North Sumatra

North Sumatra Sumatera Utara
—  Province  —
Seal
Motto: Marsipature hutana be (Batak)
Location of North Sumatra in Indonesia
Coordinates: 2°00′N 99°00′E / 2°N 99°E / 2; 99Coordinates: 2°00′N 99°00′E / 2°N 99°E / 2; 99
Country	Indonesia
Capital	Medan
Government
– Governor	Gatot Pudjo Nugroho (acting)
Area
– Total	72,981.23 km2 (28,178.2 sq mi)
Population (2010)
– Total	13,712,660
– Density	187.9/km2 (486.6/sq mi)
Demographics
– Ethnic groups	Batak (41,95%), Javanese (32.62%) Nias/Kono Niha (6.36%), Malay (4,92%), Minangkabau (2,66%), Banjarese (0.97%), other (9,72%) [1]
– Religion	Islam (65.5%), Christianity (31.4%), Buddhism (2.8%), Hindu (0,2%)
– Languages	Malay, Batak, Angkola-Mandailing, Indonesian
Time zone	WIB (UTC+7)
Website	sumutprov.go.id

North Sumatra (Indonesian: Sumatera Utara) is a province of Indonesia on the Sumatra island. Its capital is Medan. It is the most populous Indonesian province outside of Java. It is slightly larger than Sri Lanka in area.

Geography and population

The province of North Sumatra stretches across the island of Sumatra between the Indian Ocean and the Strait Malacca. It borders Aceh province on the northwest and Riau and West Sumatra provinces in the southeast. It has an area of 70,787 km². The province contains a broad, low plain along the Strait of Malacca on which the provincial capital, Medan, is located. In the south and west, the land rises to the mountain range that runs the length of Sumatra; the mountains here are dominated by Lake Toba, formed from the caldera of an ancient volcano. Several large islands in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Sumatra are part of North Sumatra, most notably Nias, and the Batu Islands.

North Sumatra recorded a population of 11.48 million in the 2000 national census. An Intercensal estimate for 2007 shows a population of 12,834,371,^[2] 2010 census recorded 12,985,075 people, a sex ratio of 99.59 men per 100 women.^[3]

Agriculture and economy

Sumatra Mandheling and Sumatra Lintong coffee beans are grown in North Sumatra and largely exported to the United States. Mandheling is named after the similarly spelt Mandailing people located in North Sumatra, Indonesia. The name is the result of a misunderstanding by the first foreign purchaser of the variety, and no coffee is actually produced in the "Mandailing region". Lintong on the other hand, is named after the Lintong district, also located in North Sumatra.

Tourism

Besides Lake Toba and Orang Utan conservatory at Bukit Lawang there are also Taman Hutan Raya at Berastagi which declared by Keputusan Presiden RI Nomor 48 Tahun 1998 tanggal 19 November 1998.

Seaports

North Sumatra has international seaport at Belawan, Medan and now to prepare a new seaport at Kuala Tanjung, Batubara regency for about Rp.1 trillion ($114 million) budget.^[4]

Sei Mangkei Industrial Area

Sei Mangkei Industrial Area is known also as Sei Mangkei - Integrated Sustainable Palm Oil Cluster (SM-ISPOIC) located at Simalungun Regency and formally initial at June 12, 2010. Four company have joined in this area with investment cost totally up to Rp1.5 trillion ($176 million).^[5][6] At April 2011, 3 other companies also join to Sei Mangkei area. They are Procter & Gamble Co for making CPO derivatives of cosmetic raw materials, Ferrostaal AG and Fratelli Gianazza SpA.

Administration

Grand Mosque of Medan, North Sumatra

Below is a list of regencies (Indonesian: kabupaten) and cities in North Sumatra.

West coast region:
Regencies — capital (seat) Nias Regency — Gunungsitoli South Nias Regency — Teluk Dalam Mandailing Natal Regency — Panyabungan South Tapanuli Regency — Sipirok Central Tapanuli Regency — Pandan Padang Lawas Regency — Sibuhuan North Padang Lawas Regency — Gunung Tua	Cities Padang Sidempuan Sibolga
Mountain region:
Regencies — capital (seat) Karo Regency — Kabanjahe Dairi Regency — Sidikalang Pakpak Bharat Regency — Salak North Tapanuli Regency — Tarutung Humbang Hasundutan Regency — Dolok Sanggul Samosir Regency — Pangururan Toba Samosir Regency — Balige Simalungun Regency — Raya	Cities Pematang Siantar
East coast region:
Regencies — capital (seat) Asahan Regency — Kisaran Labuhan Batu Regency — Rantauprapat Langkat Regency — Stabat Deli Serdang Regency — Lubukpakam Serdang Bedagai Regency — Sei Rampah Batubara Regency — Limapuluh	Cities Tebing Tinggi Tanjung Balai Medan Binjai

New provinces

All parties in the North Sumatra legislative council have agreed to the formation of the Tapanuli province (Humbang Hasundutan, Samosir, Toba Samosir and North Tapanuli regencies), Southeast Sumatra province (Padang Sidempuan, South Tapanuli, Mandailing Natal, Padang Lawas and North Padang Lawas) and Nias Island province. It has been approved at a regional plenary session on May 2, 2011, but still need approval from Central government which had not enacted the grand design for additional provinces.^[7][8]

References

1. ^ Indonesia's Population: Ethnicity and Religion in a Changing Political Landscape. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. 2003. 
2. ^ BPS: Luas Wilayah, Jumlah Penduduk, dan Kepadatan Penduduk menurut Kabupaten/Kota Tahun 2007
3. ^ http://hariansib.com/?p=136255
4. ^ http://waspada.co.id/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=181542:n-sumatra-to-have-new-seaport&catid=30:english-news&Itemid=101
5. ^ Four Firms to Invest Rp1.5 Trln in Sei Mangkei Industrial Area, Sumatera
6. ^ http://www.jurnas.com/news/25408/Jalan_Sei_Mangkei_Dilebarkan/1/Ekonomi/Ekonomi
7. ^ http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/04/28/n-sumatra-have-two-new-provinces.html
8. ^ http://waspada.co.id/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=193401:sibolga-rejects-included-in-new-province-of-tapanuli&catid=30:english-news&Itemid=101

External links

Indonesia portal

• North Sumatra Government
• Map of north Sumatra
• North Sumatra Tourism Board
• 6 Recommended Destinations in North Sumatera