Central Kalimantan

Central Kalimantan Kalimantan Tengah
Province
Tanjung Puting National Park
Flag Seal
Motto: Isen Mulang (Sangen) (Never Retreat)
Location of Central Kalimantan in Indonesia.
Coordinates:
Country	Indonesia
Capital	Palangkaraya
Government
• Governor	Agustin Teras Narang (PDI-P)
• Vice Governor	Achmad Diran
Area
• Total	153,564.5 km2 (59,291.6 sq mi)
Population (2014)
• Total	2,368,654
• Density	15/km2 (40/sq mi)
Demographics
• Ethnic groups	24% Banjarese 18% Javanese 18% Ngaju 10% Dayak Sampit 8% Bakumpai 1% Sundanese
• Religion	74.3% Islam 16.4% Protestant 10.7% Hindu 3.1% Catholic 0.1% Buddhism 0.1% other
• Languages	Indonesian (official) Malay Bugis Dayak Chinese (Hakka and Teochew)
Time zone	WIB (UTC+7)
Vehicle registration	KH
HDI	0.677 (Medium)
HDI rank	20th (2014)
Website	www.kalteng.go.id

Central Kalimantan (Indonesian: Kalimantan Tengah, Jawi: کاليمانتان تڠه‎), is a province of Indonesia. It is one of five provinces in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo. Its provincial capital is Palangkaraya and in 2010 its population was over 2.2 million, while the latest official estimate (for January 2014) is 2,368,654.

The population growth rate was almost 3.0% per annum between 1990 and 2000, one of the highest provincial growth rates in Indonesia during that time; in the subsequent decade to 2010 the average annual growth rate slowed markedly to around 1.8%. More than is the case in other province in the region, Central Kalimantan is populated by the Dayaks, the indigenous inhabitants of Borneo.

History

Since the eighteenth century the central region of Kalimantan and its Dayak inhabitants were ruled by the Muslim Sultanate of Banjar. Following Indonesian independence after World War II, Dayak tribes demanded a province separate from South Kalimantan province.

In 1957 South Kalimantan was divided to provide the Dayak population with greater autonomy from the Muslim population in the province. The change was approved by the Indonesian Government on 23 May 1957 under Presidential Law No. 10 Year 1957, which declared Central Kalimantan the seventeenth province of Indonesia. President Sukarno appointed the Dayak-born national hero Tjilik Riwut as the first Governor and Palangkaraya the provincial capital.

The three major Dayak tribes in Central Kalimantan are the Ngaju, Ot Danum and Dusun Ma'anyan Ot Siang. The three major tribes extended into several branches of prominent Dayak tribes in Central Kalimantan such as Lawangan, Taboyan, Dusun Siang, Boyan, Bantian, Dohoi and Kadori.

In addition to the indigenous Dayak tribes, the province also groups from other areas of Indonesia, including Javanese, Maduranese, Batak, Toraja, Ambonese, Bugis, Palembang, Minang, Banjarese, Makassar, Papuan, Balinese, Acehnese and also Chinese.

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1971	701,936	—
1980	954,353	+36.0%
1990	1,396,486	+46.3%
1995	1,627,453	+16.5%
2000	1,801,965	+10.7%
2010	2,212,089	+22.8%
2014	2,368,654	+7.1%
Source: Badan Pusat Statistik 2014

Geography

Central Kalimantan is the third largest Indonesian province by area with a size of 153,564.5 km2, about 1.5 times the size of the island of Java. It is bordered by West Kalimantan and East Kalimantan provinces to the north, by the Java Sea to the south, by South Kalimantan and East Kalimantan provinces to the east, and by West Kalimantan province to west.

The Schwaner Mountains stretch from the north-east of the province to the south-west, 80% of which is covered in dense forest, peatland swamps, mangroves, rivers, and traditional agriculture land. Highland areas in the north-east are remote and not easily accessible. Non-volcanic mounts are scattered in this area including Kengkabang, Samiajang, Liang Pahang and Ulu Gedang.

The centre of the province is covered with tropical forest, which produces rattan, resin and valuable timber such as Ulin and Meranti. The southern lowlands are dominated by peatland swamps that intersect with many rivers. Sabangau National Park is a protected peatland area internationally acknowledged as sanctuary for the endangered Orangutan. Recently the peat swamp forests have been damaged by the Mega Rice Project, which unsuccessfully sought to turn large areas into rice paddies.

The province's climate is wet weather equatorial zone with an eight-month rainy season, and 4 months of dry season. Rainfall or precipitation is 2,776 - 3,393 mm per year with an average of 145 rainy days annually.

Rivers

Central Kalimantan has numerous rivers from the catchment areas to the north in the Schwaner Mountains, flowing to the Java Sea. The major rivers include:

• Barito River (900 km)
• Kapuas River (600 km)
• Kahayan River (600 km)
• Katingan River (600 km)
• Mentaya (Sempit) River (400 km)
• Seruyan River (350 km)
• Lamandau River (300 km)
• Arut River (250 km)
• Sabangau River (200 km)
• Kumai River (179 km)
• Jelai River (100 km)

Rivers are an important mode of transportation and a primary location for settlement. With relatively undeveloped infrastructure, the province's economy relies heavily on the rivers.

Administrative divisions

Central Kalimantan is administratively divided into thirteen regencies (kabupaten) - each headed by a regent - and one city (kotamayda), the latter being Palangka Raya (the provincial capital). These are as follows:

Name	Area in Sq. km	Population 2000 Census	Population 2010 Census	Population Estimate 2014	Capital
Palangkaraya City	2,399.50	158,770	220,962	236,601	Palangkaraya
East Barito Regency (Barito Timur)	3,834.00	71,907	97,372	104,712	Tamiang Layang
East Kotawaringin Regency (Kotawaringin Timur)	16,796.00	308,765	374,175	400,658	Sampit
Gunung Mas Regency	10,805.00	74,823	96,900	103,855	Kuala Kurun
Kapuas Regency	14,999.00	325,243	329,646	352,977	Kuala Kapuas
Katingan Regency	17,500.00	121,047	146,439	156,804	Kasongan
Lamandau Regency	6,414.00	47,969	63,199	67,672	Nanga Bulik
Murung Raya Regency	23,700.00	74,050	96,857	103,712	Purukcahu
North Barito Regency (Barito Utara)	8,300.00	109,273	121,573	130,178	Muara Teweh
Pulang Pisau Regency	8,997.00	111,488	120,062	128,560	Pulang Pisau
Seruyan Regency	16,404.00	92,037	139,931	149,835	Kuala Pembuang
South Barito Regency (Barito Selatan)	8,830.00	108,560	124,128	132,913	Buntok
Sukamara Regency	3,827.00	29,561	44,952	48,134	Sukamara
West Kotawaringin Regency (Kotawaringin Barat)	10,759.00	168,472	235,803	252,492	Pangkalan Bun
Totals	153,564.50	1,801,965	2,212,089	2,368,654

In addition to the civil service, Central Kalimantan also recognises a traditional governing system led by traditional leaders known as Demang. The province is divided into 67 traditional law areas known as Kademangan, headed by Demang. The system is intended to culturally recognise and preserve the customs and heritage of the Dayak tribes.

Railroads

Russia will build railroads from Central Kalimantan to East Kalimantan for coal transportation with estimated cost of US$2.4 billion.

See also

• Deforestation in Borneo
• Fauna of Borneo
• Heart of Borneo
• Official statistics for the province, provided by the Indonesian Central Bureau of Statistics, may be accessed (Indonesian language) at Badan Pusat Statistik Propinsi Kalimantan Tengah.

External links

• Official website (Indonesian)