Eastern Indonesia

Eastern Indonesia
Indonesia Timur (in Indonesian)
From upper-left to lower-right:
Diving experience in Piaynemo Island of Raja Ampat,
Clitoria ternatea (the native flower of Ternate Island),
Papuan man wearing traditional Papuan attires,
Papeda (the staple food of Eastern Indonesia)
   Eastern Region of Indonesia
Largest cityJayapura
Provinces
DemonymEastern Indonesians[1]
Time zoneUTC+9 (Eastern Indonesia Time)

Eastern Indonesia (or East Indonesia)[2] is one of the three main geographical regions of Indonesia, the other two being Western Indonesia and Central Indonesia.[3] Eastern Indonesia spans across the Banda and Maluku Seas in the west, the Arafura and Timor Seas in the south, and the Halmahera Sea in the north. It comprises the archipelagic territory of Tanimbar, Banda, Maluku,[4] Halmahera, Raja Ampat, Biak, and western New Guinea. Eastern Indonesia Time is the national standard time designated for Eastern Indonesia; it falls within the UTC+9 time zone.

Eastern Indonesia borders Southern Philippines in the northwest, Palau in the north, Western Papua New Guinea in the east, and Northern Australia in the south.

History and background

During the last stages of the Dutch colonial era, the area east of Java and Kalimantan was known as the Great East and later known as Eastern Indonesia. On 24 December 1946, the State of East Indonesia was formed covering the same area (excluding Western New Guinea). It was a component of the United States of Indonesia, and was dissolved into the unitary Republic of Indonesia in 17 August 1950.[5] Currently, Eastern Indonesia consists of 17 provinces: Bali, East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, Central Sulawesi, Gorontalo, North Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, West Sulawesi, Maluku, North Maluku, Central Papua, Highland Papua, Papua, South Papua, Southwest Papua, and West Papua.[6][7][8]

Geography

Climate

In Eastern Indonesia, the days are generally dry and sunny from October through March with the warm tropical rain season occurring between May and August; temperatures are typically in the 27 °C (81 °F) to 30 °C (86 °F) range throughout the year.[4]

Administration

Administratively, Eastern Indonesia consists of two main geographical units, namely the Maluku Islands and Papua (Western New Guinea).

ISO 3166-2 Codes Geographical unit Provinces Population
(mid-2022)[9]
Largest city Highest point
  ID-ML
Maluku Islands Maluku and North Maluku 3,201,000 Ambon Mount Binaiya
3,027 m (9,931 ft)
  ID-PP
Papua Central Papua, Highland Papua, Papua, South Papua, Southwest Papua, and West Papua 5,601,900 Jayapura Puncak Jaya
4,884 m (16,024 ft)

Economy

Seaweed farming has traditionally been a common commercial activity along the coasts of Eastern Indonesia; however, in the 2020s climate change in Indonesia has been causing seaweed farmers in Eastern Indonesia to lose revenue and harvests.[10] In the consumer shopping industry, Eastern Indonesia experienced a rapid increase in online shopping in the 2020s, with overall transactions in the region doubling from 2020 to 2021; this growth has been led by Indonesian e-commerce company Tokopedia, with the top product types sold in the region being health and beauty, fashion, food and beverage, and electronics.[3]

Demographics

Largest cities

The following are the four largest cities in Eastern Indonesia by population:

Largest cities in Eastern Indonesia[11][12][13]
No. City Province Population Image
1. Kupang East Nusa Tenggara 442.758
2. Jayapura Papua 398.478
3. Ambon Maluku 347.288
4. Sorong Southwest Papua 284.410

See also

References

  1. ^ Williams, Catharina Purwani (2007). Maiden Voyages: Eastern Indonesian Women on the Move. Netherlands: Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (KITLV) Press. p. 211. ISBN 9789812303943.
  2. ^ "President Jokowi: East Indonesia Will Be Able to Expand Rapidly, Need Supported by Infrastructure". Cabinet Secretariat of the Republic of Indonesia. 2015.
  3. ^ a b Paramitha, Pradna (December 29, 2021). "Western, central, and eastern Indonesia show diverse trends in online shopping behavior". Jakarta: The Jakarta Post. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Lonne, Torben (March 23, 2018). "Essential guide to remote travel in eastern Indonesia". The Jakarta Post. Jakarta. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  5. ^ Ricklefs 2008, pp. 362, 374.
  6. ^ Media, Kompas Cyber (6 March 2012). "13 Provinsi di Indonesia Timur Gelar Konsultasi Regional - Kompas.com".
  7. ^ Agency, ANTARA News. "BI Catat Bali Raih Inflasi Terendah KTI - ANTARA News Bali".
  8. ^ "Bawaslu Siap Kelola Keuangan Pilkada 2018 Secara Akuntabel - Badan Pengawas Pemilihan Umum Republik Indonesia". bawaslu.go.id.
  9. ^ Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2023.
  10. ^ Barends, Jaya (July 23, 2023). "Seaweed farmers in eastern Indonesia struggle in a changing climate". Mongabay. West Seram. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  11. ^ Nusa Tenggara
  12. ^ Maluku
  13. ^ Western Papua

Bibliography

External links