Kalimantan (Indonesian pronunciation: [kaliˈmantan]) is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo.[2] It constitutes 73% of the island's area, and consists of the provinces of Central Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan. The non-Indonesian parts of Borneo are Brunei and East Malaysia. Colloquially in Indonesia, the whole island of Borneo is also called "Kalimantan".[2]

Kalimantan
Location of Kalimantan (Indonesia) in Borneo Island
Location of Kalimantan (Indonesia) in Borneo Island
Coordinates: 1°S 114°E / 1°S 114°E / -1; 114
CountryIndonesia
ProvinceWest Kalimantan
Central Kalimantan
South Kalimantan
East Kalimantan
North Kalimantan
Largest citiesSamarinda
Balikpapan
Pontianak
Banjarmasin
Palangkaraya
Banjarbaru
Tarakan
Singkawang
Bontang
Other townsTanjung Selor
Population
 (mid 2023 estimate)[1]
 • Total
17,259,155
ISO 3166 codeID-KA
Vehicle signDA
KB
KH
KT
KU
HDIIncrease 0.708 (High)

In 2019, President of Indonesia Joko Widodo proposed that Indonesia's capital be moved to Kalimantan. The People's Consultative Assembly approved the Law on State Capital in January 2022.[3] The future capital, Nusantara, is a planned city that will be carved out of East Kalimantan. A government official said construction is expected to be fully complete by 2045,[4] but the unfinished capital officially celebrated Indonesian Independence Day for the first time and it was scheduled to be inaugurated as the capital city on 17 August 2024,[5] but the move did not take place due to delays of construction.[6]

Etymology

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The name Kalimantan is derived from the Sanskrit word Kalamanthana, which means "burning weather island" or "very hot island", referring to its hot and humid tropical climate. It consists of the two words kal[a] ("time, season, period") and manthan[a] ("boiling, churning, burning") because of Indianized culture [7] The native people of the Indonesian Borneo referred to their island as Pulu K'lemantan or "Kalimantan" when the sixteenth century Portuguese explorer Jorge de Menezes made contact with them.[8][9] Due to Europeans encountering the Bruneian Sultanate in the north part of the island during the Age of Exploration, the entire island has come to be called Borneo in English, with Kalimantan being known as Indonesian Borneo, but this name is not used in Indonesia itself.

In the early twentieth century, the British colonist Charles Hose described Kalimantan as being home to a "Klemantan people", but this term is no longer in use as Kalimantan has always had many ethnic groups.

Area

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Map of Kalimantan (light colour) and its component provinces.

The Indonesian territory makes up 73% of the island by area, and 72.1% of its 2020 population of 23,053,723 (the population was 13,772,543 at the 2010 Census of Indonesia, and 16,625,796 at the 2020 Census).[10] The non-Indonesian parts of Borneo are of Brunei (460,345 in 2020[11]) and East Malaysia (5,967,582 in 2020), the latter comprising the states of Sabah (3,418,785) and Sarawak (2,453,677), and the federal territory of Labuan (95,120).

Kalimantan's total area is 534,698.27 square kilometres (206,448 sq mi).[12]

The widespread deforestation and other environmental destruction in Kalimantan and other parts of Indonesia has often been described by academics as an ecocide.[13][14][15]

Administrative divisions

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Kalimantan is now divided into five provinces. It was administered as one province between 1945 and 1956, but in 1956 it was split into three provinces – East Kalimantan, South Kalimantan and West Kalimantan; then in 1957, the province of Central Kalimantan was created when it was split away from the existing South Kalimantan. There remained four provinces until 25 October 2012, when North Kalimantan was split off from East Kalimantan. These are listed below with their areas in km2 and their populations at the 2010 and 2020 Censuses, together with the official estimates as at mid 2023.

Provinces of Kalimantan
Province Area (km2) Pop'n (2010
Census)[16]
Pop'n (2015
Interim
Census)
Pop'n (2020
Census)[10]
Pop'n
mid-2023
estimate
Density
per km2
(2023)
Provin-
cial
capital
Largest
metropolitan
area
West Kalimantan 147,037.04 4,395,983 4,783,209 5,396,821 5,623,328 38.2 Pontianak Pontianak
Central Kalimantan 153,443.90 2,202,599 2,490,178 2,669,969 2,773,747 18.1 Palangkaraya Palangkaraya
South Kalimantan 37,135.05 3,626,119 3,984,315 4,062,584 4,222,330 113.7 Banjarbaru Banjarmasin
East Kalimantan 126,981.28 3,550,586 3,422,676* 3,766,039 3,909,740 30.8 Samarinda Balikpapan
North Kalimantan 70,101.00 524,526 639,639 701,814 730,010 10.4 Tanjung Selor Tarakan
Total 534,698.27 14,299,813 15,320,017 16,597,227 17,259,155 32.3 Banjarmasin

* excluding North Kalimantan, split off from East Kalimantan with resulting population and area loss for the 2015 census.

Demographics

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Historical population
YearPop.±%
1971 5,154,774—    
1980 6,723,086+30.4%
1990 9,099,874+35.4%
1995 10,470,843+15.1%
2000 11,331,558+8.2%
2005 12,541,554+10.7%
2010 14,299,813+14.0%
2015 15,320,017+7.1%
2020 16,597,227+8.3%
2023 17,259,155+4.0%
Sources: Statistics Indonesia[17]

Ethnic groups

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Distribution of indigenous ethnic groups in Kalimantan.

Number of the largest population of ethnic groups according to the 2010 census:

Ethnicity West Kalimantan Central Kalimantan South Kalimantan North and East Kalimantan Total
Banjarese 14,430
(0.33%)
464,260
(21.28%)
2,686,627
(74.84%)
440,453
(12.45%)
3,605,770
(26.31%)
Dayak 1,531,989
(34.93%)
1,029,182
(46.62%)
80,708
(2.23%)
351,437
(9.94%)
2,993,316
(21.78%)
Javanese 427,238
(9.74%)
478,393
(21.67%)
523,276
(14.51%)
1,069,605
(30.24%)
2,498,512
(18.18%)
Malay 1,484,085
(33.84%)
87,348
(3.96%)
3,681
(0.10%)
6,053
(0.17%)
1,581,167
(11.51%)
Buginese 137,282
(3.13%)
17,104
(0.77%)
101,727
(2.81%)
735,819
(20.81%)
991,932
(7.22%)
Madurese 274,869
(6.27%)
42,668
(1.93%)
53,002
(1.47%)
46,823
(1.32%)
417,362
(3.04%)
Chinese 358,451
(8.17%)
5,130
(0.23%)
13,000
(0.36%)
32,757
(0.93%)
409,338
(2.98%)
Kutai None None None 275,696
(7.80%)
275,696
(2.01%)
Sundanese 49,530
(1.13%)
28,580
(1.29%)
24,592
(0.68%)
55,659
(1.57%)
158,361
(1.15%)
Batak 26,486
(0.60%)
12,324
(0.56%)
12,408
(0.34%)
37,145
(1.05%)
88,363
(0.64%)
Others 80,996
(1.85%)
42,378
(1.92%)
114,971
(3.18%)
485,056
(13.72%)
723,401
(5.26%)
Total 4,385,356
(100%)
2,207,367
(100%)
3,613,992
(100%)
3,536,503
(100%)
13,743,218
(100%)

Religion

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Number of the largest population of religious groups according to the 2010 census:

Religion West Kalimantan Central Kalimantan South Kalimantan North Kalimantan East Kalimantan Total
Islam 2,603,318
(59.22%)
1,643,715
(74.31%)
3,505,846
(96.67%)
378,478
(72.14%)
2,655,227
(87.68%)
10,786,584
(78.23%)
Protestantism 500,254
(11.38%)
353,353
(15.97%)
47,974
(1.32%)
109,358
(20.84%)
228,022
(7.53%)
1,238,961
(8.99%)
Roman Catholic 1,008,368
(22.94%)
58,279
(2.63%)
16,045
(0.44%)
29,366
(5.60%)
109,263
(3.61%)
1,221,321
(8.86%)
Hinduism 2,708
(0.06%)
11,149
(0.50%)
16,064
(0.44%)
288
(0.05%)
7,369
(0.24%)
37,578
(0.27%)
Buddhism 237,741
(5.41%)
2,301
(0.10%)
11,675
(0.32%)
3,879
(0.74%)
12,477
(0.41%)
268,073
(1.94%)
Confucianism 29,737
(0.68%)
414
(0.02%)
236
(0.01%)
175
(0.03%)
905
(0.03%)
31,467
(0.23%)
Other religions 2,907
(0.07%)
138,419
(6.26%)
16,465
(0.45%)
25
(0.00%)
824
(0.03%)
158,640
(1.35%)
Not Stated 671
(0.01%)
220
(0.01%)
3
(0.00%)
454
(0.09%)
1,497
(0.05%)
2,845
(0.02%)
Not Asked 10,279
(0.23%)
4,239
(0.19%)
12,308
(0.34%)
2,633
(0.50%)
12,903
(0.43%)
42,362
(0.31%)
Total 4,395,983
(100%)
2,212,089
(100%)
3,626,616
(100%)
524,656
(100%)
3,028,487
(100%)
13,787,831
(100%)

Number of the largest population of religious groups in 2023:

Religions Total
Islam 13,566,483
Protestant 1,608,857
Roman Catholic 1,573,067
Buddhism 335,722
Hinduism 187,035
Confucianism 17,376
Aliran Kepercayaan 11,151
Overall 17,299,691

[18]


Religion in Kalimantan (2023)[18]

  Islam (78.42%)
  Protestantism (9.3%)
  Roman Catholic (9.09%)
  Buddhism (1.94%)
  Hinduism (1.08%)
  Confucianism (0.10%)
  Folk religion and others (0.06%)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Kalimantan". Britannica. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
  3. ^ "Indonesia president proposes to move capital to Borneo". Reuters. 2021-07-16. Archived from the original on 2021-07-16. Retrieved 2022-07-01.
  4. ^ "Nusantara will replace Jakarta as the new capital of Indonesia". 18 January 2022.
  5. ^ Faris Mokhtar; Rieka Rahadiana (2 August 2022). "Indonesia Breaks Ground on Nusantara as Jakarta Sinks". Bloomberg.
  6. ^ "Indonesia's new capital isn't ready yet. The president is celebrating Independence Day there anyway". AP News. 2024-08-17. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  7. ^ "Central Kalimantan Province". archipelago fastfact. 27 October 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  8. ^ "Notice historique du royaume Banjarmasin (Bornéo) par M. le Baron T. Van Capellen, lieutenant d'artillerie , aide-de-camp de S. Exc. le gouverneur-général des indes néerlandaises" [Historical record of the Banjarmasin Kingdom (Borneo) by Baron T. Van Capellen, lieutenant of artillery, aide-de-camp of His Excellency, the Governor General of the Dutch Indies]. Le Moniteur des Indes-Orientales et Occidentales [The Monitor of the East and West Indies] (in French). The Hague, Netherlands: Belinfant Brothers. 1847. pp. 164.
  9. ^ "A Discourse Delivered at a Meeting of the Society of Arts and Sciences in Batavia, on the Twenty-fourth day of April 1813, being the Anniversary of the Institution, by the Honorable Thomas Stamford Raffles, President.". Verhandelingen van het Bataviaasch Genootschap, der Kunsten en Wetenschappen [Treatises of the Society of Arts and Sciences in Batavia]. Vol. 7. Batavia, Dutch East Indies: A. H. Hubbard. 1814. p. 21.
  10. ^ a b Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021.
  11. ^ "Department of Economic Planning and Development – Population". www.depd.gov.bn. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  12. ^ "Indonesia General Info". Geohive.com. Archived from the original on 2009-10-15. Retrieved 2009-08-11.
  13. ^ "Forensic Architecture". forensic-architecture.org. Retrieved 2023-07-05.
  14. ^ "Explainer: What is ecocide?". Eco-Business. 2022-08-04. Retrieved 2023-07-05.
  15. ^ Aida, Melly; Tahar, Abdul Muthalib; Davey, Orima (2023), Perdana, Ryzal; Putrawan, Gede Eka; Saputra, Bayu; Septiawan, Trio Yuda (eds.), "Ecocide in the International Law: Integration Between Environmental Rights and International Crime and Its Implementation in Indonesia", Proceedings of the 3rd Universitas Lampung International Conference on Social Sciences (ULICoSS 2022), vol. 740, Paris: Atlantis Press SARL, pp. 572–584, doi:10.2991/978-2-38476-046-6_57, ISBN 978-2-38476-045-9
  16. ^ Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011.
  17. ^ "Penduduk Indonesia menurut Provinsi 1971, 1980, 1990, 1995, 2000 dan 2010". Archived from the original on 2013-07-01. Retrieved 2013-07-17.
  18. ^ a b "Visualisasi Data Kependudukan" (in Indonesian). Ministry of Home Affairs. 31 December 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
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