North Sulawesi

North Sulawesi Sulawesi Utara
Province
Manado Tua Island
Flag Seal
Motto: Si Tou Timou Tumou Tou (Minahasan) (Human purpose in life is to nurture and educate others)
Location of North Sulawesi in Indonesia
Coordinates:
Country	Indonesia
Capital	Manado
Government
• Governor	Sinyo Harry Sarundajang (PD)
• Vice Governor	Djouhari Kansil
Area
• Total	13,851.64 km2 (5,348.15 sq mi)
Population (2014)[1]
• Total	2,382,941
• Density	170/km2 (450/sq mi)
Demographics
• Ethnic groups	Minahasan, Mongondow, Sangirese, Talaud, Gorontaloan, Bugis, Javanese
• Religion	Protestantism (63.6%), Islam (30.9%), Roman Catholicism (4.4%), Hinduism (0.58%), Buddhism (0.14%), Confucianism (0.02%)
• Languages	Indonesian (official)
Time zone	WITA (UTC+8)
Website	www.sulut.go.id

North Sulawesi (Indonesian: Sulawesi Utara) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the northern peninsula of the island of Sulawesi, on the Minahasa Peninsula. The province's capital and largest city is Manado, and its population was 2,270,596 according to the 2010 census;^[2] the latest official estimate (for January 2014) is 2,382,941. Motto: "Si Tou Timou Tumou Tou" (Minahasan), translated in English: "Human purpose in life is to nurture and educate others".

Demographics

North Sulawesi recorded 2,270,596 people in the decennial 2010 Census, with 1,157,551 males and 1,108,378 females, growing at 1.41% over the previous census.^[3] The slowest growing regency was that of the Sangihe Islands. In 2010, about 68% were Christian (predominantly Protestant with a sizable Catholic minority), one of the few exceptions in the predominantly Muslim Indonesia, due to the prominent Dutch missionary activity during the colonial era. Also, because the Muslim-majority region of Gorontalo (then comprising a city and two regencies) was split off to form a new province in 2000. There are also Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist minorities. The largest ethnic groups are the Minahasan in the north of the province and the Mongondow to the south. The province's chief city is Manado with population of 430,790 people in 2014.

Administrative divisions

North Sulawesi is divided into eleven regencies (Indonesian: kabupaten) and four independent cities (Indonesian: kotamadya), listed below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census and according to the latest official estimate (for January 2014).

Proposed new province of Bolaang Mongondow Raya

On 25 October 2013, the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) began reviewing draft laws on the establishment of 57 prospective regencies and 8 new provinces; one of the proposed provinces is Bolaang Mongondow Raya in North Sulawesi. If the bill is approved, this will comprise Kotamobagu City and the four regencies following it in the table above.^[4]

Nature Tourist Parks and Animal Sanctuaries

There are 5 Nature Tourist Parks and Animal Sanctuaries in North Sulawesi and all are under government jurisdiction:^[5]

• Batuputih (Whitestone) Nature Tourist Park is 64 kilometers from Manado and covers 615 hectares. It has a white sandy beach and tourists can also see the Celebes crested macaque (monyet hitam), Spectral tarsier (tangkasi), knobbed hornbill (burung rangkong) and kingfisher (burung rajaudang).
• Batuangus Nature Tourist Park is 65 kilometers from Manado or 3 hours drive, but just 45 minutes from Whitestone Nature Tourist Park with 635 hectares area. From the peak of Batuangus Mount we can see Bitung city.
• Karakelang Island Animal Sanctuary in Talaud Islands is 15 hours sailing from Manado by speedboat or ferry and covers 24,669 hectares. The endemic birds are the red-and-blue lory (sampiri), Talaud kingfisher (rajaudang talaud), Talaud bush-hen (kareo talaud) and Talaud rail (mandar talaud).
• Manembo-nembo Animal Sanctuary is 100 kilometers from Manado or 90 minute drive with 5,426 hectares. The location is habitat for knobbed hornbill, kingfisher, white cockatoo, Celebes crested macaque, Sulawesi dwarf cuscus and Javan rusa.
• Nantu Animal Sanctuary covers 31,125 hectares and can be reach in a 4-hour drive plus 3 hours by boat. There is a salt lick in a dried pond by Buru babirusa and anoa. The others can be seen at other areas are Celebes warty pig, spectral tarsier, Heck's macaque, Sulawesi palm civet, knobbed hornbill and other birds.

References

External links

• (Indonesian) Official site
• North Sulawesi travel guide from Wikivoyage

North Sulawesi Capital: Manado Regencies Bolaang Mongondow East Bolaang Mongondow North Bolaang Mongondow South Bolaang Mongondow Minahasa North Minahasa South Minahasa Southeast Minahasa Sangihe Islands Sitaro Islands Talaud Islands Cities Bitung Kotamobagu Manado Tomohon See also: List of regencies and cities of Indonesia