Simalungun Regency is a regency in

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, ...

. Its seat was formerly at

Pematangsiantar Pematangsiantar (sometimes written as Pematang Siantar, acronym PS or ''P. Siantar'', colloquially just Siantar), and also known as the City of Pematangsiantar, is an independent city in North Sumatra Province of Indonesia, surrounded by, but not ...

, but this city was under Law No.15 of 10 March 1986 was separated from the Regency and made into an independent city (''kota''), although it remains geographically surrounded by the regency, whose new administrative seat is at Raya, while the regency's two most populous districts are Bandar and Siantar. The regency now covers an area of 4,372.5 square kilometres, and at the 2010 census it had a population of 817,720;Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. at the 2020 Census this had risen to 990,246, of whom 497,314 were males and 492,932 were females;Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. the official estimate as at mid 2024 was 1,051,845, and is projected to rise to 1,067,499 at mid 2025 - comprising 537,650 males and 529,849 females.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2025, ''Kabupaten Simalungun Dalam Angka 2025'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1209)

Demography

The principal group of inhabitants of the Regency (and of

city, an enclave within the regency) are the Simalungun people, a sub-group of the

Batak people 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 ( ...

. Their language (

Simalungun language Simalungun, or Batak Simalungun, is an Austronesian language of Sumatra. It is spoken mainly in Simalungun Regency and Pematang Siantar, North Sumatra, Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast ...

) is an Austronesian language.

Regent

The regent of

Simalungun Simalungun Regency is a regency in North Sumatra Province of Indonesia. Its seat was formerly at Pematangsiantar, but this city was under Law No.15 of 10 March 1986 was separated from the Regency and made into an independent city (''kota''), alth ...

is Radiapoh Hasiholan Sinaga, SH, who was elected as Regent of Simalungun on ''Pilkada'' (election of regional head) 2020, and took office on 21 April 2021.

Adjoining administrative entities

* North: Serdang Bedagai Regency and Deli Serdang Regency. * East: Batubara Regency and Asahan Regency. * South: Toba Regency. * West:

Karo Regency Karo Regency is a landlocked regency of North Sumatra Province of Indonesia, situated in the Barisan Mountains. The regency, which was established on 7 November 1956, covers an area of and according to the 2010 census it had a population of 350 ...

and

Lake Toba Lake Toba (, Toba Batak: ᯖᯀᯬ ᯖᯬᯅ; romanized: ''Tao Toba'') is a large natural lake in North Sumatra, Indonesia, occupying the caldera of the Toba supervolcano. The lake is located in the middle of the northern part of the island of ...

Administrative districts

The regency in 2010 was divided administratively into thirty-one

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''), but in 2017 a 32nd district - Dolog Masagal - was created. These are tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 2020 Census,Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. together with the official estimates as at mid 2024.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2025, ''Kabupaten Simalungun Dalam Angka 2025'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1209) 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 (totaling 386 rural ''desa'' and 27 urban ''kelurahan''), and its post code. Notes: * not to be confused with Tigaraja in Girsang Sipangan Bolon District; in fact the administration of Pematang Silimakuta District would appear to be in Silimakuta Barat ''desa''.
(a) including one ''kelurahan''. (b) comprises 3 ''kelurahan'' (Girsang, Parapat and Tigaraja) and 3 ''desa''.
(c) comprises 5 ''kelurahan'' (Baringin Raya, Dalig Raya, Merek Raya, Pematang Raya and Sondi Raya) and 12 ''desa''.
(d) The 2010 population of the new Dolog Masagal District is included in the figure for Raya District, from which it was cut out in 2017.
(e) includes 2 ''kelurahan'' - Aman Sari and Serbelawan. (f) eastern suburbs of Pematangsiantar City.
(g) includes 2 ''kelurahan'' - Kerasaan I and Pematang Bandar. (h) includes 2 ''kelurahan'' - Perdagangan I and Perdagangan III. The urban area of Bandar comprises the four ''kecamatan'' (districts) of Pematang Bandar, Bandar Huluan, Bandar and Bandar Masilam, with a combined area of 387.4 km² and a population in mid 2024 of 188,800. Six southern districts border directly on the north coast of

; from west to east, these are Pematang Silimakuta, Silimakuta, Haranggaol Horison, Dolok Pardamean, Pematang Sidamanik, and Girsang Sipangan Bolon.

Culture

Dayang Bandir and Sandean Raja is a folk story from Simalungun.

Tourism

White Crater

Local people mention it as Bukit Kapur Tinggi Raja, but some people have also called it "Kawah Putih" (White Crater), the same name as Kawah Putih in

West Java West Java (, ) is an Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten and the country's capital region of Jakarta to t ...

. The crater is located in Dolok Tinggi Raja Village, 90 kilometres 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 ...

or 3 to 4 hours drive by motorcycle on the route Medan-Lubuk Pakam-Galang-Bangun Purba-Dolok Tinggi Raja.

Parapat

Parapat is a small town located on the shore of

. This place is known for tourism, and ferry services to Samosir Island are also available.

References

{{coord, 2.9000, N, 99.0000, E, source:wikidata, display=title Regencies of North Sumatra