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Sumatra

Sumatra[a] is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 475,807.63 km2 (182,812 mi.2), including adjacent islands such as the Simeulue, Nias, Mentawai, Enggano, Riau Islands, Bangka Belitung and Krakatoa archipelago.

Sumatra
Topography of Sumatra
Location of Sumatra within the Indonesian Archipelago
Geography
LocationSoutheast Asia
Coordinates00°N 102°E / 0°N 102°E / 0; 102Coordinates: 00°N 102°E / 0°N 102°E / 0; 102
ArchipelagoGreater Sunda Islands
Area475,807.63 km2 (183,710.35 sq mi)
Highest elevation3,805 m (12484 ft)
Highest pointKerinci
Administration
ProvincesAceh
North Sumatra
West Sumatra
Riau
Jambi
Bengkulu
South Sumatra
Lampung
Largest settlementMedan (pop. 2,097,610)
Demographics
Population59,977,300 (mid 2022 estimate)
Pop. density125.0/km2 (323.7/sq mi)
Ethnic groupsAcehnese, Batak, Gayonese, Lampung, Malay, Mentawai, Minangkabau, Nias, Palembang, Rejang, Chinese, Indian, Javanese, Sundanese etc.
Additional information
Time zone

Sumatra is an elongated landmass spanning a diagonal northwest–southeast axis. The Indian Ocean borders the northwest, west, and southwest coasts of Sumatra, with the island chain of Simeulue, Nias, Mentawai, and Enggano off the western coast. In the northeast, the narrow Strait of Malacca separates the island from the Malay Peninsula, which is an extension of the Eurasian continent. In the southeast, the narrow Sunda Strait, containing the Krakatoa Archipelago, separates Sumatra from Java. The northern tip of Sumatra is near the Andaman Islands, while off the southeastern coast lie the islands of Bangka and Belitung, Karimata Strait and the Java Sea. The Bukit Barisan mountains, which contain several active volcanoes, form the backbone of the island, while the northeastern area contains large plains and lowlands with swamps, mangrove forest and complex river systems. The equator crosses the island at its centre in West Sumatra and Riau provinces. The climate of the island is tropical, hot, and humid. Lush tropical rain forest once dominated the landscape.

Sumatra has a wide range of plant and animal species but has lost almost 50% of its tropical rainforest in the last 35 years.[clarification needed] Many species are now critically endangered, such as the Sumatran ground cuckoo, the Sumatran tiger, the Sumatran elephant, the Sumatran rhinoceros, and the Sumatran orangutan. Deforestation on the island has also resulted in serious seasonal smoke haze over neighbouring countries, such as the 2013 Southeast Asian haze which caused considerable tensions between Indonesia and affected countries Malaysia and Singapore.[2]

Etymology

Sumatra was known in ancient times by the Sanskrit names of Suwarnadwīpa ('Island of Gold') and Suwarnabhūmi ('Land of Gold'), because of the gold deposits in the island's highlands.[3] The earliest known mention of the current form "Sumatra" was in 1017, when the local king Haji Sumatrabhumi ("king of the land of Sumatra")[4] sent an envoy to China. Arab geographers referred to the island as Lamri (Lamuri, Lambri or Ramni) in the tenth through thirteenth centuries, in reference to a kingdom near modern-day Banda Aceh which was the first landfall for traders. The island has also been known by other names, including Andalas[5] or Percha Island.[6]

In the late 13th century, Marco Polo referred to the kingdom as Samara, while his contemporary fellow Italian traveller Odoric of Pordenone used the form Sumoltra. Later in the 14th century the local form "Sumatra" became popular abroad due to the rising power of the kingdom of Samudera Pasai and the subsequent Sultanate of Aceh.[7][8]

From then on, subsequent European writers mostly used Sumatra or similar forms of the name for the entire island.[9][10]

History

 
Batak warriors, 1870

By the year 692, the Melayu Kingdom was absorbed by Srivijaya.[11]: 79–80 

Srivijaya influence waned in the 11th century year 1025 after being defeated by the Chola Empire in southern India.[12] By the end of the 12th century Srivijaya had been reduced to a small kingdom, and its dominant role in South Sumatra with the last king ratu Sekekhummong.[12] At the same time, the spread of Islam in Indonesia occurred gradually and indirectly, starting from the western regions of Indonesia such as the Sumatra area which became the first place for the spread of Islam in the archipelago then Java to the eastern regions of Indonesia, Sulawesi and Maluku.[13] The island of Sumatra is also an area in the archipelago that received the spread of Islam first compared to other islands or other areas.[13] The island of Sumatra became the first area to receive the spread of Islam because of the position of the island of Sumatra which is close to the Malacca strait.[13] The initial process of Islamization related to trade and also the formation of the kingdom.[13] Islam entered Sumatra through pious Arabs and Indian traders in the 6th and 7th centuries AD.[14] At the beginning and end of the 13th century the formation of the kingdom, the king of the Samudra kingdom had converted to Islam. Marco Polo visited the island in 1292, and his fellow Italian Odoric of Pordenone in 1321.

Moroccan scholar Ibn Battuta visited with the sultan for 15 days, noting the city of Samudra was "a fine, big city with wooden walls and towers", and another two months on his return journey.[15] Samudra was succeeded by the powerful Aceh Sultanate, which survived to the 20th century. With the coming of the Dutch, the many Sumatran princely states gradually fell under their control. Aceh, in the north, was the major obstacle, as the Dutch were involved in the long and costly Aceh War (1873–1903).

The Free Aceh Movement fought against Indonesian government forces in the Aceh Insurgency from 1976 to 2005.[16] Security crackdowns in 2001 and 2002 resulted in several thousand civilian deaths.[17]

The island was heavily impacted by both the 1883 Krakatoa eruption and the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami.

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1971 20,808,148—    
1980 28,016,160+34.6%
1990 36,506,703+30.3%
1995 40,830,334+11.8%
2000 42,616,164+4.4%
2005 45,839,041+7.6%
2010 50,613,947+10.4%
2015 55,198,752+9.1%
2020 58,557,211+6.1%
2022 59,977,300+2.4%
sources:[18][19]

Sumatra is not particularly densely populated, with an average of about 126 people per km2 – about 59,977,300  people in total (according to official estimates as at mid 2022).[20] Because of its size, it is nonetheless the fifth[21] most populous island in the world.

Ethnic groups

The largest indigenous ethnic groups in Sumatra are Malays, Minangkabaus, Bataks, Acehnese, and Lampungs. Other major non-indigenous ethnic groups are Javanese, Sundanese, and Chinese.

Below are 11 largest ethnic groups in Sumatra based on the 2010 census (including Riau Islands, Bangka Belitung, Nias, Mentawai, Simeulue and islands around it)[22]

Ethnic groups Population
Javanese 15,239,275
Bataks 7,302,330
Minangkabau 5,799,001
Ethnic groups from South Sumatera 4,826,272
Malays 4,016,182
Ethnic groups from Aceh 3,991,883
Ethnic groups from Jambi 1,379,351
Sundanese 1,231,888
Ethnic groups from Lampung 1,109,601
Nias 1,021,267
Other 2,086,804

Languages

Speakers of Acehnese.

There are over 52 languages spoken, all of which (except Chinese and Tamil) belong to the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family. Within Malayo-Polynesian, they are divided into several sub-branches: Chamic (which are represented by Acehnese in which its closest relatives are languages spoken by Ethnic Chams in Cambodia and Vietnam), Malayic (Malay, Minangkabau and other closely related languages), Northwest Sumatra–Barrier Islands (Batak languages, Gayo and others), Lampungic (includes Proper Lampung and Komering) and Bornean (represented by Rejang in which its closest linguistic relatives are Bukar Sadong and Land Dayak spoken in West Kalimantan and Sarawak (Malaysia)). Northwest Sumatra–Barrier Islands and Lampungic branches are endemic to the island. Like all parts of Indonesia, Indonesian (which was based on Riau Malay) is the official language and the main lingua franca. Although Sumatra has its own local lingua franca, variants of Malay like Medan Malay and Palembang Malay[23] are popular in North and South Sumatra, especially in urban areas. Minangkabau (Padang dialect)[24] is popular in West Sumatra, some parts of North Sumatra, Bengkulu, Jambi and Riau (especially in Pekanbaru and areas bordered with West Sumatra) while Acehnese is also used as an inter-ethnic means of communication in some parts of Aceh province.

Religion

Religion in Sumatra (2022)[25]

  Islam (87.26%)
  Protestantism (9.25%)
  Roman Catholic (1.69%)
  Buddhism (1.40%)
  Hinduism (0.32%)
  Confucianism (0.061%)
  Folk religion (0.02%)

The majority of people in Sumatra are Muslims (87.1%), while 10.7% are Christians, and less than 2% are Buddhists and Hindus.[26]

Administration

Sumatra is one of seven geographical regions of Indonesia, which includes its adjacent smaller islands. Sumatra was one of the eight original provinces of Indonesia between 1945 and 1948. Including adjacent archipelagoes normally included with Sumatra (such as the Riau Islands, Nias and the Bangka-Belitung group), it now covers ten of Indonesia's 37 provinces, which are set out below with their areas and populations.[27]

Provinces within the region of Sumatra
Name Area (km2) Population
census
2000
Population
census
2010
Population
census
2015
Population
census
2020
Population
estimate
2022
Capital
  Aceh 56,834.75 4,073,006 4,486,570 4,993,385 5,274,871 5,407,900 Banda Aceh
  North Sumatra
(Sumatra Utara)
72,460.74 11,642,488 12,326,678 13,923,262 14,799,361 15,115,200 Medan
  West Sumatra
(Sumatra Barat)
42,119.54 4,248,515 4,846,909 5,190,577 5,534,472 5,640,600 Padang
  Riau 89,935.90 3,907,763 5,543,031 6,330,941 6,394,097 6,614,400 Pekanbaru
  Riau Islands
(Kepulauan Riau)
8,269.71 1,040,207 1,685,698 1,968,313 2,064,564 2,179,800 Tanjung Pinang
  Jambi 49,026.58 2,407,166 3,088,618 3,397,164 3,548,228 3,631,100 Jambi
  South Sumatra
(Sumatra Selatan)
86,771.68 6,210,800 7,446,401 8,043,042 8,467,432 8,657,000 Palembang
  Bengkulu 20,128.34 1,455,500 1,713,393 1,872,136 2,010,670 2,060,100 Bengkulu
  Lampung 33,570.26 6,730,751 7,596,115 8,109,601 9,007,848 9,176,600 Bandar Lampung
  Bangka Belitung Islands
(Kepulauan Bangka Belitung)
16,690.13 899,968 1,223,048 1,370,331 1,455,678 1,494,600 Pangkal Pinang
Totals 475,807.63 42,616,164 50,613,947 55,198,752 58,557,211 59,977,300

Geography

 
Map of geological formation of Sumatra island
 
Mount Sinabung, North Sumatra

The longest axis of the island runs approximately 1,790 km (1,110 mi) northwest–southeast, crossing the equator near the centre. At its widest point, the island spans 435 km (270 mi). The interior of the island is dominated by two geographical regions: the Barisan Mountains in the west and swampy plains in the east. Sumatra is the closest Indonesian island to mainland Asia.

To the southeast is Java, separated by the Sunda Strait. To the north is the Malay Peninsula (located on the Asian mainland), separated by the Strait of Malacca. To the east is Borneo, across the Karimata Strait. West of the island is the Indian Ocean.

The Great Sumatran fault (a strike-slip fault), and the Sunda megathrust (a subduction zone), run the entire length of the island along its west coast. On 26 December 2004, the western coast and islands of Sumatra, particularly Aceh province, were struck by a tsunami following the Indian Ocean earthquake. This was the longest earthquake recorded, lasting between 500 and 600 seconds.[28] More than 170,000 Indonesians were killed, primarily in Aceh. Other recent earthquakes to strike Sumatra include the 2005 Nias–Simeulue earthquake and the 2010 Mentawai earthquake and tsunami.

Lake Toba is the site of a supervolcanic eruption that occurred around 74,000 years ago, representing a climate-changing event.[29]

The most important rivers in Sumatra belong to the catchment area of the South China Sea. Heading north to south, the Asahan, Rokan, Siak, Kampar, Indragiri, Batanghari flow into the Malacca Strait, while the island's largest river, the Musi, flows into the sea at Bangka Strait in the south.

To the east, big rivers carry silt from the mountains, forming the vast lowland interspersed by swamps. Even if mostly unsuitable for farming, the area is currently of great economic importance for Indonesia. It produces oil from both above and below the soil – palm oil and petroleum.

Sumatra is the largest producer of Indonesian coffee. Small-holders grow Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) in the highlands, while Robusta (Coffea canephora) is found in the lowlands. Arabica coffee from the regions of Gayo, Lintong and Sidikilang is typically processed using the Giling Basah (wet hulling) technique, which gives it a heavy body and low acidity.[30]

Sumatra is a highly seismic island, huge earthquakes have been recorded throughout history, in 1797 an 8.9 earthquake shook Western Sumatra, in 1833 a 9.2 earthquake shook Bengkulu and Western Sumatra both events caused large tsunamis. They are very common throughout the coastal area of the west and center of the island, tsunamis are common due to the high seismicity in the area.[citation needed]

Largest cities

 
Medan, the largest city in Sumatra

By population, Medan is the largest city in Sumatra.[31] Medan is also the most visited and developed city in Sumatra.

Rank City Province City Birthday Area
(in km2)
Population
2010 census
Population
2020 census
1 Medan North Sumatra 1 July 1590 265.10 2,097,610 2,435,252
2 Palembang South Sumatra 17 June 683 400.61 1,455,284 1,668,848
3 Bandar Lampung Lampung 17 June 1682 169.21 881,801 1,166,066
4 Pekanbaru Riau 23 June 1784 633.01 897,767 983,356
5 Padang West Sumatra 7 August 1669 694.96 833,562 909,040
6 Jambi Jambi 17 May 1946 205.00 531,857 606,200
7 Bengkulu Bengkulu 18 March 1719 144.52 308,544 373,591
8 Dumai Riau 20 April 1999 2,039.35 253,803 316,782
9 Binjai North Sumatra 90.24 246,154 291,842
10 Pematang Siantar North Sumatra 24 April 1871 60.52 234,698 268,254
11 Banda Aceh Aceh 22 April 1205 61.36 223,446 252,899
12 Lubuklinggau South Sumatra 17 August 2001 419.80 201,308 234,166

Flora and fauna

Sumatra supports a wide range of vegetation types that are home to a rich variety of species, including 17 endemic genera of plants.[32] Unique species include the Sumatran pine which dominates the Sumatran tropical pine forests of the higher mountainsides in the north of the island and rainforest plants such as Rafflesia arnoldii (the world's largest individual flower), and the titan arum (the world's largest unbranched inflorescence).

The island is home to 201 mammal species and 580 bird species. There are nine endemic mammal species on mainland Sumatra and 14 more endemic to the nearby Mentawai Islands.[32] There are about 300 freshwater fish species in Sumatra.[33] There are 93 amphibian species in Sumatra, 21 of which are endemic to Sumatra.[34]

The Sumatran tiger, Sumatran rhinoceros, Sumatran elephant, Sumatran ground cuckoo, Sumatran orangutan and Tapanuli orangutan are all critically endangered, indicating the highest level of threat to their survival. In October 2008, the Indonesian government announced a plan to protect Sumatra's remaining forests.[35]

The island includes more than 10 national parks, including three which are listed as the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra World Heritage SiteGunung Leuser National Park, Kerinci Seblat National Park and Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park. The Berbak National Park is one of three national parks in Indonesia listed as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.

Rail transport

Several unconnected railway networks built during Netherlands East Indies exist in Sumatra, such as the ones connecting Banda Aceh-Lhokseumawe-Besitang-Medan-Tebingtinggi-Pematang Siantar-Rantau Prapat in Northern Sumatra (the Banda Aceh-Besitang section was closed in 1971, but is currently being rebuilt).[36] Padang-Solok-Bukittinggi in West Sumatra, and Bandar Lampung-Palembang-Lahat-Lubuk Linggau in Southern Sumatra.

See also

References

  1. ^ The Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia states that Sumatra is the correct spelling in Indonesian;[1] however, it is popularly spelled in Indonesian as Sumatera.
  1. ^ "Hasil Pencarian – KBBI Daring" [Entry for "Sumatra" in the online version of the Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia]. kbbi.kemdikbud.go.id (in Indonesian). Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology.
  2. ^ Shadbolt, Peter (21 June 2013). "Singapore Chokes on Haze as Sumatran Forest Fires Rage". CNN. from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  3. ^ Drakard, Jane (1999). A Kingdom of Words: Language and Power in Sumatra. Oxford University Press. ISBN 983-56-0035-X.
  4. ^ Munoz, Paul Michel (2006). Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and the Malay Peninsula. Continental Sales, Incorporated. ISBN 978-981-4155-67-0.
  5. ^ Marsden, William (1783). The History of Sumatra. Dutch: Longman. p. 5.
  6. ^ Cribb, Robert (2013). Historical Atlas of Indonesia. Routledge. p. 249.
  7. ^ Sneddon, James N. (2003). The Indonesian language: its history and role in modern society. UNSW Press. p. 65. ISBN 9780868405988. from the original on 29 May 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  8. ^ Macdonell, Arthur Anthony (1924). A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary with Transliteration, Accentuation, and Etymological Analysis. Motilal Banarsidass Publications. p. 347. ISBN 9788120820005. from the original on 6 May 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  9. ^ Sir Henry Yule, ed. (1866). Cathay and the Way Thither: Being a Collection of Medieval Notices of China, Issue 36. pp. 86–87. from the original on 21 February 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  10. ^ Marsden, William (1811). The History of Sumatra: Containing an Account of the Government, Laws, Customs and Manners of the Native Inhabitants, with a Description of the Natural Productions, and a Relation of the Ancient Political State of That Island. pp. 4–10. from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  11. ^ Coedès, George (1968). Vella, Walter F. (ed.). The Indianized States of Southeast Asia. Translated by Cowing, Susan Brown. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-0368-1.
  12. ^ a b "Srivijaya empire | History, Location, Religion, Government, & Facts | Britannica".
  13. ^ a b c d "Sejarah Masuknya Islam Ke Indonesia". 4 November 2021.
  14. ^ G.R. Tibbets,Pre-Islamic Arabia and South East Asia, in D.S. Richards (ed.),1970, Islam and The Trade of Asia, Oxford: Bruno Cassirer Pub. Ltd, p. 127 nt. 21; S.Q.Fatimi, In Quest of Kalah, in D.S. Richards (ed.),1970, p.132 n.124; W.P. Groeneveldt, Notes in The Malay Archipelago, in D.S. Richards (ed.),1970, p.129 n.42
  15. ^ Battutah, Ibn (2002). The Travels of Ibn Battutah. London: Picador. pp. 256, 274, 322. ISBN 9780330418799.
  16. ^ "Indonesia Agrees Aceh Peace Deal". BBC News. 17 July 2005. from the original on 9 March 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  17. ^ "Aceh Under Martial Law: Inside the Secret War: Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Violations". Human Rights Watch. from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  18. ^ [Indonesian Population by Provinces 1971, 1980, 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2010]. Badan Pusat Statistik (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 1 July 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  19. ^ Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2023.
  20. ^ Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2023.
  21. ^ "Population Statistics". GeoHive. from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  22. ^ "Badan Pusat Statistik". www.bps.go.id. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  23. ^ Wurm, Stephen A.; Mühlhäusler, Peter; Tryon, Darrell T., eds. (1996). Atlas of Languages of Intercultural Communication in the Pacific, Asia, and the Americas: Vol. I: Maps. Vol II: Texts. Berlin and New York: Mouton de Gruyter. ISBN 9783110819724 – via Google Books.
  24. ^ . gcanthminangkabau.wikispaces.com. Archived from the original on 4 April 2014.
  25. ^ "ArcGIS Web Application".
  26. ^ Badan Pusat Statistik, Kewarganegaraan, Suku Bangsa, Agama, dan Bahasa Sehari-hari Penduduk Indonesia [Citizenship, Ethnicity, Religion, and the Everyday Languages of Indonesian Citizens] (PDF) (in Indonesian), Badan Pusat Statistik, ISBN 978-979-064-417-5, (PDF) from the original on 23 September 2015, retrieved 5 January 2019
  27. ^ Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakartya, 2023.
  28. ^ Glenday, Craig (2013). Guinness Book of World Records 2014. The Jim Pattison Group. pp. 015. ISBN 978-1-908843-15-9.
  29. ^ Vogel, Gretchen, How ancient humans survived global ‘volcanic winter’ from massive eruption, Science, 12 March 2018
  30. ^ "Daerah Produsen Kopi Arabika di Indonesia" [Regional Arabica Coffee Producers in Indonesia]. Kopi Distributor 1995. 28 February 2015. from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  31. ^ Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta.
  32. ^ a b Whitten, Tony (1999). The Ecology of Sumatra. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 962-593-074-4.
  33. ^ Nguyen, T. T. T., and S. S. De Silva (2006). "Freshwater finfish biodiversity and conservation: an asian perspective". Biodiversity & Conservation 15(11): 3543–3568
  34. ^ "Hellen Kurniati". The Rufford Foundation. from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  35. ^ "Forest, Wildlife Protection Pledged at World Conservation Congress". Environment News Service. 14 October 2008. from the original on 3 June 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  36. ^ Younger, Scott (6 November 2011). . Jakarta Globe. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2015.

Further reading

  • Grover, Samantha; Sukamta, Linda; Edis, Robert (August 2017). "People, Palm Oil, Pulp and Planet: Four Perspectives on Indonesia's Fire-stricken Peatlands". The Conversation.
  • William Marsden, The History of Sumatra, (1783); 3rd ed. (1811) freely available online.

External links

sumatra, other, uses, disambiguation, sunda, islands, western, indonesia, largest, island, that, fully, within, indonesian, territory, well, sixth, largest, island, world, including, adjacent, islands, such, simeulue, nias, mentawai, enggano, riau, islands, ba. For other uses see Sumatra disambiguation Sumatra a is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory as well as the sixth largest island in the world at 475 807 63 km2 182 812 mi 2 including adjacent islands such as the Simeulue Nias Mentawai Enggano Riau Islands Bangka Belitung and Krakatoa archipelago SumatraTopography of SumatraLocation of Sumatra within the Indonesian ArchipelagoGeographyLocationSoutheast AsiaCoordinates00 N 102 E 0 N 102 E 0 102 Coordinates 00 N 102 E 0 N 102 E 0 102ArchipelagoGreater Sunda IslandsArea475 807 63 km2 183 710 35 sq mi Highest elevation3 805 m 12484 ft Highest pointKerinciAdministrationIndonesiaProvincesAcehNorth SumatraWest SumatraRiauJambiBengkuluSouth SumatraLampungLargest settlementMedan pop 2 097 610 DemographicsPopulation59 977 300 mid 2022 estimate Pop density125 0 km2 323 7 sq mi Ethnic groupsAcehnese Batak Gayonese Lampung Malay Mentawai Minangkabau Nias Palembang Rejang Chinese Indian Javanese Sundanese etc Additional informationTime zoneIndonesia Western Time UTC 7 Sumatra is an elongated landmass spanning a diagonal northwest southeast axis The Indian Ocean borders the northwest west and southwest coasts of Sumatra with the island chain of Simeulue Nias Mentawai and Enggano off the western coast In the northeast the narrow Strait of Malacca separates the island from the Malay Peninsula which is an extension of the Eurasian continent In the southeast the narrow Sunda Strait containing the Krakatoa Archipelago separates Sumatra from Java The northern tip of Sumatra is near the Andaman Islands while off the southeastern coast lie the islands of Bangka and Belitung Karimata Strait and the Java Sea The Bukit Barisan mountains which contain several active volcanoes form the backbone of the island while the northeastern area contains large plains and lowlands with swamps mangrove forest and complex river systems The equator crosses the island at its centre in West Sumatra and Riau provinces The climate of the island is tropical hot and humid Lush tropical rain forest once dominated the landscape Sumatra has a wide range of plant and animal species but has lost almost 50 of its tropical rainforest in the last 35 years clarification needed Many species are now critically endangered such as the Sumatran ground cuckoo the Sumatran tiger the Sumatran elephant the Sumatran rhinoceros and the Sumatran orangutan Deforestation on the island has also resulted in serious seasonal smoke haze over neighbouring countries such as the 2013 Southeast Asian haze which caused considerable tensions between Indonesia and affected countries Malaysia and Singapore 2 Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 3 Demographics 4 Ethnic groups 4 1 Languages 4 2 Religion 5 Administration 6 Geography 7 Largest cities 8 Flora and fauna 9 Rail transport 10 See also 11 References 12 Further reading 13 External linksEtymology EditSumatra was known in ancient times by the Sanskrit names of Suwarnadwipa Island of Gold and Suwarnabhumi Land of Gold because of the gold deposits in the island s highlands 3 The earliest known mention of the current form Sumatra was in 1017 when the local king Haji Sumatrabhumi king of the land of Sumatra 4 sent an envoy to China Arab geographers referred to the island as Lamri Lamuri Lambri or Ramni in the tenth through thirteenth centuries in reference to a kingdom near modern day Banda Aceh which was the first landfall for traders The island has also been known by other names including Andalas 5 or Percha Island 6 In the late 13th century Marco Polo referred to the kingdom as Samara while his contemporary fellow Italian traveller Odoric of Pordenone used the form Sumoltra Later in the 14th century the local form Sumatra became popular abroad due to the rising power of the kingdom of Samudera Pasai and the subsequent Sultanate of Aceh 7 8 From then on subsequent European writers mostly used Sumatra or similar forms of the name for the entire island 9 10 History Edit Batak warriors 1870 By the year 692 the Melayu Kingdom was absorbed by Srivijaya 11 79 80 Srivijaya influence waned in the 11th century year 1025 after being defeated by the Chola Empire in southern India 12 By the end of the 12th century Srivijaya had been reduced to a small kingdom and its dominant role in South Sumatra with the last king ratu Sekekhummong 12 At the same time the spread of Islam in Indonesia occurred gradually and indirectly starting from the western regions of Indonesia such as the Sumatra area which became the first place for the spread of Islam in the archipelago then Java to the eastern regions of Indonesia Sulawesi and Maluku 13 The island of Sumatra is also an area in the archipelago that received the spread of Islam first compared to other islands or other areas 13 The island of Sumatra became the first area to receive the spread of Islam because of the position of the island of Sumatra which is close to the Malacca strait 13 The initial process of Islamization related to trade and also the formation of the kingdom 13 Islam entered Sumatra through pious Arabs and Indian traders in the 6th and 7th centuries AD 14 At the beginning and end of the 13th century the formation of the kingdom the king of the Samudra kingdom had converted to Islam Marco Polo visited the island in 1292 and his fellow Italian Odoric of Pordenone in 1321 Moroccan scholar Ibn Battuta visited with the sultan for 15 days noting the city of Samudra was a fine big city with wooden walls and towers and another two months on his return journey 15 Samudra was succeeded by the powerful Aceh Sultanate which survived to the 20th century With the coming of the Dutch the many Sumatran princely states gradually fell under their control Aceh in the north was the major obstacle as the Dutch were involved in the long and costly Aceh War 1873 1903 The Free Aceh Movement fought against Indonesian government forces in the Aceh Insurgency from 1976 to 2005 16 Security crackdowns in 2001 and 2002 resulted in several thousand civilian deaths 17 The island was heavily impacted by both the 1883 Krakatoa eruption and the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami Demographics EditHistorical populationYearPop 197120 808 148 198028 016 160 34 6 199036 506 703 30 3 199540 830 334 11 8 200042 616 164 4 4 200545 839 041 7 6 201050 613 947 10 4 201555 198 752 9 1 202058 557 211 6 1 202259 977 300 2 4 sources 18 19 Sumatra is not particularly densely populated with an average of about 126 people per km2 about 59 977 300 people in total according to official estimates as at mid 2022 20 Because of its size it is nonetheless the fifth 21 most populous island in the world Minangkabau women carrying platters of food to a ceremony Traditional house in Nias North SumatraEthnic groups EditThe largest indigenous ethnic groups in Sumatra are Malays Minangkabaus Bataks Acehnese and Lampungs Other major non indigenous ethnic groups are Javanese Sundanese and Chinese Below are 11 largest ethnic groups in Sumatra based on the 2010 census including Riau Islands Bangka Belitung Nias Mentawai Simeulue and islands around it 22 Ethnic groups PopulationJavanese 15 239 275Bataks 7 302 330Minangkabau 5 799 001Ethnic groups from South Sumatera 4 826 272Malays 4 016 182Ethnic groups from Aceh 3 991 883Ethnic groups from Jambi 1 379 351Sundanese 1 231 888Ethnic groups from Lampung 1 109 601Nias 1 021 267Other 2 086 804Languages Edit source source source source source source source source source source source source track Speakers of Acehnese There are over 52 languages spoken all of which except Chinese and Tamil belong to the Malayo Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family Within Malayo Polynesian they are divided into several sub branches Chamic which are represented by Acehnese in which its closest relatives are languages spoken by Ethnic Chams in Cambodia and Vietnam Malayic Malay Minangkabau and other closely related languages Northwest Sumatra Barrier Islands Batak languages Gayo and others Lampungic includes Proper Lampung and Komering and Bornean represented by Rejang in which its closest linguistic relatives are Bukar Sadong and Land Dayak spoken in West Kalimantan and Sarawak Malaysia Northwest Sumatra Barrier Islands and Lampungic branches are endemic to the island Like all parts of Indonesia Indonesian which was based on Riau Malay is the official language and the main lingua franca Although Sumatra has its own local lingua franca variants of Malay like Medan Malay and Palembang Malay 23 are popular in North and South Sumatra especially in urban areas Minangkabau Padang dialect 24 is popular in West Sumatra some parts of North Sumatra Bengkulu Jambi and Riau especially in Pekanbaru and areas bordered with West Sumatra while Acehnese is also used as an inter ethnic means of communication in some parts of Aceh province Religion Edit Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in Banda Aceh Religion in Sumatra 2022 25 Islam 87 26 Protestantism 9 25 Roman Catholic 1 69 Buddhism 1 40 Hinduism 0 32 Confucianism 0 061 Folk religion 0 02 The majority of people in Sumatra are Muslims 87 1 while 10 7 are Christians and less than 2 are Buddhists and Hindus 26 Administration EditSumatra is one of seven geographical regions of Indonesia which includes its adjacent smaller islands Sumatra was one of the eight original provinces of Indonesia between 1945 and 1948 Including adjacent archipelagoes normally included with Sumatra such as the Riau Islands Nias and the Bangka Belitung group it now covers ten of Indonesia s 37 provinces which are set out below with their areas and populations 27 Provinces within the region of Sumatra Name Area km2 Populationcensus2000 Populationcensus2010 Populationcensus2015 Populationcensus2020 Populationestimate2022 Capital Aceh 56 834 75 4 073 006 4 486 570 4 993 385 5 274 871 5 407 900 Banda Aceh North Sumatra Sumatra Utara 72 460 74 11 642 488 12 326 678 13 923 262 14 799 361 15 115 200 Medan West Sumatra Sumatra Barat 42 119 54 4 248 515 4 846 909 5 190 577 5 534 472 5 640 600 Padang Riau 89 935 90 3 907 763 5 543 031 6 330 941 6 394 097 6 614 400 Pekanbaru Riau Islands Kepulauan Riau 8 269 71 1 040 207 1 685 698 1 968 313 2 064 564 2 179 800 Tanjung Pinang Jambi 49 026 58 2 407 166 3 088 618 3 397 164 3 548 228 3 631 100 Jambi South Sumatra Sumatra Selatan 86 771 68 6 210 800 7 446 401 8 043 042 8 467 432 8 657 000 Palembang Bengkulu 20 128 34 1 455 500 1 713 393 1 872 136 2 010 670 2 060 100 Bengkulu Lampung 33 570 26 6 730 751 7 596 115 8 109 601 9 007 848 9 176 600 Bandar Lampung Bangka Belitung Islands Kepulauan Bangka Belitung 16 690 13 899 968 1 223 048 1 370 331 1 455 678 1 494 600 Pangkal PinangTotals 475 807 63 42 616 164 50 613 947 55 198 752 58 557 211 59 977 300Geography Edit Map of geological formation of Sumatra island Mount Sinabung North Sumatra The longest axis of the island runs approximately 1 790 km 1 110 mi northwest southeast crossing the equator near the centre At its widest point the island spans 435 km 270 mi The interior of the island is dominated by two geographical regions the Barisan Mountains in the west and swampy plains in the east Sumatra is the closest Indonesian island to mainland Asia To the southeast is Java separated by the Sunda Strait To the north is the Malay Peninsula located on the Asian mainland separated by the Strait of Malacca To the east is Borneo across the Karimata Strait West of the island is the Indian Ocean The Great Sumatran fault a strike slip fault and the Sunda megathrust a subduction zone run the entire length of the island along its west coast On 26 December 2004 the western coast and islands of Sumatra particularly Aceh province were struck by a tsunami following the Indian Ocean earthquake This was the longest earthquake recorded lasting between 500 and 600 seconds 28 More than 170 000 Indonesians were killed primarily in Aceh Other recent earthquakes to strike Sumatra include the 2005 Nias Simeulue earthquake and the 2010 Mentawai earthquake and tsunami Lake Toba is the site of a supervolcanic eruption that occurred around 74 000 years ago representing a climate changing event 29 The most important rivers in Sumatra belong to the catchment area of the South China Sea Heading north to south the Asahan Rokan Siak Kampar Indragiri Batanghari flow into the Malacca Strait while the island s largest river the Musi flows into the sea at Bangka Strait in the south To the east big rivers carry silt from the mountains forming the vast lowland interspersed by swamps Even if mostly unsuitable for farming the area is currently of great economic importance for Indonesia It produces oil from both above and below the soil palm oil and petroleum Sumatra is the largest producer of Indonesian coffee Small holders grow Arabica coffee Coffea arabica in the highlands while Robusta Coffea canephora is found in the lowlands Arabica coffee from the regions of Gayo Lintong and Sidikilang is typically processed using the Giling Basah wet hulling technique which gives it a heavy body and low acidity 30 Sumatra is a highly seismic island huge earthquakes have been recorded throughout history in 1797 an 8 9 earthquake shook Western Sumatra in 1833 a 9 2 earthquake shook Bengkulu and Western Sumatra both events caused large tsunamis They are very common throughout the coastal area of the west and center of the island tsunamis are common due to the high seismicity in the area citation needed Largest cities Edit Medan the largest city in Sumatra By population Medan is the largest city in Sumatra 31 Medan is also the most visited and developed city in Sumatra Rank City Province City Birthday Area in km2 Population 2010 census Population 2020 census1 Medan North Sumatra 1 July 1590 265 10 2 097 610 2 435 2522 Palembang South Sumatra 17 June 683 400 61 1 455 284 1 668 8483 Bandar Lampung Lampung 17 June 1682 169 21 881 801 1 166 0664 Pekanbaru Riau 23 June 1784 633 01 897 767 983 3565 Padang West Sumatra 7 August 1669 694 96 833 562 909 0406 Jambi Jambi 17 May 1946 205 00 531 857 606 2007 Bengkulu Bengkulu 18 March 1719 144 52 308 544 373 5918 Dumai Riau 20 April 1999 2 039 35 253 803 316 7829 Binjai North Sumatra 90 24 246 154 291 84210 Pematang Siantar North Sumatra 24 April 1871 60 52 234 698 268 25411 Banda Aceh Aceh 22 April 1205 61 36 223 446 252 89912 Lubuklinggau South Sumatra 17 August 2001 419 80 201 308 234 166Flora and fauna EditSee also List of national parks of Indonesia and List of amphibians of Sumatra Sumatran tiger Rafflesia arnoldii Sumatra supports a wide range of vegetation types that are home to a rich variety of species including 17 endemic genera of plants 32 Unique species include the Sumatran pine which dominates the Sumatran tropical pine forests of the higher mountainsides in the north of the island and rainforest plants such as Rafflesia arnoldii the world s largest individual flower and the titan arum the world s largest unbranched inflorescence The island is home to 201 mammal species and 580 bird species There are nine endemic mammal species on mainland Sumatra and 14 more endemic to the nearby Mentawai Islands 32 There are about 300 freshwater fish species in Sumatra 33 There are 93 amphibian species in Sumatra 21 of which are endemic to Sumatra 34 The Sumatran tiger Sumatran rhinoceros Sumatran elephant Sumatran ground cuckoo Sumatran orangutan and Tapanuli orangutan are all critically endangered indicating the highest level of threat to their survival In October 2008 the Indonesian government announced a plan to protect Sumatra s remaining forests 35 The island includes more than 10 national parks including three which are listed as the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra World Heritage Site Gunung Leuser National Park Kerinci Seblat National Park and Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park The Berbak National Park is one of three national parks in Indonesia listed as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention Rail transport EditSeveral unconnected railway networks built during Netherlands East Indies exist in Sumatra such as the ones connecting Banda Aceh Lhokseumawe Besitang Medan Tebingtinggi Pematang Siantar Rantau Prapat in Northern Sumatra the Banda Aceh Besitang section was closed in 1971 but is currently being rebuilt 36 Padang Solok Bukittinggi in West Sumatra and Bandar Lampung Palembang Lahat Lubuk Linggau in Southern Sumatra See also Edit Indonesia portal Islands portalArchitecture of Sumatra Bukit Seguntang Communism in Sumatra Music of SumatraReferences Edit The Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia states that Sumatra is the correct spelling in Indonesian 1 however it is popularly spelled in Indonesian as Sumatera Hasil Pencarian KBBI Daring Entry for Sumatra in the online version of the Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia kbbi kemdikbud go id in Indonesian Ministry of Education Culture Research and Technology Shadbolt Peter 21 June 2013 Singapore Chokes on Haze as Sumatran Forest Fires Rage CNN Archived from the original on 7 November 2017 Retrieved 7 May 2017 Drakard Jane 1999 A Kingdom of Words Language and Power in Sumatra Oxford University Press ISBN 983 56 0035 X Munoz Paul Michel 2006 Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and the Malay Peninsula Continental Sales Incorporated ISBN 978 981 4155 67 0 Marsden William 1783 The History of Sumatra Dutch Longman p 5 Cribb Robert 2013 Historical Atlas of Indonesia Routledge p 249 Sneddon James N 2003 The Indonesian language its history and role in modern society UNSW Press p 65 ISBN 9780868405988 Archived from the original on 29 May 2016 Retrieved 16 December 2015 Macdonell Arthur Anthony 1924 A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary with Transliteration Accentuation and Etymological Analysis Motilal Banarsidass Publications p 347 ISBN 9788120820005 Archived from the original on 6 May 2016 Retrieved 16 December 2015 Sir Henry Yule ed 1866 Cathay and the Way Thither Being a Collection of Medieval Notices of China Issue 36 pp 86 87 Archived from the original on 21 February 2017 Retrieved 21 February 2017 Marsden William 1811 The History of Sumatra Containing an Account of the Government Laws Customs and Manners of the Native Inhabitants with a Description of the Natural Productions and a Relation of the Ancient Political State of That Island pp 4 10 Archived from the original on 22 February 2017 Retrieved 21 February 2017 Coedes George 1968 Vella Walter F ed The Indianized States of Southeast Asia Translated by Cowing Susan Brown University of Hawaii Press ISBN 978 0 8248 0368 1 a b Srivijaya empire History Location Religion Government amp Facts Britannica a b c d Sejarah Masuknya Islam Ke Indonesia 4 November 2021 G R Tibbets Pre Islamic Arabia and South East Asia in D S Richards ed 1970 Islam and The Trade of Asia Oxford Bruno Cassirer Pub Ltd p 127 nt 21 S Q Fatimi In Quest of Kalah in D S Richards ed 1970 p 132 n 124 W P Groeneveldt Notes in The Malay Archipelago in D S Richards ed 1970 p 129 n 42 Battutah Ibn 2002 The Travels of Ibn Battutah London Picador pp 256 274 322 ISBN 9780330418799 Indonesia Agrees Aceh Peace Deal BBC News 17 July 2005 Archived from the original on 9 March 2008 Retrieved 17 May 2015 Aceh Under Martial Law Inside the Secret War Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Violations Human Rights Watch Archived from the original on 6 March 2016 Retrieved 17 May 2015 Penduduk Indonesia menurut Provinsi 1971 1980 1990 1995 2000 2023 Indonesian Population by Provinces 1971 1980 1990 1995 2000 and 2010 Badan Pusat Statistik in Indonesian Archived from the original on 1 July 2013 Retrieved 17 July 2013 Badan Pusat Statistik Jakarta 2023 Badan Pusat Statistik Jakarta 2023 Population Statistics GeoHive Archived from the original on 3 April 2012 Retrieved 25 July 2012 Badan Pusat Statistik www bps go id Retrieved 19 December 2021 Wurm Stephen A Muhlhausler Peter Tryon Darrell T eds 1996 Atlas of Languages of Intercultural Communication in the Pacific Asia and the Americas Vol I Maps Vol II Texts Berlin and New York Mouton de Gruyter ISBN 9783110819724 via Google Books Minangkabau Language gcanthminangkabau wikispaces com Archived from the original on 4 April 2014 ArcGIS Web Application Badan Pusat Statistik Kewarganegaraan Suku Bangsa Agama dan Bahasa Sehari hari Penduduk Indonesia Citizenship Ethnicity Religion and the Everyday Languages of Indonesian Citizens PDF in Indonesian Badan Pusat Statistik ISBN 978 979 064 417 5 archived PDF from the original on 23 September 2015 retrieved 5 January 2019 Badan Pusat Statistik Jakartya 2023 Glenday Craig 2013 Guinness Book of World Records 2014 The Jim Pattison Group pp 015 ISBN 978 1 908843 15 9 Vogel Gretchen How ancient humans survived global volcanic winter from massive eruption Science 12 March 2018 Daerah Produsen Kopi Arabika di Indonesia Regional Arabica Coffee Producers in Indonesia Kopi Distributor 1995 28 February 2015 Archived from the original on 2 April 2015 Retrieved 28 February 2015 Biro Pusat Statistik Jakarta a b Whitten Tony 1999 The Ecology of Sumatra Tuttle Publishing ISBN 962 593 074 4 Nguyen T T T and S S De Silva 2006 Freshwater finfish biodiversity and conservation an asian perspective Biodiversity amp Conservation 15 11 3543 3568 Hellen Kurniati The Rufford Foundation Archived from the original on 25 August 2017 Retrieved 25 August 2017 Forest Wildlife Protection Pledged at World Conservation Congress Environment News Service 14 October 2008 Archived from the original on 3 June 2012 Retrieved 25 July 2012 Younger Scott 6 November 2011 The Slow Train Jakarta Globe Archived from the original on 21 July 2015 Retrieved 19 July 2015 Further reading EditGrover Samantha Sukamta Linda Edis Robert August 2017 People Palm Oil Pulp and Planet Four Perspectives on Indonesia s Fire stricken Peatlands The Conversation William Marsden The History of Sumatra 1783 3rd ed 1811 freely available online External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sumatra Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Sumatra Sumatra Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th ed 1911 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sumatra amp oldid 1151128904, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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