Southern Highlands has diversely more than eight groups of people. The Kutubu Bosavi are partly of the Huli tribes and coastal, they speak Hela and the Foe Faso languages. The Erave Samberigi people also are of coastal or Papuan descent and speak their own, Poroma, Nipa and Plato speak the Nongo-Naiko dialect as of the Mendi people but in a twist of tongue. The people surrounding Mt Giluwe and Ialibu speak the Umbu-Ungu dialect while Pangia and Kagua people speak their two different languages. The Imboungu and some Ialibu people speak Kewabi languages. This shows that there are more than eight major languages and 18-24 different tribes that live in SHP. Some tribes extend all the way to the newly formed Hela province, Enga, Western Highlands Province, Gulf Province, Simbu Province and the Western Provinces. SHP is quite uniquely diverse in tribes and people of both coastal and Highlands descent living with their varying cultures and traditions passed down from generations to generations.
Cultural regions The Southern Highlands province is divided into roughly three distinct geographic regions: • The West includes the Southern Highlands districts of Nipa, Mendi, Lai Valley, Imbogu (lower Mendi), Hela District of Magarima, Kutubu and part of Kendep (Enga Province). This region is primarily home to speakers of dialects of the
Anggal Heneng language. • The East includes the districts of Kagua, Ialibu, Pangia and Erave. This region is primarily home to speakers of the
Imbongu,
Kewa, and
Wiru languages. • The Lowlands stretch across the southern part of the Southern Highlands province from the volcanic peaks of
Mount Bosavi to include the oilfields of
Lake Kutubu, and includes the language groups of
Biami,
Foe, and
Fasu. ==Administrative subdivisions==