Sibolga (formerly sometimes Siboga) is a city and a port located in the natural harbour of Sibolga Bay on the west coast of

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, in

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, ...

. The city is located on the western side of North Sumatra facing the Indian Ocean, is a transit harbour to Nias Island, and was hard hit during the

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake On 26 December 2004, at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+07:00, UTC+7), a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2–9.3 struck with an epicenter, epicentre off the west coast of Aceh in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The Submarine earthquake, undersea ...

. Sibolga is also a semi-enclave within Central Tapanuli Regency, as Sibolga borders Central Tapanuli Regency in the north, east, and south, while it borders the Mentawai Strait in the west. The city has an area of only 10.77 km² and is the smallest city by land area in Indonesia. It had a population of 84,444 at the 2010 censusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 89,584 at the 2020 census;Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 91,265 - comprising 45,839 males and 45,426 females.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2024, ''Kota Sibolga Dalam Angka 2024'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1273)

Administrative districts

The city is divided into four

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''), tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 censusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and the 2020 census,Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. together with the official estimates as of mid-2023.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2024, ''Kota Sibolga Dalam Angka 2024'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1273) The table also includes 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 or subdistricts (all classed as urban ''kelurahan'') in each district and its postcodes.

History

Poncan Ketek Island (Small Poncan Island) in Sibolga Bay was once the location of a fort, with British, Dutch, French, and American traders passing through. It is thought

Stamford Raffles Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British Colonial Office, colonial official who served as the List of governors of the Dutch East Indies, governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816 and lieut ...

passed through before he moved to Bengkulu in southern Sumatra. From Bengkulu Raffles, after relinquishing the port to the Dutch, established the trade port that became

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. At some point between 1890 and 1920, there was a major fire in the city, which was presumably mostly built from wood from the surrounding mountains (shown partly denuded in the 1928 panorama below). After the Japanese invasion of Sumatra in 1942, a makeshift prison described as a "civilian camp" was set up at ''Taroetoengweg'', in the city center, from 16 March to 4 May 1942. It first housed 10 "European" men from in and around Sibolga, who were then joined on April 24 by another 10 men from the island of

Nias Nias (, Nias: ''Tanö Niha'') is an island located off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Nias is also the name of the archipelago () of which the island is the centre, but also includes the Batu Islands to the southeast and the small ...

. On May 4 they were taken to the Native Secondary School for Boys in Pearadja ( Taroetoeng), located in the mountains behind Sibolga.

Transport and tourism

Buses are available from

Medan Medan ( , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sumatra. The nearby Strait of Malacca, Port of Belawan, and Kualanamu International Airport make Medan a regional hub and multi ...

, Parapat, and

Padang Padang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of West Sumatra. It had a population of 833,562 at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 909,040 at the 2020 Census;Bad ...

. Ferries from here service the outlying islands to the west, Simeulue and

, as well as the rest of

. Sibolga is a step-off point for trade and passenger boats to Nias Island. The local airport is Ferdinand Lumban Tobing Airport.

Climate

This area has a

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 ...

with no real

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...

. Regions with this climate typically feature

tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are dense and warm rainforests with high rainfall typically found between 10° north and south of the Equator. They are a subset of the tropical forest biome that occurs roughly within the 28° latitudes (in the torrid zo ...

s, and are designated by the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

as "Af".

Gallery

Fort-Tapanoeli-on-Poncan-Ketek.png, Fort Tapanuli on Poncan Ketek Island in 1878 COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Ravage na een brand in Sibolga TMnr 60046398.jpg, Devastation after the fire (ca. 1890–1920) COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Ravage na een brand in Sibolga TMnr 60046397.jpg, Devastation after the fire (ca. 1890–1920) COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Ravage na brand in Sibolga TMnr 60046396.jpg, Devastation after the fire (ca. 1890–1920) COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Erepoort in de Chinese wijk van Sibolga TMnr 60023143.jpg, Entrance gate to Sibolga's Chinese Quarter, 1920 COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Autobus van de Gouvernements Automobieldienst op de lijn Sibolga - Balige TMnr 60021703.jpg, Government bus descending Sibolga's mountain road, June 1919 Sibolga Panorama 1928.jpg, Panorama of Sibolga, 1928

References

External links

{{Authority control Ports and harbours of Indonesia Ports and harbours of the Indian Ocean