North Sumatra is a province of Indonesia located in the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan. It is bordered by Aceh on the northwest and Riau and West Sumatra on the southeast, with two different coastlines located on the Indian Ocean and the Strait of Malacca, and a maritime border with Malaysia to the east. North Sumatra is Indonesia's fourth most populous province after West Java, East Java, and Central Java, and is also the most populous province outside of Java Island. North Sumatra is also the third-largest province in area on the island of Sumatra after South Sumatra and Riau provinces. It covers an area of 72,460.74 km2, which is approximately the same size as Sierra Leone or Scotland or Maine.
Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo, Pakpak, Simalungun, Toba, Angkola, and Mandailing, related ethnic groups with distinct languages and traditional customs (adat).
The Karo, or Karonese, are a people of the Tanah Karo and part of the Karo people from North Sumatra, Indonesia. The Karo lands consist of Karo Regency, plus neighboring areas in East Aceh Regency, Langkat Regency, Dairi Regency, Simalungun Regency, and Deli Serdang Regency. In addition, the cities of Binjai and Medan, both bordered by Deli Serdang Regency, contain significant Karo populations, particularly in the Padang Bulan area of Medan. The town of Sibolangit, Deli Serdang Regency in the foothills of the road from Medan to Berastagi is also a significant Karo town.
The Batak languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages spoken by the Batak people in the Indonesian province of North Sumatra and surrounding areas.
The Mandailing are an ethnic group in Sumatra, Indonesia that is commonly associated with the Batak people. They are found mainly in the northern section of the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. They came under the influence of the Kaum Padri who ruled the Minangkabau of Tanah Datar. As a result, the Mandailing were influenced by Muslim culture and converted to Islam. There are also a group of Mandailing in Malaysia, especially in the states of Selangor and Perak. They are closely related to the Angkola and Toba.
Telephone numbers in Indonesia have different systems for land lines and mobile phones: land lines use area codes, while mobile phones do not.
Subulussalam is a city in the south of Aceh province of Indonesia. It is located inland on the island of Sumatra. On 2 January 2007, the provincial government of Aceh declared Subulussalam to be an independent city as a result of the administration being separated from that of Aceh Singkil Regency. of which it was formerly a part. It is located at 2°38′32″N98°00′15″E. It covers an area of 1,391 km2, and it had a population of 67,446 at the 2010 Census and of 90,751 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as in mid 2023 was 97,770. As a result, Subulussalam is the most sparsely-populated city in Indonesia, with a population density of only 70.3 people per km2.
Karo, referred to in Indonesia as Bahasa Karo, is an Austronesian language that is spoken by the Karo people of Indonesia. It is used by around 600,000 people in North Sumatra. It is mainly spoken in Karo Regency, southern parts of Deli Serdang Regency and northern parts of Dairi Regency, North Sumatra, Indonesia. It was historically written using the Batak alphabet which is descended from the Brahmi script of ancient India by way of the Pallava and Old Kawi scripts, but nowadays only a tiny number of Karo can write or understand the script, and instead the Latin script is used.
Dairi Regency is an inland regency on the western shore of Lake Toba in North Sumatra Province of Indonesia. The regency was created on 23 September 1964 from what were previously the north-western districts of North Tapanuli Regency; however the southern districts of this new regency were in turn split off on 25 February 2003 to form the new Pakpak Bharat Regency. The reduced regency covers an area of 1,927.80 square kilometres (744.33 sq mi) and it had a population of 269,848 people at the 2010 Census and 308,764 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 324,747 - comprising 162,928 males and 161,819 females. Its administrative seat is at the town of Sidikalang.
Humbang Hasundutan Regency is a landlocked regency in North Sumatra province of Indonesia. In the east of the regency, Baktiraja District stretches along a short part of the southern shore of Lake Toba in North Sumatra. The regency covers an area of 2,502.71 km2, and it had a population of 171,650 at the 2010 census and 197,751 at the 2020 census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 204,700. Its seat is the town of Dolok Sanggul. To the north is Samosir Regency and Pakpak Bharat Regency, to the east is North Tapanuli Regency, and to the west and south is Central Tapanuli Regency, and beyond the latter the Indian Ocean.
Pakpak Bharat Regency is a landlocked regency in North Sumatra Province of Indonesia. It was created on 25 February 2003 from the southern districts of Dairi Regency. The regency covers an area of 1,365.6 square kilometres and it had a population of 40,481 at the 2010 census and 52,351 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 55,172 - comprising 27,890 males and 27,282 females. Its seat is the town of Salak. It is the least populated regency in North Sumatra; its population is roughly the same as Greenland, the island with the lowest population density in the world.
Toba Batak people are the largest ethnic group of the Batak peoples of North Sumatra, Indonesia. The common phrase of ‘Batak’ usually refers to the Batak Toba people. This mistake is caused by the Toba people being the largest sub-group of the Batak ethnic and their differing social habit has been to self-identify as merely Batak instead of ‘Toba’ or ‘Batak Toba’, contrary to the habit of the Karo, Mandailing, Simalungun, Pakpak communities who commonly self-identify with their respective sub-groups.
2011 Aceh Singkil earthquake that occurred 59 kilometers northeast of Singkil, Singkil, Aceh with a magnitude of 6.7 at 00:55 am on September 6, 2011. According to BMKG, this earthquake was at a depth of 78 km. However, according to the USGS, the quake was located at a depth of 91 km.
Pakpak, or Batak Dairi, is an Austronesian language of Sumatra. It is spoken in Dairi Regency, Pakpak Bharat Regency, Parlilitan district of Humbang Hasundutan Regency, Manduamas district of Central Tapanuli Regency, and Subulussalam and Aceh Singkil Regency.
Angkola people are part of the Batak ethnic group from North Sumatra who live in the South Tapanuli regency. The Angkola language is similar to Mandailing language also with Toba language, but it is sociolinguistically distinct.
Singkil people are an ethnic group of people found in Aceh Singkil Regency and Subulussalam, Aceh province, Indonesia.
Indonesia (North Sumatra & Aceh)
