Karo Regency is a landlocked regency of

North Sumatra North Sumatra () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan on the east coast of the island. It borders Aceh to the northwest, Riau to the sou ...

Province of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, situated in the

Barisan Mountains The Bukit Barisan or the Barisan Mountains are a mountain range on the western side of Sumatra, Indonesia, covering nearly 1,700 km (1,050 mi) from the north to the south of the island. The Bukit Barisan range consists primarily of volca ...

. The regency, which was established on 7 November 1956, covers an area of and according to the 2010 census it had a population of 350,479,Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. increasing to 404,998 at the 2020 Census;Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. the official estimate as at mid-2023 was 420,799, comprising 208,600 males and 212,200 females.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2023, ''Kabupaten Karo Dalam Angka 2023'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1206) 60.99% of the regency is forested. Its regency seat is the town of

Kabanjahe Kabanjahe is a town approximately 90 minutes from Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Kabanjahe is to the south of Berastagi. Kabanjahe is the largest centre in Karo Regency. It has an area of 44.65 km2 and had a population of 73,581 at the 2020 ...

. The

Batak Karo language Karo, referred to in Indonesia as Bahasa Karo (Karo language), is an Austronesian language that is spoken by the Karo people of Indonesia. It is used by around 600,000 people in North Sumatra. It is mainly spoken in Karo Regency, southern parts ...

is spoken in the regency, as well as the Indonesian language. It borders Southeast Aceh Regency in

Aceh Aceh ( , ; , Jawi script, Jawoë: ; Van Ophuijsen Spelling System, Old Spelling: ''Atjeh'') is the westernmost Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the northern end of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capit ...

to the west, Deli Serdang Regency and

Langkat Regency Langkat Regency () is the northernmost regency of North Sumatra Province in Indonesia. Its administrative centre is the town of Stabat. It has a land area of 6,263.29 km2 and its population was 967,535 at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statist ...

to the north,

Dairi Regency Dairi Regency is an inland regency on the western shore of Lake Toba in North Sumatra Province of Indonesia. The regency was created on 23 September 1964 from what were previously the north-western districts of North Tapanuli Regency; however ...

and Toba Samosir Regency to the south, and Deli Serdang Regency and

Simalungun Regency Simalungun Regency is a regency in North Sumatra Province of Indonesia. Its seat was formerly at Pematangsiantar, but this city was under Law No.15 of 10 March 1986 was separated from the Regency and made into an independent city (''kota''), alth ...

to the east.

Economy

COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Varkens in een Karo Batak dorp TMnr 20018496

The GDP per capita of Karo Regency in 2005 was 11.65 million rupiah, approximately US$1,200. 74% of the population works in agriculture, which comprises 60% of the regional GDP. The second-largest sector is government, which comprises 11% of the regional GDP.

Administrative divisions

The regency is divided administratively into seventeen

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

(''kecamatan''), tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census and the 2020 Census, together with the official estimates as of mid-2023.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2024, ''Kabupaten Karo Dalam Angka 2024'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1206) The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of

administrative village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban village ...

s in each district (totaling 259 rural ''desa'' and 10 urban ''kelurahan''), and its post codes. Notes: (a) including one ''kelurahan'' (Tigabinanga town).
(b) comprising 5 ''kelurahan'' (Gung Leto, Gung Negeri, Kampung Dalam, Lau Cimba and Padang Mas) and 8 ''desa''.
(c) comprising 4 ''kelurahan'' (Gundaling I, Gundaling Ii, Tambak Lau Mulgap I and Tambak Lau Mulgap Ii) and 6 ''desa''. Note that four of these districts (indicated by "*" above) constitute a part of the

Medan metropolitan area The Greater Medan metropolitan area, known locally as Mebidangro (an acronym of Medan–Binjai–Deli Serdang–Karo) is a metropolitan area in North Sumatra, Indonesia, which consists of Medan City, Binjai City, Deli Serdang Regency and part (4 ...

References

Batak Karo Regencies of North Sumatra Singkil basin Wampu basin {{NSumatra-geo-stub