Merauke 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 ...

in the far south of the Indonesian province of

South Papua South Papua, officially the South Papua Province (), is an Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province located in the southern portion of Western New Guinea, Papua, following the borders of the Papuan customary region of Anim Ha. Formally establ ...

. It covers an area of 45,013.35 km², and had a population of 195,716 at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 230,932 at the 2020 Census;Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. the official estimate as at mid 2024 was 255,168, comprising 132,601 males and 122,567 females.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2025, ''Kabupaten Merauke Dalam Angka 2025'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.9401) The administrative centre is the town of

Merauke Merauke is a large town (''kelurahan'') and an administrative district (''distrik'') in Merauke Regency of South Papua Province, Indonesia. It is also the administrative centre of Merauke Regency, and is considered to be the easternmost city in I ...

; the town was projected since 2013 to become an independent city (''kota'') separate from Merauke Regency, but the alteration has been deferred subsequently by the Indonesian Government's moratorium on the creation of new cities and regencies. It is also the provincial capital of the province of

, although this is to be moved to a specially-built new location in Salor located in Kurik District to the northwest of Merauke. Merauke is the largest regency in Indonesia, with an area of 45,013.35 km², slightly larger than

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

History

Until 2002, the regency covered a much wider area of southern Papua, but much of the area was split off on 12 November 2002 to form the new Regencies of Asmat, Mappi and Boven Digoel. The four regencies were in 2022 re-grouped to form the new

Province.

Demographics

Ethnicity

One of the tribes originating from Merauke are the Marind (or also called the Marind Anim) and the Sohoers. There are various sub-clans of the Marind Anim tribe, such as Kaize, Gebze, Balagaize, Mahuze, Ndiken, and Basik-basik. In Dutch colonial period, the local residents lived side by side with the Dutch government employees. After the Western New Guinea integration with Indonesia, the development of the regency then followed by a population increase coming from various regions in the country. As of 2010 Indonesian census male population data, the population of indigenous Papuans in Merauke Regency is 37,731 (36.60%), while non-native Papuans is 65,347 (63.40%).

Religion

A 2021 data from

Central Agency on Statistics Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

of Merauke Regency indicates that the majority of Merauke Regency population adheres to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

(52.84%). The

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

s makes up the majority of them (36.61%) and the remainings are

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

s (16.23%). Another significant religions in the regency is

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

(46.56%), followed by

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

(0.44%) and

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

(0.16%).

Administrative districts

At the 2020 Census, Merauke Regency comprised 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 ...

(''distrik''), listed below with their areas and 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 2024.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2025, ''Kabupaten Merauke Dalam Angka 2025'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.9401) Two additional districts have subsequently been created - Kontuar from part of Waan District, and Padua from parts of Kimaam, Tabonji and Ilyawab Districts) - but their population details for the 2010 and 2020 Censuses are included with the districts from which they were cut out. 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 (totalling 179 rural ''kampung'' and 11 urban ''kelurahan'', the latter all in Merauke District) and its post code. Note: (a) the population figures for the new Kontuar District are included with those for Waan District, from part of which it was cut out. (b) the population figures for the new Padua District are included with those for Kimaam, Tabonji and Ilwayab Districts, from parts of which it was cut out. (c) containing all of the regency's 11 ''kelurahan'' (urban villages) and 5 ''kampung''.

Forests

Much of the area of Merauke Regency is covered by

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s. The Wasur National Park forms part of the largest wetland in the regency. MIFEE (Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate) is a project for use of a big area for industry and also

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from o ...

and food crops agriculture including

land grabbing Land grabbing is the large-scale acquisition of land through buying or leasing of large pieces of land by domestic and Multinational corporation, transnational companies, governments, and individuals. While used broadly throughout history, land g ...

. MIFEE is supported by the national government. There is much indigenous opposition to the MIFEE project. The MIFEE project is expected to cover a 1.2 million hectare area, or a quarter of Merauke. The project threatens conservation areas, such as virgin forests and water catchment areas, as well as the habitat of indigenous peoples in Papua. There were substantial forest fires. By May 2011, Indonesian government allocated around two million hectares in the regency to 36 national and international corporations for oil palm, timber, and sugarcane enterprises.

Transportation

Merauke Regency is equipped by a passenger port, serving

Pelni Pelni (abbreviation of , ) is the national cargo and passenger shipping company of Indonesia. Its services network spans across the Indonesian archipelago. Mainly serving as connector between bigger cities and to remote islands, Pelni plays an i ...

ships, as well as Mopah International Airport serving domestic flights.

References

External links

*
Statistics publications from Statistics Indonesia (BPS)
{{South Papua Regencies of South Papua