Mandailing Natal, a.k.a. Madina, 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 ...

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, ...

. It covers an area of 6,620.70 square kilometres and it had a population of 403,894 people at the 2010 censusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 472,886 at the 2020 Census;Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 496,975 (comprising 247,811 males and 249,164 females).Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2024, ''Kabupaten Mandailing Natal Dalam Angka 2024'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1213) The capital lies at Panyabungan. The Regency was formerly a part of South Tapanuli Regency until it was created as a separate regency on 23 November 1998. It is the southernmost regency in

, and the largest regency by land area in the province, with Langkat Regency second to it.

Geography

The regency is divided in two by the Bukit Barisan mountains. The portion to the west of the mountains drains to the west coast of Sumatra, and comprises the districts of Batahan, Sinunukan, Batang Natal, Lingga Bayu, Ranto Baek, Natal and Muara Batang Gadis; it covers an area of 4,037 km², and had a population of 179,270 in mid 2023.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2023, ''Kabupaten Mandailing Natal Dalam Angka 2023'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1213) The portion to the east of the mountains comprises the remaining districts of the Regency, all of which drain towards the north; it covers an area of 2,583.7 km² and had a population of 317,705 in mid 2023.

Administration

At the 2010 Census, the regency was divided into eighteen

district 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 county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

s (''kecamatan''). Subsequently, five additional districts (indicated by asterisks in the table below) have been created by the division of existing districts. The twenty-three districts are tabulated below with their areas and their population 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 Mandailing Natal Dalam Angka 2024'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1213) The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of administrative villages in each district (totaling 377 rural ''desa'' and 27 urban ''kelurahan''), and its post code. Notes: (a) including 1 ''kelurahan''. (b) including 2 ''kelurahan''. (c) comprising 9 ''kelurahan'' and 30 ''desa''.

National Park

see Batang Gadis National Park

References

{{coord, 0.7838, N, 99.2549, E, source:wikidata, display=title Regencies of North Sumatra States and territories established in 1998 Batang Gadis basin Batang Toru basin