North Sumatra

North Sumatra Sumatera Utara
—  Province  —
Istana Maimun, Medan
Flag Seal
Motto: Marsipature hutana be (Batak)
Location of North Sumatra in Indonesia
Coordinates: 2°00′N 99°00′E
Country	Indonesia
Capital	Medan
Government
• Governor	Gatot Pudjo Nugroho (acting)
Area
• Total	72,981.23 km2 (28,178.21 sq mi)
Population (2010)
• Total	12,985,075
• Density	Bad rounding here180/km2 (Bad rounding here460/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%)
• Religion	Islam (65.5%), Christianity (31.4%), Buddhism (2.8%), Hindu (0,2%)
• Languages	Indonesian, Malay, Batak, Angkola-Mandailing, Medan Hokkien
Time zone	WIB (UTC+7)
Website	sumutprov.go.id

North Sumatra (Indonesian: Sumatera Utara) is a province of Indonesia on Sumatra Island. Its capital is Medan, on the northeast coast. 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 72,981  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 west coast of Sumatra are currently part of North Sumatra, most notably Nias and the Batu Islands.

North Sumatra recorded a population of 12,985,075 in the 2010 national census, with a sex ratio of 99.59 men per 100 women.

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1971	6,621,831	—
1980	8,360,894	+26.3%
1990	10,256,027	+22.7%
1995	11,114,667	+8.4%
2000	11,649,655	+4.8%
2010	12,982,204	+11.4%
Source: Badan Pusat Statistik 2010

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.

Airports

Polonia International Airport (Indonesian: Bandar Udara Internasional Polonia) (IATA: MES, ICAO: WIMM) (popularly Polonia Airport, as in Indonesia, Bandara Polonia) is located about 5 km from the Central Business District of Medan. It is the first international airport in Medan, the other being the planned Kuala Namu International Airport, now under construction to replace Polonia Airport. Polonia airport is the site of several crashes, is inappropriately located in the center of the city of Medan, has a difficult takeoff path and has a short runway. It serves flights to several Indonesian and Malaysian cities, along with a flight to Singapore and Thailand. Flights to Indian cities are also planned. In terms of passenger numbers, Polonia is the fourth largest airport in Indonesia.

Seaports

North Sumatra has an international seaport at Belawan, near Medan and is now preparing to have a new seaport at Kuala Tanjung, in Batubara regency, for about Rp.1 trillion ($114 million) budget.

Sei Mangkei Industrial Area

Sei Mangkei Industrial Area is known also as Sei Mangkei - Integrated Sustainable Palm Oil Cluster (SM-ISPOIC); it is located in Simalungun Regency and was formally opened on 12 June 2010. Four companies have joined in this area, with investment costs totalling up to Rp1.5 trillion ($176 million). In April 2011, three other companies also joined in the 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

North Sumatra is currently subdivided into 25 regencies and 8 autonomous cities, listed below with their (provisional) populations at the 2010 Census.

Nias Island region

Name	Area (km2)	Population Estimate end 2004	Population Census 2010	Capital
North Nias Regency (Nias Utara)	#	#	127,530
Nias Regency	3,495.39	441,807	132,329	Gunungsitoli
West Nias Regency (Nias Barat)	#	#	81,461
South Nias Regency (Nias Selatan)	1,625.91	288,233	289,876	Teluk Dalam
Gunungsitoli (city)	#	#	125,566	Gunungsitoli

# the areas and end 2004 estimated populations of West Nias Regency and North Nias Regency, and of Gunungsitoli city, are included in the figures for Nias Regency.

West coast region

Name	Area (km2)	Population Estimate end 2004	Population Census 2010	Capital
Mandailing Natal Regency	6,620.70	386,150	403,894	Panyabungan
Padang Sidempuan (city)	114.65	177,499	191,554	Padang Sidempuan
South Tapanuli Regency (Tapanuli Selatan)	4,352.86	626,702	264,108	Sipirok
Padang Lawas Regency	3,892.74	#	223,480	Sibuhuan
North Padang Lawas Regency (Padang Lawas Utara)	3,918.05	#	223,049	Gunung Tua

# the end 2004 population is included in that of South Tapanuli Regency, from which it was later carved out.

Tapanuli Region

Name	Area (km2)	Population Estimate end 2004	Population Census 2010	Capital
Sibolga (city)	10.77	88,717	84,444	Sibolga
Central Tapanuli Regency (Tapanuli Tengah)	2,158.00	283,035	310,962	Pandan
North Tapanuli Regency (Tapanuli Utara)	3,764.65	256,201	278,897	Tarutung
Humbang Hasundutan Regency	2,297.20	152,997	171,687	Dolok Sanggul
Samosir Regency	2,433.50	131,073	119,650	Pangururan
Toba Samosir Regency	2,352.35	158,677	172,933	Balige

East coast region

Name	Area (km2)	Population Estimate end 2004	Population Census 2010	Capital
Medan (city)	265.10	2,036,185	2,109,339	Medan
Binjai (city)	90.24	237,904	246,010	Binjai
Deli Serdang Regency	2,486.14	1,569,638	1,789,243	Lubukpakam
Langkat Regency	6,263.29	970,433	966,133	Stabat
Karo Regency	2,127.25	316,207	350.479	Kabanjahe
Dairi Regency	1,927.80	261,287	269,848	Sidikalang
Pakpak Bharat Regency	1,218.30	34,542	40,481	Salak
Simalungun Regency	4,386.60	826,101	818,104	Raya
Pematang Siantar (city)	79.87	230,487	234,885	Pematang Siantar
Serdang Bedagai Regency	1,913.33	588,176	592,922	Sei Rampah
Tebing Tinggi (city)	38.44	135,671	145,180	Tebing Tinggi
Batubara Regency	904.96	#	374.535	Limapuluh
Asahan Regency	3,675.79	1,024,369	667,563	Kisaran
Tanjung Balai (city)	*	152,814	154,426	Tanjung Balai
North Labuhan Batu Regency (Labuhan Batu Utara)	##	##	331,660
Labuhan Batu Regency	9,223.18	951,773	414,417	Rantauprapat
South Labuhan Batu Regency (Labuhan Batu Selatan)	##	##	277,549	Kota Pinang

# the end 2004 estimated population of Batubara Regency is included in the figure for Asahan Regency, from which the new regency was carved out in 2007.

* the area of Tanjung Balai city is included in the figure for Asahan Regency.

## the areas and end 2004 estimated populations of North Labuhan Batu Regency and South Labuhan Batu Regency are included in the figures for Labuhan Batu Regency.

Proposed new provinces

All parties in the North Sumatra legislative council have agreed to the formation of a new Tapanuli Province (comprising Humbang Hasundutan, Samosir, Toba Samosir and Tapanuli Utara regencies), a new Southeast Sumatra Province (comprising Tapanuli Selatan, Mandailing Natal, Padang Lawas and Padang Lawas Utara regencies, and Padang Sidempuan municipality) and a new Nias Island Province (comprising Nias, Nias Selatan, Nias Utara and Nias Barat regencies, and Gunungsitoli municipality). This has been approved at a regional plenary session on 2 May 2011, but still needs approval from Central government which has not enacted the grand design for additional provinces.

External links

• North Sumatra Government