowering vines of the genus bougainvillea). in 1885, it came under german administration as part of german new guinea. australia occupied it in 1914 during world war i and at the end of the war, as a [[league 
2000_in_Papua_New_Guinea Autonomous_Region_of_Bougainville Autonomous_regions Islands_Region_(Papua_New_Guinea) Melanesia Members_of_the_Unrepresented_Nations_and_Peoples_Organization Provinces_of_Papua_New_Guinea Secession_in_Papua_New_Guinea Solomon_Islands_(archipelago) States_and_territories_established_in_2000