Central Kalimantan

Since the eighteenth century the central region of Kalimantan and its Dayak inhabitants were ruled by the Muslim Sultanate of Banjar. Following Indonesian independence after World War II, Dayak tribes demanded a province separate from South Kalimantan province.[9]

In 1957 South Kalimantan was divided to provide the Dayak population with greater autonomy from the Muslim population in the province. The change was approved by the Indonesian Government on 23 May 1957 under Presidential Law No. 10 Year 1957, which declared Central Kalimantan the seventeenth province of Indonesia. President Sukarno appointed the Dayak-born national hero Tjilik Riwut as the first Governor and Palangkaraya the provincial capital.[10]

Central Kalimantan is the largest Indonesian province by area with a size of 153,564.5 km² (59,291.6 sq mi), about 1.5 times the size of the island of Java. It is bordered by West Kalimantan and East Kalimantan provinces to the north, by the Java Sea to the south, by South Kalimantan and East Kalimantan provinces to the east, and by West Kalimantan province to west.

The Schwaner Mountains stretch from the north-east of the province to the south-west, 80% of which is covered in dense forest, peatland swamps, mangroves, rivers and traditional agriculture land. Highland areas in the north-east are remote and not easily accessible. Non-volcanic mounts are scattered in this area including Kengkabang, Samiajang, Liang Pahang and Ulu Gedang.

The centre of the province is covered with tropical forest, which produces rattan, resin and valuable timber such as Ulin and Meranti. The southern lowlands are dominated by peatland swamps that intersect with many rivers. Sabangau National Park is a protected peatland area internationally acknowledged as sanctuary for the endangered Orangutan. Recently the peat swamp forests have been damaged by the Mega Rice Project, which unsuccessfully sought to turn large areas into rice paddies.

The province's climate is wet weather equatorial zone with an eight-month rainy season, and 4 months of dry season. Rainfall or precipitation is 2,776—3,393 mm per year with an average of 145 rainy days annually.

Central Kalimantan Province, when separated from South Kalimantan in 1958, comprised five regencies (kabupaten) - South Barito, North Barito, Kapuas, West Kotawaringin and East Kotawaringin - and one city (kotamadya), the latter being Palangka Raya (the provincial capital). On 10 April 2002 an additional eight regencies were created by splitting existing regencies - East Barito from part of South Barito Regency, Murung Raya from part of North Barito Regency, Gunung Mas and Pulang Pisau from parts of Kapuas Regency, Lamandau and Sukamara from parts of West Kotawaringin Regency, and Katingan and Seruyan from parts of East Kotawaringin Regency. Thus the province now is administratively divided into thirteen regencies (each headed by a regent) and the single city. These are as follows:

Name	Area in km2	Population 2000 Census	Population 2010 Census	Population 2020 Census	Population mid-2021 Estimate	Capital	HDI[11] 2019 estimate	Location Map
Palangkaraya City	2,399.50	158,770	220,962	293,500	299,000	Palangkaraya	0.808 (Very High)
East Barito Regency (Barito Timur)	3,834.00	71,907	97,372	113,200	114,200	Tamiang Layang	0.713 (High)
East Kotawaringin Regency (Kotawaringin Timur)	16,796.00	308,765	374,175	428,900	432,300	Sampit	0.712 (High)
Gunung Mas Regency	10,804.00	74,823	96,990	135,400	138,400	Kuala Kurun	0.707 (High)
Kapuas Regency	14,999.00	325,243	329,646	410,400	416,200	Kuala Kapuas	0.694 (Medium)
Katingan Regency	17,500.00	121,047	146,439	162,200	163,100	Kasongan	0.686 (Medium)
Lamandau Regency	6,414.00	47,969	63,199	97,611	100,535	Nanga Bulik	0.705 (High)
Murung Raya Regency	23,700.00	74,050	96,857	111,500	112,400	Purukcahu	0.679 (Medium)
North Barito Regency (Barito Utara)	8,300.00	109,273	121,573	154,800	157,200	Muara Teweh	0.705 (High)
Pulang Pisau Regency	8,997.00	111,488	120,062	134,500	135,300	Pulang Pisau	0.683 (Medium)
Seruyan Regency	16,404.00	92,037	139,931	162,900	164,400	Kuala Pembuang	0.676 (Medium)
South Barito Regency (Barito Selatan)	8,830.00	108,560	124,128	131,100	131,600	Buntok	0.701 (High)
Sukamara Regency	3,827.00	29,561	44,952	63,464	64,941	Sukamara	0.680 (Medium)
West Kotawaringin Regency (Kotawaringin Barat)	10,759.00	168,472	235,803	270,400	272,500	Pangkalan Bun	0.729 (High)
Totals	153,564.50	1,801,965	2,212,089	2,670,000	2,702,200	Palangka Raya	0.709 (High)

In addition to the civil service, Central Kalimantan also recognises a traditional governing system led by traditional leaders known as Demang. The province is divided into 67 traditional law areas known as Kademangan, headed by Demang. The system is intended to culturally recognise and preserve the customs and heritage of the Dayak tribes.

A Russian company had been contracted to build railroads from Central Kalimantan to East Kalimantan for coal transportation, with an estimated cost of US$2.4 billion, that was expected to start in 2013 and be completed by 2017.[12]

• Deforestation in Borneo
• Fauna of Borneo
• Heart of Borneo

• Official website (in Indonesian)
• Official statistics for the province provided by Statistics Indonesia may be accessed (in Indonesian) at BPS-Statistics of Kalimantan Tengah Province.