Kutai Kartanegara Regency (abbreviated as ''Kukar'') is a
regency
In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
of
East Kalimantan
East Kalimantan (Indonesian language, Indonesian: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. Its territory comprises the eastern portion of Borneo/Kalimantan. It had a population of about 3.03 million at the 2010 census (within the cu ...
Province,
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, ...
. It has a land area of 27,891.13 km
2 and a water area of 4,097 km
2, geographically located between 1°18′40″S and 116°31′36″E. The population of the regency was 626,286 at the 2010 Census
[Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011.] and 729,382 at the 2020 Census;
[Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021.] the official estimate as of mid-2024 was 789,767.
[Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2025, ''Kabupaten Kutai Kartanegara Dalam Angka 2025'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.6403)] The town of
Tenggarong is the capital of the regency.
The regency includes the middle and lower reaches of the
Mahakam River, the longest river in East Kalimantan, including its extensive delta. The city of
Samarinda
Samarinda is the capital city of the Provinces of Indonesia, Indonesian province of East Kalimantan on the island of Borneo. The city lies on the banks of the Mahakam River with a land area of . Samarinda was one of Indonesia's top ten City qu ...
is situated on the river, about 48 km (30 miles) from its mouth; it is an administrative enclave within the regency, which thus contains much of the metropolitan area of Samarinda.
In 2019, President
Joko Widodo
Joko Widodo (; born 21 June 1961), often known mononymously as Jokowi, is an Indonesian politician, engineer, and businessman who served as the seventh president of Indonesia from 2014 to 2024. Previously a member of the Indonesian Democratic ...
proclaimed that the
new national capital of Indonesia would be built in an area partly in the Kutai Kartanegara Regency and partly in the adjacent
Penajam North Paser Regency and that the construction process would set off around 2024.
History
Kutai Kartanegara Regency lies in the historical region of
Kutai, home to the first and oldest
Hindu kingdom of Indonesia, the
Kutai Martadipura Kingdom founded in the
4th century CE by King
Kudungga.
From 1953 until 1960, it was known as the
Special Region of Kutai.
Administrative districts
Kutai Kartanegara Regency is divided into twenty
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 2020 Census,
together with the official estimates as at mid-2024.
[Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2025, ''Kabupaten Kutai Kartanegara Dalam Angka 2025'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.6403)] The newly formed Kota Bangun Darat and Samboja Barat districts were split from Kota Bangun and Samboja districts respectively on 5 March 2021.
The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of
villages
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 ...
in each district (totaling 44 urban ''kelurahan'' and 193 rural ''desa''), and its postcode(s).
Notes: (a) includes the offshore island of ''Pulau Harapan''. (b) includes the offshore island of ''Pulau Jerang''.
(c) including 32 offshore islands, and mainly comprising the extensive delta of the Mahakam River.
(d) except the ''desa'' of Sidomulyo, which has a postcode of 76131.
(e) including the 6 offshore islands of ''Pulau Barau'', ''Pulau Berukang'', ''Pulau Jopang'', ''Pulau Lantang Kecil'', ''Pulau Lerong'' and ''Pulau Letung''.
(f) including the riverine island of ''Pulau Kumala'' in the
Mahakam River (linked to Tenggarong town by a footbridge).
(g) comprising 12 urban ''kelurahan'' (Baru, Bukit Biru, Jahab, Loa Ipuh, Loa Ipuh Darat, Loa Tebu, Maluhu, Mangkurawang, Melayu, Panji, Sukarame and Timbau) and 2 rural ''desa''.
(h) Samboja district comprises 10 ''kelurahan'' (Handil Baru, Handil Baru Darat, Kampung Lama, Kuala Samboja, Muara Sembilang, Sanipah, Sungai Seluang, Tanjung Harapan, Teluk Pemedas and Wonotirto) and 3 ''desa''.
(i) including 13 offshore islands.
(j) comprises 8 ''kelurahan'' (Dondang, Muara Jawa Pesisir, Muara Jawa Ilir, Muara Jawa Tengah, Muara Jawa Ulu, Muara Kembang, Tama Pole and Teluk Dalam).
(k) comprises 5 ''kelurahan'' (Jawa, Pendingin, Sanga-Sanga Dalam, Sanga-Sanga Muara and Sarijaya). (l) including the riverine island of ''Pulau Yupa'' in the Mahakam River.
(m) included in the figures for Kota Bangun District, from which it was split off in 2021. (n) included in the figures for Samboja District, from which it was split off in 2021.
(p) comprises nine 'kelurahan' (Amborawang Darat, Amborawang Laut, Argosari, Bukit Merdeka, Karya Merdeka, Margomulyo, Salok Api Darat, Salok Api Laut and Sungai Merdeka), plus one rural ''desa'' (Tani Bhakti).
Bukit Bangkirai rainforest
Bukit Bangkirai (''Bangkirai Hill'') is a 1,500-hectare natural tropical located about 58 kilometres (around 45 minutes by car) from the city of
Balikpapan
Balikpapan is a seaport city in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Located on the east coast of the island of Borneo, the city is the financial center of Kalimantan. Balikpapan is the city with the largest economy in Kalimantan with an estimated 20 ...
. Plants of the family
Dipterocarpaceae
Dipterocarpaceae is a family (biology), family of flowering plants with 22 genera and about 695 known species of mainly lowland tropical forest trees. Their distribution is pantropical, from northern South America to Africa, the Seychelles, India ...
dominate in the area, especially Bangkirai trees (''
Shorea laevis'' of the genus ''
Shorea
Fruit of a ''Shorea'' species
''Shorea'' is a genus of about 47 species of mainly rainforest trees in the family Dipterocarpaceae. The timber of trees of the genus is sold under the common names lauan, luan, lawaan, meranti, seraya, balau, bang ...
'') growing to 40–50 metres in height. There are over 120 bird species as well as gibbons (
Müller's Bornean gibbon), macaque monkeys (
Southern pig-tailed macaque
The southern pig-tailed macaque (''Macaca nemestrina''), also known as the Sundaland pig-tailed macaque and the Sunda pig-tailed macaque, is a medium-sized macaque that lives in Sundaland, southern Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. It is known ...
s,
Crab-eating macaque
The crab-eating macaque (''Macaca fascicularis''), also known as the long-tailed macaque or cynomolgus macaque, is a cercopithecine primate native to Southeast Asia. As a synanthropic species, the crab-eating macaque thrives near human settlem ...
s),
Maroon leaf monkeys,
Banded pigs, and
Banggai crows. Black Orchids (''
Coelogyne pandurata''), among 45 kinds of orchids, are endemic to Bukit Bangkirai.
To visit the forest, visitors can walk along a 64-metre
canopy bridge that connects five big Bangkirai trees 30 metres above the ground.
Mangrove information, research center
In 2011, East Kalimantan province developed an 18-hectare plot of land for
mangrove
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...
information and research center in Sepatin village, in Anggana District, as
Bali
Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...
has done. It will function as a research, exhibition, information, breeding as well as education center on mangroves, especially in the Mahakam Delta.
Smart city
In early 2015 it was announced that part of Kutai Kartanegara Regency had been selected to be a trial '
smart city
A smart city is an urban area that uses digital technology to collect data and operate services. Data is collected from citizens, devices, buildings, or cameras. Applications include traffic and transportation systems, power plants, utilities ...
', the first in Indonesia, based on the Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town (SST) concept. The aim of the SST concept was to reduce emissions by 70 percent and reduce consumption of water by 30 percent. The Kutai Kartanegara area was chosen as a trial area because of good investment growth in the region, the extensive area, relatively moderate levels of population density, effective planning in the area, and rich energy resources.
See also
*
Kutai, (historical region in
eastern Borneo)
*
Kutainese language
Kutai is a Malayic languages, Malayic language spoken by 300,000 to 500,000 people. It is the native language of the Kutai people (, Kutai: ''Urang Kutai''), the indigenous ethnic group which lives along the Mahakam River in Borneo, especially in ...
*
Legend of the Centipede Lake
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Mahakam basin