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SumatraWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia
Coordinates:00N102E

Sumatra
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Sumatra(Indonesian:Sumatera)isanislandinwesternIndonesiaandpartoftheSundaIslands.Itisthelargest
islandthatisentirelyinIndonesia(twolargerislands,BorneoandNewGuinea,aresharedbetweenIndonesiaand
othercountries)andthesixthlargestislandintheworldat473,481km2(includingadjacentislandssuchastheRiau
IslandsandBanggaBelitungIslands).

Sumatra

Sumatraisanelongatedlandmassspanningadiagonalnorthwestsoutheastaxis.TheIndianOceanbordersthewest,
northwest,andsouthwestsidesofSumatrawiththeislandchainofSimeulue,NiasandMentawaiborderingthe
southwesterncoast.OnthenortheastsidethenarrowStraitofMalaccaseparatestheislandfromtheMalay
Peninsula,anextensionoftheEurasiancontinent.OnthesoutheastthenarrowSundaStraitseparatesSumatrafrom
Java.ThenortherntipofSumatraborderstheAndamanIslands,whileonthelowereasternsidearetheislandsof
BangkaandBelitung,KarimataStraitandtheJavaSea.TheBukitBarisanmountains,whichcontainseveralactive
volcanoes,formthebackboneoftheisland,whilethenortheastsidesareoutlyinglowlandswithswamps,mangrove
andcomplexriversystems.TheequatorcrossestheislandatitscenteronWestSumatraandRiauprovinces.The
climateoftheislandistropical,hotandhumidwithlushtropicalrainforestoncedominatingthelandscape.
TopographyofSumatra

Sumatrahasawiderangeofplantandanimalspeciesbuthaslostalmost50%ofitstropicalrainforestinthelast35
years,andmanyspeciesarecriticallyendangeredsuchastheSumatranGroundcuckoo,Sumatrantiger,Sumatran
elephant,Sumatranrhinoceros,andSumatranorangutan.Deforestationontheislandhasalsoresultedinserioushaze
overneighbouringcountries,suchasthe2013SoutheastAsianhazecausingconsiderabletensionswithaffected
countriessuchasMalaysiaandSingapore.[1]

Contents
1 Etymology
2 History

Geography
Location

SoutheastAsia

Coordinates

00N102E

Archipelago

GreaterSundaIslands

Area

473,481km2(182,812sqmi)

Highestelevation 3,805m(12,484ft)

3 Administration

Highestpoint

Country

4 Geography
5 Largestcities

Indonesia
Provinces

Aceh,Bengkulu,Jambi,
Lampung,Riau,WestSumatra,
SouthSumatra,NorthSumatra

6 Floraandfauna
7 Demographics
7.1 Ethnicgroups
7.2 Languages
7.3 Religion

Kerinci

Demographics
Population

~50million (asof2014)

Density

106/km2(275/sqmi)

Ethnicgroups

Acehnese,Batak,Minangkabau,
Malay

8 Railtransport
9 Seealso
10 References
11 Externallinks

Etymology
SumatrawasknowninancienttimesbytheSanskritnamesofSwarnadwpa("IslandofGold")andSwarnabhmi("LandofGold"),becauseofthegolddepositsofthe
island'shighland.[2]ThefirstwordmentioningthenameofSumatrawasthenameofSrivijayanHaji(king)Sumatrabhumi("KingofthelandofSumatra"),[3]whosent
anenvoytoChinain1017.ArabgeographersreferredtotheislandasLamri(Lamuri,LambriorRamni)inthetenththroughthirteenthcenturies,inreferencetoa
kingdomnearmoderndayBandaAcehwhichwasthefirstlandfallfortraders.
Lateinthe14thcenturythenameSumatrabecamepopularinreferencetothekingdomofSamudraPasai,whichwasarisingpoweruntilitwasreplacedbySultanate
ofAceh.SultanAlauddinShahofAceh,onletterswrittenin1602addressedtoQueenElizabethIofEngland,referredtohimselfas"kingofAcehandSamudra".[4]
TheworditselfisfromSanskrit"Samudra",(
),meaning"gatheringtogetherofwaters,seaorocean".[5]
Europeanwritersinthe19thcenturyfoundthattheindigenousinhabitantsdidnothaveanamefortheisland.[6]

History
TheMelayuKingdomwasabsorbedbySrivijaya.[8]:7980
SrivijayawasaBuddhistmonarchycentredinwhatisnowPalembang.Dominatingtheregionthroughtradeandconquest
throughoutthe7thto9thcenturies,theempirehelpedspreadtheMalayculturethroughoutNusantara.Theempirewasa
thalassocracyormaritimepowerthatextendeditsinfluencefromislandtoisland.Palembangwasacenterforscholarly
learning,anditwastheretheChineseBuddhistpilgrimIChingstudiedSanskritin671CEbeforedepartingforIndia.Onhis
journeytoChina,hespentfouryearsinPalembangtranslatingBuddhisttextsandwritingtwomanuscripts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumatra

Historicalpopulation
Year

Pop.

1971
1980
1990
1995
2000

20,808,148
28,016,160
36,506,703
40,830,334
42,616,164

+34.6%
+30.3%
+11.8%
+4.4%
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2005
45,839,041
+7.6%
Srivijayaninfluencewanedinthe11thcenturyafteritwasdefeatedbytheChola
EmpireofsouthernIndia.Atthesametime,IslammadeitswaytoSumatrathrough
2010
50,613,947
+10.4%
ArabsandIndiantradersinthe6thand7thcenturiesAD.[9]Bythelate13thcentury,the sources:[7]
monarchoftheSamudrakingdomhadconvertedtoIslam.MarcoPolovisitedtheisland
in1292,andIbnBattutavisitedtwiceduring13451346.SamudrawassucceededbythepowerfulAcehSultanate,which
survivedtothe20thcentury.WiththecomingoftheDutch,themanySumatranprincelystatesgraduallyfellundertheir
control.Aceh,inthenorth,wasthemajorobstacle,astheDutchwereinvolvedinthelongandcostlyAcehWar(18731903).
SumatracameunderthecontroloftheDutchEastIndiesandbecameamajorproducerofpepper,rubber,andoil.Intheearly
andmidtwentiethcentury,SumatranacademicsandleaderswereimportantfiguresinIndonesia'sindependencemovements,
suchas:MohammadHatta(thefirstvicepresident)andSutanSjahrir(thefirstprimeminister).

Batakwarriors,1870

TheFreeAcehMovementfoughtagainstIndonesiangovernmentforcesintheAcehInsurgencyfrom1976to2005.[10]Securitycrackdownsin2001and2002resulted
inseveralthousandciviliandeaths.[11]

Administration
ThetenadministrativeProvinces(provinsi)ofSumatraincludingthesmallerislandsnearbyarelistedbelowwiththeir
populationsatthe2000and2010Censuses.[12]Notesome4millionoftheseresidentsofSumatradonotliveontheislanditself
butonnearbyislandsadministeredcollectivelyas"Sumatra".Thefinaltwooftheprovincesbelowdonothaveterritoryon
theactualisland.
Name

Area(km2)

Population
census2000

Population
census2010

Population
estimate2014

Capital

Aceh

57,956.00

4,073,006

4,486,570

NorthSumatra
(SumateraUtara)

72,981.23

11,642,488

12,326,678

13,527,937 Medan

WestSumatra
(SumateraBarat)

42,012.89

4,248,515

4,845,998

5,098,790 Padang

Riau

87,023.66

3,907,763

5,543,031

6,359,790 Pekanbaru

Jambi

50,058.16

2,407,166

3,088,618

3,412,459 Jambi

SouthSumatra
(SumateraSelatan)

91,592.43

6,210,800

7,446,401

7,996,535 Palembang

Bengkulu

19,919.33

1,455,500

1,713,393

1,828,291 Bengkulu

Lampung

34,623.80

6,730,751

7,596,115

7,972,246 BandarLampung

BangkaBelitung
(KepulauanBangkaBelitung)

16,424.14

899,968

1,223,048

1,380,762 PangkalPinang

8,256.10

1,040,207

1,685,698

2,031,895 TanjungPinang

480,847.74

42,616,164

50,613,947

RiauIslands
(KepulauanRiau)
Totals

4,731,705 BandaAceh

TraditionalhouseinNiasNorth
Sumatra

RumahGadang,Minangkabau
traditionalhouseinWestSumata

54,339,256

Geography
Thelongestaxisoftheislandrunsapproximately1,790km(1,110mi)northwestsoutheast,crossingtheequatornearthe
centre.Atitswidestpoint,theislandspans435km(270mi).Theinterioroftheislandisdominatedbytwogeographical
regions:theBarisanMountainsinthewestandswampyplainsintheeast.SumatraistheclosestIndonesianislandtomainland
Asia.

AMalaytraditionalhousein
Bangkinang,Riau

TothesoutheastisJava,separatedbytheSundaStrait.TothenorthistheMalayPeninsula(locatedontheAsianmainland),
separatedbytheStraitofMalacca.TotheeastisBorneo,acrosstheKarimataStrait.WestoftheislandistheIndianOcean.
ThebackboneoftheislandistheBarisanMountainchain,withtheactivevolcanoMountKerinciasthehighestpointat
3,805m(12,467ft),locatedataboutthemidpointoftherange.Thevolcanicactivityofthisregionendowedtheregionwith
fertilelandandbeautifulsceneries,forinstancearoundLakeToba.Italsocontainsdepositsofcoalandgold.Thevolcanic
activitystemsfromSumatra'slocationonthePacificRingofFirewhichisalsothereasonwhySumatrahashadsomeofthe
mostpowerfulearthquakeseverrecorded:in1797,1833,1861,2004,2005,and2007.
TheGreatSumatranfault(astrikeslipfault),andtheSundamegathrust(asubductionzone),runtheentirelengthoftheisland
alongitswestcoast.On26December2004,thewesterncoastandislandsofSumatra,particularlyAcehprovince,werestruck
byatsunamifollowingtheIndianOceanearthquake.Morethan170,000Indonesianswerekilled,primarilyinAceh.Other
recentearthquakestostrikeSumatraincludethe2005SumatraearthquakeandtheOctober2010Sumatraearthquake.

Mapofgeologicalformationof
Sumatraisland

Totheeast,bigriverscarrysiltfromthemountains,formingthevastlowlandinterspersedbyswamps.Evenifmostly
unsuitableforfarming,theareaiscurrentlyofgreateconomicimportanceforIndonesia.Itproducesoilfrombothaboveand
belowthesoilpalmoilandpetroleum.
SumatraisthelargestproducerofIndonesiancoffee.SmallholdersgrowArabicacoffee(Coffeaarabica)inthehighlands,
whileRobusta(Coffeacanephora)isfoundinthelowlands.ArabicacoffeefromtheregionsofGayo,LintongandSidikilangis
typicallyprocessedusingtheGilingBasah(wethulling)technique,whichgivesitaheavybodyandlowacidity.[13]
MountSinabung,NorthSumatra

MostofSumatrausedtobecoveredbytropicalrainforest,buteconomicdevelopmentcoupledwithcorruptionandillegal
logginghasseverelythreateneditsexistence.Evendesignatedconservationareashavenotbeensparedfromthisdestruction.
Theislandistheworld'sfifthhighestisland,andthethirdhighestintheIndonesianarchipelago.

BatangHariRiveristhelongestriverintheislandwithitssourceintheMinangkabauHighlands,stretchingaround800kilometreseastwardtoitsestuaryintheJambi
lowlands.

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Largestcities
ThelargestcitiesinSumatrabypopulation,listedbytheir2010censuspopulations,[12]are:
Rank

CapitalCity

province

Population
2010Census

CityBirthday

Areain
Km2

Medan

NorthSumatra

2,109,339 1July1590

265.10

Palembang

SouthSumatra

1,452,840 17June683

374.03

Batam

RiauIslands

1,153,860 18December1829

Pekanbaru

Riau

5
6

715.0

903,902 23June1784

633.01

BandarLampung Lampung

879,851 17June1682

118.50

Padang

WestSumatra

833,584 7August1669

694.96

Jambi

Jambi

529,118 17May1946

205.00

Bengkulu

Bengkulu

300,359 18March1719

Dumai

Riau

254,332 20April1999

10

Binjai

NorthSumatra

246,010

90.24

11

PematangSiantar NorthSumatra

234,885 24April1871

60.52

12

BandaAceh

Aceh

224,209 22April1205

13

Lubuklinggau

SouthSumatra

201,217 17August2001

Medan,thelargestcityinSumatra

144.52
2,039.35
Palembang,thesecondlargestcityin
Sumatra

61.36
419.80

Floraandfauna
Sumatrasupportsawiderangeofvegetationtypeswhicharehometoarichvarietyofspecies,including17endemicgeneraof
plants.[14]UniquespeciesincludetheSumatranPinewhichdominatestheSumatrantropicalpineforestsofthehigher
mountainsidesinthenorthoftheislandandrainforestplantssuchasRafflesiaarnoldii(theworld'slargestindividualflower),
andtheTitanArum(theworld'slargestunbranchedinflorescence).

Batam,thethirdlargestcityin
Sumatra

Theislandishometo201mammalspeciesand580birdspecies,suchastheSumatranGroundCuckoo.Thereare9endemic
mammalspeciesonmainlandSumatraand14moreendemictothenearbyMentawaiIslands.[14]Thereareabout300freshwater
fishspeciesinSumatra.[15]
TheSumatranTiger,SumatranRhinoceros,SumatranElephant,SumatranGroundCuckoo,andSumatranOrangutanareall
CriticallyEndangered,indicatingthehighestlevelofthreattotheirsurvival.InOctober2008,theIndonesiangovernment
announcedaplantoprotectSumatra'sremainingforests.[16]
Theislandincludesmorethan10nationalparks,including3whicharelistedastheTropicalRainforestHeritageofSumatra
WorldHeritageSiteGunungLeuserNationalPark,KerinciSeblatNationalParkandBukitBarisanSelatanNationalPark.
TheBerbakNationalParkisoneofthreenationalparksinIndonesialistedasawetlandofinternationalimportanceunderthe
RamsarConvention.

Sumatrantiger

Demographics
Sumatraisnotparticularlydenselypopulated,withjustover100peopleperkm2morethan50millionpeopleintotal.Becauseofits
greatextent,itisnonethelessthefourth[17]mostpopulousislandintheworld.ThemostpopulousregionsincludemostofNorth
SumatraandcentralhighlandsinWestSumatra,whilethemajorurbancentersareMedanandPalembang.

Ethnicgroups
ThepeopleofSumatraaremultilingual,multidiverseandmultireligious.Thereareover52languagesspoken,allofthembelongto
Austronesianlanguagefamily(exceptChineseandIndians).Mostofthesegroupssharemanysimilartraditionsandthedifferent
tonguesarecloselyrelated.EthnicMalaysdominatemostoftheeasterncoastintheprovincesofRiau,BangkaBelitung,South
Sumatra,RiauIslands,northernpartsofLampungandBengkuluandintheeasternmostpartsofNorthSumatraandAceh,whilepeople
inthesouthernandcentralinteriorspeaklanguagesrelatedtoMalay,suchasLembak(thatspeakCollanguage),Kerinci(thatspeak
Kerincilanguage)andMinangkabaupeople(thatspeakMinangkabau).ThehighlandsofnorthernSumatraisinhabitedbythe
Bataknese,thenorthernmostcoastisdominatedbytheAcehnese,whilesouthernmostcoastisdominatedbyEthnicJavanese.Chinese
andTamilminoritiesarepresentinurbancentres.

Rafflesiaarnoldii

Languages
AllLanguagesofSumatrabelongstoNuclearMalayoPolynesiansubbranchofMalayoPolynesianinwhichinturnabranchof
Austronesianlanguagefamily.WithinNuclearMalayoPolynesian,theyweredividedintoseveralsubbranchesthatisChamic(which
arerepresentedbyAcehneseinwhichitsclosestrelativesarelanguagesspokenbyEthnicChamsinCambodiaandVietnam),Malayic
(Malay,Minangkabauandothercloselyrelatedlanguages),NorthwestSumatran(Bataklanguages,Gayoandothers),Lampungic
(includesProperLampungandKomering)andBornean(representedbyRejanginwhichitsclosestlinguisticrelativesareBukar
SadongandLandDayakspokeninWestKalimantanandSarawak(Malaysia)).NorthwestSumatranandLampungicbranchesare
endemictotheisland.LikeallpartsofIndonesia,Indonesian(whichwasbasedonRiauMalay)istheofficiallanguageandthemain
Linguafranca.AlthoughSumatrahasitsownlocalLinguafranca,variantsofMalaylikeMedanMalayandPalembangMalay[18]are
popularinNorthandSouthSumatra,especiallyinurbanareas.Minangkabau(Padangdialect)[19]ispopularinWestSumatra,some
partsofNorthSumatra,Bengkulu,JambiandRiau(especiallyinPekanbaruandareasborderedwithWestSumatra).WhileAcehnese
arealsouseasaninterethniccommunicationinsomepartsofAcehprovince.

Minangkabauwomen
carryingplattersoffoodtoa
ceremony

Religion

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AmajorityofpeopleinSumatraareMuslims(87%),while10%areChristians,2%areBuddhistand1%areHindu.[20]Most
centralBataksareProtestantChristians,areligionintroducedbytheGermanRhenishMissionarySociety.

Railtransport
SeveralunconnectedrailwaynetworksbuiltduringNetherlandsEastIndiesexistinSumatra,suchastheonesconnectingBanda
AcehLhokseumaweBesitangMedanTebingtinggiPematangSiantarRantauPrapatinNorthernSumatra(theBandaAceh
Besitangsectionwasclosedin1971,butiscurrentlybeingrebuilt).[21]PadangSolokBukittinggiinWestSumatra,andBandar
LampungPalembangLahatLubukLinggauinSouthernSumatra.

Seealso

BaiturrahmanGrandMosquein
BandaAceh

ArchitectureofSumatra
BukitSeguntang
CommunisminSumatra
MusicofSumatra

References

1.http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/19/world/asia/singaporehaze/?hpt=hp_t3
2.Drakard,Jane(1999).AKingdomofWords:LanguageandPowerinSumatra.OxfordUniversityPress.ISBN983560035X.
3.Munoz.EarlyKingdoms.p.175.
4.Sneddon,JamesN.(2003).TheIndonesianlanguage:itshistoryandroleinmodernsociety.UNSWPress.p.65.ISBN9780868405988.
5.Macdonell,ArthurAnthony(1924).ApracticalSanskritdictionarywithtransliteration,accentuation,andetymologicalanalysis.MotilalBanarsidassPubl.p.347.
ISBN9788120820005.
6.Reid,Anthony(2005).AnIndonesianFrontier:AcehneseandOtherHistoriesofSumatra.NationalUniversityofSingaporePress.ISBN9971692988.
7.http://www.bps.go.id/tab_sub/view.php?kat=1&tabel=1&daftar=1&id_subyek=12&notab=1
8.Coeds,George(1968).WalterF.Vella,ed.TheIndianizedStatesofSoutheastAsia.trans.SusanBrownCowing.UniversityofHawaiiPress.ISBN9780824803681.
9.G.R.Tibbets,PreIslamicArabiaandSouthEastAsia,inD.S.Richards(ed.),1970,IslamandTheTradeofAsia,Oxford:BrunoCassirerPub.Ltd,p.127nt.21S.Q.Fatimi,In
QuestofKalah,inD.S.Richards(ed.),1970,p.132n.124W.P.Groeneveldt,NotesinTheMalayArchipelago,inD.S.Richards(ed.),1970,p.129n.42
10."IndonesiaagreesAcehpeacedeal".BBCNews.17July2005.
11.HumanRightsWatch(http://hrw.org/reports/2003/indonesia1203/5.htm)
12.BiroPusatStatistik,Jakarta.
13."DaerahProdusenKopiArabikadiIndonesia".KopiDistributor1995.20150228.Retrieved20150228.
14.Whitten,Tony(1999).TheEcologyofSumatra.TuttlePublishing.ISBN9625930744.
15.Nguyen,T.T.T.,andS.S.DeSilva(2006).Freshwaterfinfishbiodiversityandconservation:anasianperspective.Biodiversity&Conservation15(11):35433568
16.staff(20081014)."Forest,WildlifeProtectionPledgedatWorldConservationCongress".Ensnewswire.com.Retrieved20120725.
17."PopulationStatistics".GeoHive.Retrieved20120725.
18.https://books.google.com.my/books?
id=lFW1BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA675&lpg=PA675&dq=palembang+malay+lingua+franca&source=bl&ots=ioikkf3lgY&sig=YWivhy9y78K16zIM5TxLqUNfIE4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDAQ6A
19.http://gcanthminangkabau.wikispaces.com/Minangkabau+Language
20."NumberofPopulationbyReligionYear2005".
21.Younger,Scott(6November2011)."TheSlowTrain".JakartaGlobe.Retrieved19July2015.

Externallinks
SumatratravelguidefromWikivoyage
WilliamMarsden,TheHistoryofSumatra,(1783)3rded.(1811)online.(http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/16768)

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mediarelatedtoSumatra.

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