Nusa Laut (also called Pulau Nusahulawano or Pulau Emas) is the smallest of the three inhabited island in the

Lease Islands The Lease Islands (pronounced LAY-a-SAY, /leɪ.a.seɪ/), formerly called the Uliasers or Uliassers, are a group of three inhabited islands (and smaller uninhabited islets), lying immediately to the south of Seram and east of Ambon Island in the p ...

group situated east of

Ambon Island Ambon Island is part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island has an area of and is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. Ambon Island consists of two territories: the city of Ambon, Maluku, Ambon to the south, and three districts (''k ...

, in Indonesia's

Maluku Maluku may refer to: Places * Maluku Islands, an archipelago that is part of Indonesia ** List of the Maluku Islands * Maluku (province), a province of Indonesia comprising the central and southern parts of the archipelago * North Maluku, a provin ...

province. It lies just off the south-western corner of

Saparua Saparua is an island east of Ambon Island in the Indonesian province of Maluku; the island of Haruku lies between Saparua and Ambon. The main port is in the south at Kota Saparua. The small and uninhabited island of Maolana is located near its ...

island, separated from it by a deep channel. The island's coasts are fringed by a drying reef. Nusa Laut covers a land area of 32.5 km² and had a population of 5,322 at the 2010 Census and 5,780 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 5,437 inhabitants.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2024, ''Kabupaten Maluku Tengah Dalam Angka 2024'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.8101) live in seven villages - Leinitu, Sila, Nalahia and Ameth in the north of the island, and Titawaai, Abubu and Akoon in the south of the island - all sharing the postcode of 97518. They speak the

Nusa Laut language Nusa Laut is an Austronesian language spoken on the island of the same name in the Moluccas in eastern Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian ...

, as well as

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

and

Ambonese Malay Ambonese Malay or simply Ambonese is a Malay-based creole language spoken on Ambon Island in the Maluku Islands of Eastern Indonesia. It was first brought by traders from Western Indonesia, then developed when the Dutch Empire colonised the M ...

. Nusa Laut has an all-Christian population and has been spared the 1999–2000 riots plaguing the rest of the region. Its villages have many colonial style houses and churches, two of which compete for the title of being the oldest church in Maluku. There is also an old fort - the Dutch East India Company's Fort Beverwijk. Visitors come to the island for its beaches and to dive off the reefs of Ameth - reputedly one of the best dive spots in the Lease Islands.Muller, Dr. Kal (1990). ''Spice Islands: The Moluccas''. Periplus Editions.

References

External links

Old map of Manipa, Haruku, Saparua and Nusa Laut
{{Maluku-islands , state=expanded Islands of the Maluku Islands Landforms of Maluku (province) Islands of Oceania Populated places in Indonesia Islands of Indonesia