West Sulawesi ( id, Sulawesi Barat) is a

province of Indonesia A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

. It is located on the western side of Sulawesi island. It covers an area of 16,787.18 km², and its capital is Mamuju. The 2010 Census recorded a population of 1,158,651, while that in 2020 recorded 1,419,228. The province was established in 2004, having been split off from South Sulawesi.

Geography

The province is on the island of Sulawesi (formerly Celebes) and includes the regencies (''kabupaten'') of

Polewali Mandar Polewali Mandar is one of the five regencies in West Sulawesi province of Indonesia. It borders on the regencies of Mamasa in the North, Majene in the West and Pinrang regency of South Sulawesi in the East. It covers an area of 2,074.76 km2 an ...

, Mamasa, Majene, Mamuju, Central Mamuju and Pasangkayu (formerly called North Mamuju), which used to be part of South Sulawesi. The area of the province is 16,787.18 km².

Economy

Its economy consists mainly of

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

. Its capital is Mamuju.

Archaeological findings

On 11 December 2019, a team of researchers led by Dr. Maxime Aubert announced the discovery of the oldest hunting scenes in prehistoric art in the world which is more than 44,000 years old from the limestone cave of Leang Bulu’ Sipong 4. Archaeologists determined the age of the depiction of hunting a pig and buffalo thanks to the calcite ‘popcorn’, different isotope levels of radioactive

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

and

thorium Thorium is a weakly radioactive metallic chemical element with the symbol Th and atomic number 90. Thorium is silvery and tarnishes black when it is exposed to air, forming thorium dioxide; it is moderately soft and malleable and has a high ...

Administrative divisions

West Sulawesi Province is divided into six regencies:

, Mamuju, Pasangkayu, Mamasa, Majene, and Central Mamuju The sixth regency -

Central Mamuju Regency Central Mamuju Regency is a regency in the province of West Sulawesi, Indonesia. The regency was established on 14 December 2012, comprising five districts (''kecamatan'') which had formerly been part of Mamuju Regency. It covers an area of 3,015 ...

(''Kabupaten Mamuju Tengah'') - was cut out of the existing Mamuju Regency on 14 December 2012.

Demographics

Its population at the 2010 census was 1,158,651 increasing at 2.67% annually. Of those 171,356 are classified as below the poverty line of Indonesia.

Religion

References

{{Authority control 2004 establishments in Indonesia Provinces of Indonesia States and territories established in 2004