Dairi Regency is an inland regency on the western shore of

Lake Toba Lake Toba (, Toba Batak: ᯖᯀᯬ ᯖᯬᯅ; romanized: ''Tao Toba'') is a large natural lake in North Sumatra, Indonesia, occupying the caldera of the Toba supervolcano. The lake is located in the middle of the northern part of the island 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. The regency was created on 23 September 1964 from what were previously the north-western districts of North Tapanuli Regency; however the southern districts of this new regency were in turn split off on 25 February 2003 to form the new

Pakpak Bharat Regency Pakpak Bharat Regency is a landlocked regency in North Sumatra Province of Indonesia. It was created on 25 February 2003 from the southern districts of Dairi Regency. The regency covers an area of 1,365.6 square kilometres and it had a populatio ...

. The reduced regency covers an area of and it had a population of 269,848 people at the 2010 Census and 308,764 at the 2020 Census;Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 324,747 - comprising 162,928 males and 161,819 females.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2024, ''Kabupaten Dairi Dalam Angka 2024'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1211) Its administrative seat is at the town of Sidikalang.

Geography and climate

Dairi is mostly hills and mountains, averaging above sea level. It has a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southeast Florida, United States ...

, with the heaviest rainfall between September and May.

Demographics

A 2008 estimate by the Dairi government put Dairi's population at 271,983, with a

sex ratio A sex ratio is the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. However, many species deviate from an even sex ratio, ei ...

of 99.43. Of the population, 39.96% is under the age of 14. At the 2010 Census the population was 269,848,Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. at the 2020 Census it was 308,764Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. and for mid 2023 it was estimated as 324,747.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2024, ''Kabupaten Dairi Dalam Angka 2024'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1211)

Bordering territories

The Dairi Regency is bordered to the north by

Karo Regency Karo Regency is a landlocked regency of North Sumatra Province of Indonesia, situated in the Barisan Mountains. 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 ...

, to the east by Samosir Regency and

, to the south by

, and to the west by Aceh Province ( Southeast Aceh Regency and the City of Subulussalam).

Administrative districts

Dairi Regency is divided into fifteen

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 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and the 2020 Census,Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. together with the official estimates as at mid 2023.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2024, ''Kabupaten Dairi Dalam Angka 2024'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1211) 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 161 rural ''desa'' and 8 urban ''kelurahan''), and its post code. Notes: (a) comprising 5 ''kelurahan'' (Batang Beruh, Bintang Hulu, Kuta Gambir, Sidiangkat and Sidikalang Kota) and 6 ''desa''.
(b) including the ''kelurahan'' of Panji Dabutar. (c) including the ''kelurahan'' of Pegagan Julu I. (d) including the ''kelurahan'' of Parongil.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of Dairi has many connotations. Indonesia's date of independence, 17 August 1945, is indicated by the 17-budded cotton plant on the left side, 8

rattan Rattan, also spelled ratan (from Malay language, Malay: ''rotan''), is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the clos ...

branches in the center, and 45 seeds of rice on a stalk to the right. The shield in the centre is divided into five, four parts indicating different

cash crop A cash crop, also called profit crop, is an Agriculture, agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate a marketed crop from a staple crop ("subsi ...

s important to the area (

benzoin resin Benzoin or benjamin (corrupted pronunciation) is a balsamic resin obtained from the bark of several species of trees in the genus '' Styrax''. It is used in perfumes and some kinds of incense and as a flavoring and medicine (see tincture of ...

, coffee, tobacco and

patchouli Patchouli (also spelled patchouly or pachouli; ; '' Pogostemon cablin'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, commonly called the mint or deadnettle family. The plant grows as a bushy perennial herb, with erect stems reachin ...

), while the fifth shows a traditional Pakpak Batak house; the house signifies protection. The five point star in the top center signifies the Pancasila-respecting habits of the Dairi people, while the mountains represent tranquility and the chains represent '' gotong royong'', or cooperating and collaborating. The central sharpened bamboo spear represents the Dairi people's struggle for independence.

History

Prior to the arrival of the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

, the people of what is now Dairi lived in traditional ''

adat Alesis Digital Audio Tape, commonly referred to as ADAT, is a magnetic tape format used for the Sound recording and reproduction, recording of eight digital audio tracks onto the same S-VHS tape used by consumer VCRs, and the basis of a serie ...

''-regulated communities, with unelected local leaders. After the arrival of the Dutch they established an ethnic-Dutch ''controleur'' to be in charge of the Dairi ''onder afdeling'', as well as a native Indonesian ''demang'', or lieutenant. When the Japanese occupied Indonesia beginning in 1942, the Dairi area was also occupied; during this time, local youths were used as

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

to build the long Sidikalang road and the Dutch were removed. After Indonesia's independence, the residents attempted to build a foundation for a new government. However, after the Dutch army recaptured nearby East Sumatra in 1947, they chose a new leader for the Dairi area. Another leader was chosen in 1949; later that year, after the Netherlands and Indonesia signed an agreement for Indonesian independence

Economy

Farming is a large business in Dairi. Major crops in Dairi are coffee, both robusta and arabica, corn, and potatoes. Approximately 6,770 tonnes of robusta coffee are produced every year, in addition to 2,639 tonnes of arabica; corn fields take up 63% of suitable farming land. Other minor trades are '' damar'' collecting,

fish farming Fish farming or pisciculture involves commercial breeding of fish, most often for food, in fish tanks or artificial enclosures such as fish ponds. It is a particular type of aquaculture, which is the controlled cultivation and harvesting of ...

, and rattan. Since 1997, Dairi Prima Mineral have operated the Dairi mine near the Sopokomil hamlet of Longkotan d/small> village in the Silima Pungga-Pungga d/small> subdistrict of the regency.

References

;Bibliography * * * * * * * {{coord, 3, N, 99.1667, E, source:kolossus-eswiki, display=title Regencies of North Sumatra Singkil basin