It was split off from Merauke Regency (of which it had been a component part) on 12 November 2002.

Mappi Regency in 2010 comprised ten districts (distrik).

However, by 2015 the number of districts had been increased to fifteen; the five additional districts that had been created since 2010 were Bamgi, Passue Bawah, Syahcame, Ti Zain and Yakomi.

The districts are listed below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census[2] and that of 2020,[3] together with the official estimates as at mid 2023.

Note: (a) the 2010 populations of these areas were included in the figures for the original districts from which they were cut out.