Meranti Islands Regency

Meranti Islands Regency
Kabupaten Kepulauan Meranti
Lunar New Year festival in Selat Panjang
Lunar New Year festival in Selat Panjang
Coat of arms of Meranti Islands Regency
CountryIndonesia
ProvinceRiau
Regency seatSelat Panjang
Government
 • RegentAsmar
Area
 • Total
4,769.53 km2 (1,841.53 sq mi)
Population
 (mid 2023 estimate)[1]
 • Total
211,611
 • Density44/km2 (110/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+7 (WIB)
Websitewww.merantikab.go.id

Meranti Islands (Kepulauan Meranti) is an archipelago, most of which forms a regency (kabupaten) of Riau Province and lies off the eastern coast of the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. It was created on 19 December 2008 by the separating of these large islands from the mainly mainland regency of Bengkalis. The regency comprises the islands of Tebing Tinggi, Rangsang, Padang, and Merbau, together with minor offshore islands, but does not include Bengkalis Island to the north, which is geographically part of the archipelago but remains within Bengkalis Regency. The principal town is Selat Panjang (also written as Selatpanjang) on Tebing Tinggi Island. The regency covers an area of 4,769.53 km2 and had a population of 176,290 at the 2010 Census[2] and 206,116 at the 2020 Census;[3] the official estimate as of mid-2023 was 211,611.[1]

Administrative districts

When created in 2008, the regency was divided into five districts (kecamatan), listed below with their populations at the 2010 Census:[2]

Name of
District
(kecamatan)
English name Pop'n
Census
2010
Tebing Tinggi Barat Western Tebing Tinggi Island 15,260
Tebing Tinggi (Eastern) Tebing Tinggi Island 65,748
Rangsang (Eastern) Rangsang Island 26,526
Rangsang Barat Western Rangsang Island 24,926
Merbau Merbau and Padang Islands 44,030

On 26 January 2011, the regency was re-divided into nine districts. The additional four districts are Tebing Tinggi Timur (East Tebing Tinggi Island, leaving the residual area of Tebing Tinggi District to cover the town of Selat Panjang and its surroundings), Rangsang Pesisir (Coastal Rangsang, actually the central part of that island), Pulau Merbau (Merbau Island, leaving the residual area of Merbau District to cover the southern part of Padang Island) and Tasik Putri Puyu (covering the northern part of Padang Island). The areas and the populations of the nine districts at the 2020 Census,[3] together with the official estimates as of mid-2023,[1] are as follows. The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of administrative villages in each district (totaling 96 rural desa and 5 urban kelurahan), and its postcode.

Kode
Wilayah
Name of
District
(kecamatan)
Area
in
km2
Pop'n
2020
Census
Pop'n
mid 2023
Estimate
Admin
centre
No.
of
villages
Post
code
14.10.04 Tebing Tinggi Barat [4] 587.33 18,382 19,468 Alai 14 28758
14.10.01 Tebing Tinggi (town) [5] 79.69 67,219 66,385 Selat Panjang 9 (a) 28753
14.10.07 Tebing Tinggi Timur [6] 933.04 13,293 14,158 Sungai Tohor 10 28754
14.10.03 Rangsang [7] 411.12 20,123 20,768 Tanjung Samak 14 28755
14.10.09 Rangsang Pesisir [8]
(Coastal Rangsang)
420.08 18,853 19,782 Telesung 11 28757
14.10.02 Rangsang Barat [9] 157.59 19,488 20,290 Bantar 12 28756
14.10.05 Merbau [10] 1,125.68 15,305 15,925 Teluk Belitung 10 (b) 28752
14.10.06 Pulau Merbau [11] 504.00 15,824 16,845 Semukut 11 28750
14.10.08 Tasik Putri Puyu [12] 551.00 17,629 17,990 Bandul 10 28751
Totals 4,769.53 206,116 211,611 Selatpanjang 101

Notes: (a) comprising 4 kelurahan (Selat Panjang Barat, Selat Panjang Kota, Selat Panjang Selatan and Selat Panjang Timur) - with 42,723 inhabitants altogether in 2023 - and 5 desa.
(b) including one kelurahan - Teluk Belitung - with 5,062 inhabitants in 2023.

The island of Tebing Tinggi comprises three districts - Tebing Tinggi itself in the centre of its north coast, Tebing Tinggi Barat in the west of the island and Tebing Tinggi Timur in the east. The island of Rangsang is also composed of three districts - Rangsang Barat in the west, Rangsang Pesisir in the centre (in spite of its name!) and Rangsang in the east (including smaller islands off its southeast end). Padang Island is composed of two districts - Tasik Putri Puyu in the north and Merbau in the south (note Merbau District is now entirely on Padang Island and does not contain any part of Merbau Island). Merbau Island (Pulau Merbau) is identical with the district of that name. 1°0′N 102°42′E / 1.000°N 102.700°E / 1.000; 102.700

References

  1. ^ a b c Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kabupaten Kepulauan Meranti Dalam Angka 2024 (the sum of the district reports referenced below)
  2. ^ a b Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011.
  3. ^ a b Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021.
  4. ^ Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Tebing Tinggi Barat Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1410010)
  5. ^ Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Tebing Tinggi Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1410020)
  6. ^ Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Tebing Tinggi Timur Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1410021)
  7. ^ Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Rangsang Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1410030)
  8. ^ Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Rangsang Pesisir Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1410031)
  9. ^ Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Rangsang Barat Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1410040)
  10. ^ Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Merbau Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1410050)
  11. ^ Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Pulau Merbau Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1410051)
  12. ^ Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Tasik Putri Puyu Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1410052)