West Nusa Tenggara

West Nusa Tenggara Nusa Tenggara Barat
—  Province  —
Seal
Location of West Nusa Tenggara in Indonesia
Coordinates: 8°35′S 116°7′E / 8.583°S 116.117°E / -8.583; 116.117Coordinates: 8°35′S 116°7′E / 8.583°S 116.117°E / -8.583; 116.117
Country	Indonesia
Capital	Mataram
Government
– Governor	M. Zainul Majdi
Area
– Total	19,708.79 km2 (7,609.6 sq mi)
Population (2010)[1]
– Total	4,496,855
– Density	228.2/km2 (590.9/sq mi)
Demographics
– Ethnic groups	Sasak (68%), Bima (13%), Sumbawa (8%), Indian (8%), Balinese (3%)[2]
– Religion	Islam (96%), Hindu (3%), Buddhist (1%) [1]
– Languages	Indonesian (official)
Time zone	WITA (UTC+8)
Website	www.ntbprov.go.id

West Nusa Tenggara (Indonesian: Nusa Tenggara Barat often abbreviated to NTB) is a province in south-central Indonesia. The province encompasses the western portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, except for Bali as the Wallace line running the length of the Lombok Strait forms the western boundary of the province.

The two largest islands in the province are Lombok in the west and the larger Sumbawa island in the east. Mataram, on Lombok, is the capital and largest city of the province. The province is administratively divided into eight regencies (kabupaten) and two municipalities (kotamadya):

• on Lombok:
  • West Lombok (Lombok Barat)
  • Central Lombok (Lombok Tengah)
  • East Lombok (Lombok Timur)
  • North Lombok (Lombok Utara)
  • Mataram (municipality)
• on Sumbawa:
  • Bima
  • Dompu
  • Sumbawa
  • West Sumbawa (Sumbawa Barat)
  • Bima (municipality)

Lombok is mainly inhabited by the Sasak ethnic group, with a minority Balinese population, and Sumbawa is inhabited by Sumbawa and Bima ethnic groups. Each of these groups has a local language associated with it as well. The population of the province is 4,496,855 (As of 2010^[update] census); 71% of the population lives in Lombok (As of 2000^[update] census).

A 2002 United Nations Development Programme report classified West Nusa Tenggara as the least-developed province in Indonesia.^{[citation needed]}

History

In 1938, the Neo Municipality was formed, a self regulated area (Dutch: Zelf Bestuur Regelen).^{[citation needed]} Based on the Lombok government constitution, East Indonesia Presidents' decision on 9 May 1949 No.5/Prv/49, Lombok did not contain a municipality but was an area conducted by Dutch Government. Formerly known as Sunda Kecil (Small Sunda), the West Nusa Tenggara Province became East Indonesia State in 1951.^{[citation needed]} In 1957, the regional government was established.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ Central Bureau of Statistics: Census 2010, retrieved 17 January 2011 (Indonesian)
2. ^ Indonesia's Population: Ethnicity and Religion in a Changing Political Landscape. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. 2003. 

External links

• West Nusa Tenggara travel guide from Wikitravel