Southwest Maluku Regency (; ) 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
Maluku 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, ...
. Geographically it forms the most eastern portion of the
Lesser Sunda Islands
The Lesser Sunda Islands (, , ), now known as Nusa Tenggara Islands (, or "Southeast Islands"), are an archipelago in the Indonesian archipelago. Most of the Lesser Sunda Islands are located within the Wallacea region, except for the Bali pro ...
, although it has never been administratively included with them, and politically has always comprised a part of the Maluku Province. It comprises a number of islands and island groups in the south of the province, including (running from west to east)
Lirang Island,
Wetar Island (with almost half of the total land area of the regency),
Kisar Island,
Romang Island, the
Letti Islands, the
Damer Islands, the
Sermata Islands (formerly called Mdona Hyera) and the
Babar Islands
The Babar Islands (; ) are located in Maluku Province, Indonesia between latitudes 7 degrees 31 minutes South to 8 degrees 13 minutes South and from longitudes 129 degrees 30 minutes East to 130 degrees 05 minutes East. The group now constitutes ...
. The total land area is 4,581.06 km
2, and the population was 70,714 at the 2010 Census
[Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011.] and 81,928 at the 2020 Census;
[Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021.] the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 93,766 (comprising 47,943 males and 45,823 females).
[Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2024, ''Kabupaten Maluku Barat Daya Dalam Angka 2024'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.8108)]
The administrative centre lies at
Tiakur on
Moa Island (in the Letti Islands), but the largest town is Wonreli (on Kisar Island). These islands were originally part of
Maluku Tenggara Regency within Maluku, and then from 4 October 1999 part of
Maluku Tenggara Barat Regency when that was created, but from 24 June 2008 became a separate regency within Maluku.
Administrative Districts
As at 2010 the Southwest Maluku Regency was administratively composed of eight
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''). But by 2015 the number of districts had increased to seventeen by the splitting of existing districts, although by 2023 the names of several of these districts had been altered; Pulau Pulau Wetar (the Wetar Islands) has been divided into four districts - Wetar (now Wetar Selatan or South Wetar), Wetar Barat (West Wetar), Wetar Timur (East Wetar) and Wetar Utara (North Wetar); the other six newly created districts are Dawelor Dawera and Pulau Masela (Masela Island) formed from parts of Babar Timur District, Kepulauan Roma (Romang Islands) and Kisar Utara (North Kisar) formed from parts of Pulau Pulau Terselatan District (itself now renamed Kisar Selatan), Pulau Lakor (Lakor Island) formed from part of Moa Lakor District (itself now renamed Moa District), and Pulau Wetang (Wetang Island) formed from part of Pulau Pulau Babar District (itself now renamed Babar Barat or West Babar District).
The districts are formally grouped into three archipelagoes - the Terselatan Group (including Wetar, as well as Kisar and Romang Islands), the Lemola Group (Letti, Moa and Lakor) and the Babar Group (including Damer Island and the Sermata Islands). The areas (in km
2)
[Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2024, ''Kabupaten Maluku Barat Daya Dalam Angka 2024'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.8108)] and the populations at the 2010 census
[Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011.] and 2020 census,
[Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021.] together with the official estimates as at mid 2023,
[Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2024, ''Kabupaten Maluku Barat Daya Dalam Angka 2024'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.8108)] are listed below. 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 117 rural ''desa'' and 1 urban ''kelurahan'' - the latter being Tiakur on Moa Island), and its post code.
Notes:
(a) the 2010 populations for the four districts which comprised Pulau Pulau Wetar District are listed under Wetar Selatan District.
(b) the 2010 populations of Kisar Utara and Kepulauan Roma Districts are included under the figure for Kisar Selatan District (formerly called Pulau Pulau Terselatan District), from which they were split off.
(c) the 2010 population of Lakor District is included in the figure for Moa District, from which it was split off.
(d) the 2010 population of Pulau Wetang District is included in the figure for Babar Barat District (formerly called Pulau Pulau Babar District), from which it was split off.
(e) the 2010 populations of Pulau Masela and Daweloor Dawera Districts are included under the figure for Babar Timur District, from which they were split off.
References
External links
{{Authority control
Regencies of Maluku (province)