West Sulawesi

History

On 11 December 2019, a team of researchers led by Dr. Maxime Aubert announced the discovery of the oldest hunting scenes in prehistoric art in the world which is more than 44,000 years old from the limestone cave of Leang Bulu’ Sipong 4. Archaeologists determined the age of the depiction of hunting a pig and buffalo thanks to the calcite ‘popcorn’, different isotope levels of radioactive uranium and thorium.

Geography

The West Sulawesi Province, borders the provinces of South Sulawesi and Central Sulawesi to the east, Makassar Strait to the west, and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The province also shares maritime borders with East Kalimantan and South Kalimantan to the west.

Gandang Dewata National Park, with its core at and around Gandang Dewata mountain, forms the centre of province. Karama River and Lariang River which rises in Donggala Regency of Central Sulawesi goes on to form part of the border between Central Sulawesi and West Sulawesi and enters the Macassar Strait just past the town of Lariang, are the major rivers which drain the province. Balabalagan Islands in Mamuju Regency are also part of the province.{{cite book

Economy

Its economy consists mainly of mining, agriculture and fishing.

Government and administrative divisions

West Sulawesi Province is divided into six regencies: Polewali Mandar, Mamuju, Pasangkayu, Mamasa, Majene, and Central Mamuju. The sixth regency - Central Mamuju Regency (Kabupaten Mamuju Tengah) - was cut out of the existing Mamuju Regency on 14 December 2012.

The province now forms one of Indonesia's 84 national electoral districts to elect members to the People's Representative Council. The West Sulawesi Electoral District consists of all of the 6 regencies in the province, and elects 4 members to the People's Representative Council.

Demographics

|1971 |462152 |1980 |581010 |1990 |689493 |2000 |900457 |2010 |1158651 |2020 |1419229}} Its population at the 2010 census was 1,158,651 increasing at 2.67% annually. Of those 171,356 were classified as below the poverty line of Indonesia. The official estimate as at mid 2023 was 1,481,077.

Religion

Transport

There are is no rail transport, or national and state highways. The roads are mostly unpaved dirt tracks. There are two airports in the province: Sumarorong Airport (Bandar Udara Sumarorong) at Sumarorong town in Mamasa Regency and Tampa Padang Airport (Bandar Udara Tampa Padang) at Mamuju town in Mamuju Regency. The major airport nearby is the Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport at Makassar in South Sulawesi Province - located a 9.5 hour drive from the capital of West Sulawesi, Mamuju.

Notable people

Main article: People from West Sulawesi

References

References

1. "J.D.I.H. - Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat".
2. Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2024, ''Provinsi Sulawesi Barat Dalam Angka 2024'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.76)
3. (2015). "Demography of Indonesia's Ethnicity". Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
4. (2024). "Indeks Pembangunan Manusia 2024". [[Statistics Indonesia]].
5. [http://sulbar.bps.go.id/newbackend2/pdf_publikasi/Provinsi_Sulawesi_Barat_Dalam_Angka_2016.pdf Sulawesi Barat Dalam Angka 2016]{{Dead link. (August 2025)
6. (2019-12-12). "Animal painting found in cave is 44,000 years old". BBC News.
7. "Narrative Cave Art in Indonesia Dated to 44,000 Years Ago {{!}} ARCHAEOLOGY WORLD".
8. Devlin, Hannah. (2019-12-11). "Earliest known cave art by modern humans found in Indonesia". The Guardian.
9. "The oldest story ever told is painted on this cave wall, archaeologists report". [[The Washington Post]].
10. "Lemas dan Kedinginan, 5 Pendaki Asal Bandung Dievakuasi dari Gunung Gandang Dewata". Kompas.
11. [https://www.gunungbagging.com/gandangdewata/ Gandangdewata], gunungbagging.com, accessed 20 March 2025.
12. Rand McNally, ''The New International Atlas'', 1993.
13. [http://www.geonames.org/1641373/lelo%20karama.html Lelo Karama] at Geonames.org (cc-by); Last updated 2013-06-04; Database dump downloaded 2015-11-27
14. (April 1964). "Pasangkaju, SA 50-8". United States Army Map Service.
15. "Lariang, Sulawesi Barat, Sulawesi, Indonesia". Collins Maps.
16. (1985). "Times Atlas of the World". John Bartholomew and Sons, Ltd..
17. The 1964 U.S. Army topographic map ''Pasangkaju'' does not show the town of Lariang.
18. Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021.
19. 2010 Indonesian Census
20. Law No. 7/2017 (''UU No. 7 Tahun 2017'') as amended by Government Regulation in Lieu of Law No. 1/2022 and Regulation of General Elections Commission No. 6/2023.
21. Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011.
22. "Fajar Lokal News : Warga Miskin Sulbar 171.356 Jiwa".
23. (31 August 2022). "Jumlah Penduduk Menurut Agama". [[Ministry of Religious Affairs (Indonesia).