Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi.2), including adjacent islands such as the Simeulue, Nias, Mentawai, Enggano, Riau Islands, Bangka Belitung and Krakatoa archipelago.
Malay is an Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spoken in East Timor and parts of Thailand. Altogether, it is spoken by 290 million people across Maritime Southeast Asia.
Riau is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the central eastern coast of the island of Sumatra, and extends from the eastern slopes of the Barisan Mountains to the Malacca Strait, including several large islands situated within the Strait. The province shares land borders with North Sumatra to the northwest, West Sumatra to the west, and Jambi to the south, and a maritime border with the Riau Islands and the country of Malaysia to the east. It is the second-largest province in the island of Sumatra after South Sumatra, and is slightly larger than the nation of Jordan. According to the 2020 census, Riau had a population of 6,394,087 across a land area of 89,935.90 km²; the official estimate of population as of mid-2023 was 6,642,874. The province comprises ten regencies and two cities, with Pekanbaru serving as the capital and largest city.
Rengat is a kecamatan (district) in Riau province of Indonesia and it is the capital (seat) of Indragiri Hulu Regency.
The Riau Islands is a province of Indonesia—not to be confused with neighbouring Riau Province from which the Riau Islands Province were separated in 2002. The capital of the province is Tanjung Pinang, while the largest city is Batam. It shares a maritime border with Riau and Jambi to the west, Bangka Belitung Islands to the south, Singapore to the northeast, Malaysia and West Kalimantan to the east, and Vietnam and Cambodia to the north. It comprises a total of 2,028 islands scattered between Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, and Borneo including the Riau Archipelago. Situated on one of the world's busiest shipping lanes along the Malacca Strait and the Natuna Sea, the province shares water borders with neighboring countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei. The Riau Islands also have relatively large potential mineral resources and energy, as well as marine resources.
The Riau Archipelago is a geographic term for the core group of islands within the Riau Islands Province in Indonesia, and located south of Singapore and east of Riau on Sumatra. Before the province of Riau Islands was formed, there was no ambiguity in term; however, in Indonesian language, both the archipelago and administrative province are referred to simply as "Kepulauan Riau". The province may have the word "Provinsi" preceding it for clarity. Additionally, the term BBK for Batam Bintan Karimun may refer to the archipelago.
Pekanbaru is the capital city of the Indonesian province of Riau, and a major economic centre on the eastern side of Sumatra Island with its name derived from the Malay words for 'new market' . It has an area of 632.26 km2 (244.12 sq mi), with a population of 897,767 at the 2010 Census, and 983,356 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 1,123,348. It is located on the banks of the Siak River, which flows into the Strait of Malacca, Pekanbaru has direct access to the busy strait and has long been known as a trading port.
Bengkalis Regency is a regency of Indonesia in Riau Province. The regency was originally established in 1956 and then included most of the northern part of the province, but on 4 October 1999 it was divided up, with most of the territory being split off to form the new Rokan Hilir Regency, Siak Regency and the city of Dumai. On 19 December 2008 a further five districts were removed to create the new Meranti Islands Regency, leaving eight districts in the Bengkalis Regency. These eight districts has increased since 2010 to eleven by the splitting of existing districts on the Sumatran mainland.
Buddhism has a long history in Indonesia, and it is one of the six recognized religions in the country, along with Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and Confucianism. According to 2023 estimates roughly 0.71% of the total citizens of Indonesia were Buddhists, numbering around 2 million. Most Buddhists are concentrated in Jakarta, Riau, Riau Islands, Bangka Belitung, North Sumatra, and West Kalimantan. These totals, however, are probably inflated, as practitioners of Taoism and Chinese folk religion, which are not considered official religions of Indonesia, likely declared themselves as Buddhists on the most recent census. Today, the majority of Buddhists in Indonesia are Chinese and other East Asians, but small communities of native Buddhists also exist.
Dumai, is a coastal city in Riau Province on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. The city has an area of 2,065.59 km2 and had 338,064 inhabitants at the mid 2023 official estimate. Dumai has a domestic airport, Pinang Kampai Airport. Dumai is an important transport and trade centre, both regionally and internationally, especially to Malaysia. Dumai is rich in oil.
Malay Indonesians are ethnic Malays living throughout Indonesia. They are one of the indigenous peoples of the country. Indonesian, the national language of Indonesia, is a standardized form of Riau Malay. There were numerous kingdoms associated with the Indonesian Malays along with other ethnicities in what is now Indonesia, mainly on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. These included Srivijaya, the Melayu Kingdom, Dharmasraya, the Sultanate of Deli, the Sultanate of Siak Sri Indrapura, the Riau-Lingga Sultanate, the Sultanate of Bulungan, Pontianak Sultanate, and the Sultanate of Sambas. The 2010 census states that there are 8 million Malays in Indonesia; this number comes from the classification of Malays in East Sumatra and the coast of Kalimantan which is recognized by the Indonesian government. This classification is different from the Malaysia and Singapore census which includes all ethnic Muslims from the Indonesian archipelago as Malays.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Indonesia:
The Sultanate of Siak Sri Indrapura, often called Sultanate of Siak, was a kingdom that was located in present-day Siak Regency, and nearby other regions from 1722 to 1949. It was founded by Raja Kecil, who had close relations with the Johor Sultanate, after he failed to seize the Johor throne. The polity expanded in the 18th century to encompass much of eastern Sumatra as it brought various communities under its control through warfare and control of trade between the interior of Sumatra and the Malacca Strait. The Dutch colonial state signed a series of treaties with the Siak rulers in the 19th century, which reduced the area of state influence to the Siak River. For the remainder of the Dutch colonial era, it operated as an independent state with Dutch advisors. After Indonesia's Independence was proclaimed on 17 August 1945, the last sultan of Siak, Sultan Syarif Kasim II, declared his kingdom to join the Republic of Indonesia.
Sakai is a tribal community in Indonesia, traditionally living in the interior of Riau, Sumatra. Some of them still lead a nomadic and hunter-gatherer lifestyle in the remote interior of Sumatra, while most settled into major cities and towns in Sumatra with the rise of industrialization.
Sekampung River is a river in Lampung province, southern Sumatra, Indonesia, about 130 km northwest of the capital Jakarta.
Riau-Lingga Sultanate, also known as the Lingga-Riau Sultanate, Riau Sultanate or Lingga Sultanate was a Malay sultanate that existed from 1824 to 1911, before being dissolved following Dutch intervention.
Central Sumatra was a province in Indonesia whose territories included present day West Sumatra, Riau, Jambi, and the Riau Islands. Since 1957 this province has not been registered as an Indonesian province after it was dissolved by Ordinance-as-Act No. 19/1957 and divided into the provinces of West Sumatra, Riau and Jambi through Law No. 61/1958 by the Sukarno government.
