Pagar Alam (sometimes written as Pagaralam,
Jawi: ), is a city in
South Sumatra,
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 was formerly part of
Lahat Regency, from which it was separated as an independent city on 21 June 2001; before being established as an independent city, Pagar Alam was an administrative city within Lahat Regency. It has an area of 633.66 km
2 and a population of 126,181 at the 2010 Census
[Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011.] and 143,844 at the 2020 Census;
[Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021.] the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 150,881 (comprising 77,147 males and 73,734 females).
[Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2024, ''Kota Pagar Alam Dalam Angka 2024'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1672)]
Pagar Alam is located by the
Bukit Barisan Mountains, at the foot of
Mount Dempo (''Gunung Dempo''), a volcano and the highest mountain in South Sumatra, which towers to a height of 3,159m to the west of the town. It is 298 km southwest from the province's capital city of
Palembang
Palembang (, Palembang: ''Pelémbang'', Mandarin: 巨港 (Jùgǎng), Hokkien: 舊港 (Kū-káng), Jawi: ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. The city proper covers on both banks of the Musi River in the ea ...
and 60 km southwest of the town of
Lahat
The LAHAT (laser homing attack or laser homing anti-tank, also a Hebrew word for ''incandescence'') is a third generation semi-active laser homing low-weight anti-tank guided missile developed since 1991 and manufactured by Israel Aerospace In ...
. The city is bounded by
Bengkulu Province to the south, Jarai District to the north, Kota Agung District to the east and Tanjung Sakti Pumi District to the west. Pagar Alam is one of the main suppliers of vegetables in Palembang. Its location in the highland makes the city slightly cooler than many of the other South Sumatra cities; this, together with its astounding landscape, makes the city one of the main tourist destinations in South Sumatra and it is often visited by local tourists, especially from Palembang. Currently, the city is led by
Alpian Maskoni as the mayor of the city.
Geography
Pagar Alam is located by the
Bukit Barisan Mountains, at the feet of
Mount Dempo. It is situated on the
Pasemah Plateau, an extensive fertile highland plain which is surrounded by mountains. It is notable for ancient stone
megalith
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging geographically f ...
s which surround the town on all sides and are the remnants of a
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
culture. Much of the soil in the city consists of
latosol and
andisol with rugged and hilly topography. The soil in this city is classified as soil with high fertility (class I).
Demography
In 2000, Pagar Alam's population was only 112,025 and it increased to 126,181 ten years later, and 143,844 after a further decade. One of the factors in the population increase has been the settlement of migrants who want to live in this city. Beside the city's native inhabitants, the Malay (Besemah), the city population also consists of several other groups, such as the
Javanese,
Minang,
Batak
Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian peoples, Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo people ( ...
,
Chinese,
Arabs
Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world.
Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...
, and
Indians.
Administrative Districts
Pagar Alam is administratively divided into five
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
and 2020
Censuses, together with the official estimates as at mid 2023.
[Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2024, ''Kota Pagar Alam Dalam Angka 2024'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1672)] The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centresw, 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 (all classed as urban ''kelurahan'') in each district, and its postal codes.
Note: (a) excluding the ''kelurahan'' of Sukorejo, which has a post code of 31551.
Climate
Pagar Alam has an elevation moderated
tropical rainforest climate
A tropical rainforest climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southeast Florida, United States ...
(Af) with heavy rainfall year-round.
Transportation
Atung Bungsu Airport
Atung Bungsu Airport is the only airport in Pagar Alam. It is opened on 28 February 2013. With air transport it now is less than one hour from Palembang, instead of eight hours using land transportation.
Education
Colleges
# Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Tarbiyah (STIT)
# Sekolah Tinggi Keguruan & Ilmu Pendidikan (STKIP) Muhammadiyah Pagar Alam
# Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Ekonomi (STIE) Lembah Dempo Pagar Alam
Sekolah Tinggi Teknologi Pagaralam (STTP) Simpang Mbacang
Tourism
Beside its landscapes, the city also offer heritage tourism with a lot of megalithic sites. The Pagaralam government will build an integrated tourism area in a 26 hectare
bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...
forest at Curup Jahe in North Pagaralam.
References
External links
*
{{South Sumatra
States and territories established in 2001
Musi basin