Meranti Islands Regency

Meranti Islands (Kepulauan Meranti) is an archipelago, most of which forms a regency (kabupaten) of Riau Province and lies off the eastern coast of the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. It was created on 19 December 2008 by the separating of these large islands from the mainly mainland regency of Bengkalis. The regency comprises the islands of Tebing Tinggi, Rangsang, Padang, and Merbau, together with minor offshore islands, but does not include Bengkalis Island to the north, which is geographically part of the archipelago but remains within Bengkalis Regency. The principal town is Selat Panjang (also written as Selatpanjang) on Tebing Tinggi Island. The regency covers an area of 3,623.93 km² and had a population of 176,290 at the 2010 Census^[2] and 206,116 at the 2020 Census;^[3] the official estimate as of mid-2023 was 211,771 (comprising 109,080 males and 102,690 females).^[1]

Meranti Islands Regency Kabupaten Kepulauan Meranti
Regency
Lunar New Year festival in Selat Panjang
Coat of arms
Country	Indonesia
Province	Riau
Regency seat	Selat Panjang
Government
• Regent	Asmar
Area
• Total	3,623.93 km2 (1,399.21 sq mi)
Population  (mid 2023 estimate)[1]
• Total	211,771
• Density	58/km2 (150/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+7 (WIB)
Website	www.merantikab.go.id

Administrative districts

When created in 2008, the regency was divided into five districts (kecamatan), listed below with their populations at the 2010 Census:^[2]

Name of District (kecamatan)	English name	Pop'n Census 2010
Tebing Tinggi Barat	Western Tebing Tinggi Island	15,260
Tebing Tinggi	(Eastern) Tebing Tinggi Island	65,748
Rangsang	(Eastern) Rangsang Island	26,526
Rangsang Barat	Western Rangsang Island	24,926
Merbau	Merbau and Padang Islands	44,030

On 26 January 2011, the regency was re-divided into nine districts. The additional four districts are Tebing Tinggi Timur (East Tebing Tinggi Island, leaving the residual area of Tebing Tinggi District to cover the town of Selat Panjang), Rangsang Pesisir (Coastal Rangsang), Pulau Merbau (Merbau Island, leaving the residual area of Merbau District to cover the southern part of Padang Island) and Tasik Putri Puyu (covering the northern part of Padang Island). The areas and the populations of the nine districts at the 2020 Census,^[3] together with the official estimates as of mid-2023,^[1] are as follows. The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of administrative villages in each district (totaling 96 rural desa and 5 urban kelurahan), and its postcode.

Kode Wilayah	Name of District (kecamatan)	Area in km2	Pop'n 2020 Census	Pop'n mid 2023 Estimate	Admin centre	No. of villages	Post code
14.10.04	Tebing Tinggi Barat	489.46	18,382	19,500	Alai	14	28758
14.10.01	Tebing Tinggi (town)	89.38	67,219	66,400	Selat Panjang	9 (a)	28753
14.10.07	Tebing Tinggi Timur	800.47	13,293	14,200	Sungai Tohor	10	28754
14.10.03	Rangsang	420.73	20,123	20,800	Tanjung Samak	14	28755
14.10.09	Rangsang Pesisir (Coastal Rangsang)	371.35	18,853	19,800	Telesung	11	28757
14.10.02	Rangsang Barat	116.38	19,488	20,300	Bantar	12	28756
14.10.05	Merbau	553.82	15,305	15,900	Teluk Belitung	10 (b)	28752
14.10.06	Pulau Merbau	216.14	15,824	16,900	Semukut	11	28750
14.10.08	Tasik Putri Puyu	556.22	17,629	18,100	Bandul	10	28751
	Totals	3,623.93	206,116	211,771	Selatpanjang	101

Notes: (a) comprising 4 kelurahan (Selat Panjang Barat, Selat Panjang Kota, Selat Panjang Selatan and Selat Panjang Timur) and 5 desa.
(b) including one kelurahan - Teluk Belitung.

1°0′N 102°42′E

References

1. Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2024, Kabupaten Kepulauan Meranti Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1410)
2. Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011.
3. Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021.