# Pagar Alam

Pagar Alam (sometimes written as Pagaralam, Jawi: ڤاݢر عالم‎), is a city in South Sumatra, Indonesia. It was formerly part of Lahat Regency, from which it was separated as an independent city on 21 June 2001; before being established as an independent city, Pagar Alam was an administrative city within Lahat Regency. It has an area of 633.66 km$^2$ and a population of 126,181 at the 2010 Census and 143,844 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 150,881 (comprising 77,147 males and 73,734 females).
Pagar Alam is located by the Bukit Barisan Mountains, at the foot of Mount Dempo (Gunung Dempo), a volcano and the highest mountain in South Sumatra, which towers to a height of 3,159m to the west of the town. It is 298 km southwest from the province's capital city of Palembang and 60 km southwest of the town of Lahat. The city is bounded by Bengkulu Province to the south, Jarai District to the north, Kota Agung District to the east and Tanjung Sakti Pumi District to the west. Pagar Alam is one of the main suppliers of vegetables in Palembang. Its location in the highland makes the city slightly cooler than many of the other South Sumatra cities; this, together with its astounding landscape, makes the city one of the main tourist destinations in South Sumatra and it is often visited by local tourists, especially from Palembang. Currently, the city is led by Alpian Maskoni as the mayor of the city.

## Geography

Pagar Alam is located by the Bukit Barisan Mountains, at the feet of Mount Dempo. It is situated on the Pasemah Plateau, an extensive fertile highland plain which is surrounded by mountains. It is notable for ancient stone megaliths which surround the town on all sides and are the remnants of a Bronze Age culture. Much of the soil in the city consists of latosol and andisol with rugged and hilly topography. The soil in this city is classified as soil with high fertility (class I).

## Demography

In 2000, Pagar Alam's population was only 112,025 and it increased to 126,181 ten years later, and 143,844 after a further decade. One of the factors in the population increase has been the settlement of migrants who want to live in this city. Beside the city's native inhabitants, the Malay (Besemah), the city population also consists of several other groups, such as the Javanese, Minang, Batak, Chinese, Arabs, and Indians.

## Administrative Districts

Pagar Alam is administratively divided into five districts (kecamatan), tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 and 2020 Censuses, together with the official estimates as at mid 2023. The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centresw, the number of administrative villages (all classed as urban kelurahan) in each district, and its postal codes.
| Kode Wilayah | Name of District (kecamatan) | Area in km$^2$ | Pop'n Census 2010 | Pop'n Census 2020 | Pop'n Estimate mid 2023 | Density per km$^2$ (2023) | Admin centre | No. of villages | Post codes |
| 16.72.04 | Dempo Selatan (South Dempo) | 243.86 | 11,611 | 12,783 | 13,684 | 56.1 | Lubuk Buntak | 5 | 31521 |
| 16.72.05 | Dempo Tengah (Central Dempo) | 144.05 | 12,663 | 14,749 | 15,807 | 109.7 | Pelang Kenidai | 5 | 31520 |
| 16.72.03 | Dempo Utara (North Dempo) | 127.11 | 19,934 | 23,031 | 23,706 | 186.5 | Bumi Agung | 7 | 31510 |
| 16.72.02 | Pagar Alam Selatan (South Pagar Alam) | 63.17 | 44,755 | 50,361 | 51,518 | 815.5 | Ulu Rurah | 8 | 31522 - 31529 |
| 16.72.01 | Pagar Alam Utara (North Pagar Alam) | 55.47 | 37,218 | 42,920 | 46,166 | 832.3 | Selibar | 10 | 31511 - 31519 $^{(a)}$ |
| | Totals | 633.66 | 126,181 | 143,844 | 150,881 | 238.1 | | 35 | |
Note: (a) excluding the kelurahan of Sukorejo, which has a post code of 31551.

## Climate

Pagar Alam has an elevation moderated tropical rainforest climate (Af) with heavy rainfall year-round.
Climate data for Pagar Alam :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 27.3 (81.1) | 27.8 (82.0) | 28.1 (82.6) | 28.3 (82.9) | 28.3 (82.9) | 28.0 (82.4) | 27.8 (82.0) | 27.9 (82.2) | 27.9 (82.2) | 28.0 (82.4) | 27.6 (81.7) | 27.3 (81.1) | 27.9 (82.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 22.6 (72.7) | 22.9 (73.2) | 23.2 (73.8) | 23.4 (74.1) | 23.4 (74.1) | 23.0 (73.4) | 22.6 (72.7) | 22.8 (73.0) | 22.9 (73.2) | 23.1 (73.6) | 22.9 (73.2) | 22.7 (72.9) | 23.0 (73.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 18.0 (64.4) | 18.1 (64.6) | 18.3 (64.9) | 18.6 (65.5) | 18.6 (65.5) | 18.0 (64.4) | 17.5 (63.5) | 17.7 (63.9) | 17.9 (64.2) | 18.2 (64.8) | 18.3 (64.9) | 18.0 (64.4) | 18.1 (64.6) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 321 (12.6) | 257 (10.1) | 284 (11.2) | 284 (11.2) | 229 (9.0) | 142 (5.6) | 126 (5.0) | 151 (5.9) | 177 (7.0) | 255 (10.0) | 286 (11.3) | 313 (12.3) | 2,825 (111.2) |
| Source: Climate-Data.org ||||||||||||||

## Transportation
### Atung Bungsu Airport

Atung Bungsu Airport is the only airport in Pagar Alam. It is opened on 28 February 2013. With air transport it now is less than one hour from Palembang, instead of eight hours using land transportation.

## Education
### Colleges

* Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Tarbiyah (STIT)
* Sekolah Tinggi Keguruan & Ilmu Pendidikan (STKIP) Muhammadiyah Pagar Alam
* Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Ekonomi (STIE) Lembah Dempo Pagar Alam
* Sekolah Tinggi Teknologi Pagaralam (STTP) Simpang Mbacang

## Tourism

Beside its landscapes, the city also offer heritage tourism with a lot of megalithic sites. The Pagaralam government will build an integrated tourism area in a 26 hectare bamboo forest at Curup Jahe in North Pagaralam.