# South Halmahera Regency

South Halmahera Regency (Indonesian: Kabupaten Halmahera Selatan) is a regency of North Maluku Province, Indonesia. It lies partly on Halmahera Island (occupying most of the southern peninsula of that island) and partly on smaller islands to the west and south of Halmahera. It covers a land area of 8,779.32 km$^2$, and at the 2010 Census it had a population of 198,911 people, while the 2020 Census showed that this had risen to 248,395 and the official estimate in mid 2024 was 258,564 (comprising 133,453 males and 125,111 females). The capital lies at the town of Labuha on Bacan Island.

## Islands

Besides the southern part of Halmahera Island, the regency includes a number of archipelagoes and islands. These comprise:
* Obi Islands, including Obira (main), Bisa, Obilatu and other small islands, comprising in all five kecamatan with 55,010 people in mid 2024.
* Bacan Islands, including:
** Bacan Island itself, comprising 7 kecamatan with 89,816 people (in mid 2024)
** Bacan Lomang Island, comprising 1 kecamatan with 7,808 people
** Mandioli, comprising 2 kecamatan with 10,912 people
** Kasiruta, comprising 2 kecamatan with 11,024 people
* Kayoa Group, comprising 4 kecamatan with 21,996 people
* Makian, comprising 2 kecamatan with 12,323 people
* the southern peninsula of Halmahera Island (the area is known as Gane), comprising 6 kecamatan with 49,674 people in 2024 (including the Joronga Islands off the southern tip of Halmahera Island).

## Administration

The regency is divided into thirty districts (kecamatan), tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census and 2020 Census, together with the official estimates for mid 2024. The table also includes the name of the administrative centre and the number of administrative villages (all classed as rural desa) and of named islands in each district and its post code.
| Kode Wilayah | Name of District (kecamatan) | English name | Area in km$^2$ | Pop'n Census 2010 | Pop'n Census 2020' | Pop'n Estimate mid 2024 | Admin centre | No. of villages | No. of islands | Post code | Island or Group |
| 82.04.05 | Obi Selatan | South Obi | 1,021.02 | 12,128 | 12,178 | 15,815 | Wayaloar | 8 | 4 | 97792 | Obi Islands |
| 82.04.06 | Obi | | 910.59 | 14,125 | 20,538 | 14,047 | Laiwui | 9 | 12 | 97792 | Obi Islands |
| 82.04.28 | Obi Barat | West Obi | 89.19 | 3,586 | 5,211 | 5,830 | Jikohai | 6 | 6 | 97792 | Obi Islands |
| 82.04.29 | Obi Timur | East Obi | 636.23 | 3,389 | 3,705 | 4,048 | Sum | 4 | 14 | 97792 | Obi Islands |
| 82.04.30 | Obi Utara | North Obi | 160.69 | 8,227 | 9,128 | 10,270 | Madapolo | 7 | 6 | 97792 | Obi Islands |
| Sub-totals | Obi Islands | | 2,817.72 | 41,455 | 50,760 | 55,010 | | 34 | 42 | 97792 | Obi Islands |
| 82.04.08 | Bacan | | 304.69 | 19,092 | 27,045 | 29,227 | Labuha | 14 | 3 | 97791 | Bacan Islands |
| 82.04.19 | Mandioli Selatan | South Mandioli | 138.81 | 5,798 | 6,936 | 7,186 | Jiko | 6 | - | 97791 | Mandioli |
| 82.04.20 | Mandioli Utara | North Mandioli | 96.80 | 2,990 | 3,809 | 3,726 | Indong | 6 | 7 | 97791 $^{(a)}$ | Mandioli |
| 82.04.17 | Bacan Selatan | South Bacan | 169.21 | 13,265 | 19,560 | 21,971 | Mandaong | 10 | - | 97791 | Bacan Islands |
| 82.04.18 | Batang Lomang $^{(b)}$ | Batang Lomang Islands | 55.81 | 6,177 | 7,655 | 7,808 | Bajo | 8 | 13 | 97790 | Batang Lomang Islands |
| 82.04.07 | Bacan Timur | East Bacan | 463.50 | 9,051 | 12,794 | 13,811 | Babang | 10 | 8 | 97791 | Bacan Islands |
| 82.04.21 | Bacan Timur Selatan | Southeast Bacan | 321.13 | 6,460 | 7,493 | 8,459 | Wayaua | 7 | 1 | 97791 | Bacan Islands |
| 82.04.22 | Bacan Timur Tengah | East Central Bacan | 276.28 | 5,229 | 6,158 | 6,579 | Bibinoi | 7 | 2 | 97791 | Bacan Islands |
| 82.04.09 | Bacan Barat | West Bacan | 143.70 | 3,549 | 4,327 | 4,602 | Indari | 7 | 49 | 97791 | Bacan Islands |
| 82.04.15 | Kasiruta Barat $^{(c)}$ | West Kasiruta | 272.98 | 4,521 | 5,865 | 6,034 | Palamea | 10 | 25 | 97790 | Kasiruta |
| 82.04.16 | Kasiruta Timur | East Kasiruta | 211.45 | 3,847 | 4,865 | 4,990 | Loleojaya | 8 | 6 | 97790 | Kasiruta |
| 82.04.14 | Bacan Barat Utara | Northwest Bacan | 264.94 | 4,096 | 5,010 | 5.167 | Yaba | 8 | 1 | 97791 | Bacan Islands |
| Sub-totals | Bacan Islands | | 2,719.30 | 84,075 | 111,517 | 119,560 | | 101 | 115 | 9779x | Bacan Islands |
| 82.04.02 | Kayoa | | 87.62 | 8,180 | 9,057 | 8,614 | Guruapin | 14 | 49 | 97780 | Kayoa Islands |
| 82.04.11 | Kayoa Barat $^{(d)}$ | West Kayoa | 27.07 | 3,469 | 4,336 | 4,042 | Busua | 4 | 5 | 97781 | Kayoa Islands |
| 82.04.12 | Kayoa Selatan | South Kayoa | 25.90 | 5,856 | 6,822 | 6,559 | Laluin | 6 | 9 | 97780 | Kayoa Islands |
| 82.04.13 | Kayoa Utara | North Kayoa | 39.22 | 2,671 | 2,896 | 2,781 | Laromabati | 6 | 3 | 97781 | Kayoa Islands |
| Sub-totals | Kayoa Islands | | 179.81 | 20,176 | 23,111 | 21,996 | | 30 | 66 | 9778x | Kayoa Islands |
| 82.04.01 | Pulau Makian $^{(e)}$ | Makian Island | 55.50 | 8,977 | 10,032 | 8,774 | Kota | 15 | 1 | 97785 | Makian |
| 82.04.10 | Makian Barat $^{(e)}$ | West Makian | 35.54 | 3,417 | 3,968 | 3,549 | Mateketen | 7 | - | 97784 | Makian |
| Sub-totals | Makian Island | | 91.04 | 12,394 | 14,000 | 12,323 | | 22 | 1 | 9778x | Makian Island |
| 82.04.04 | Gane Barat | West Gane | 493.67 | 7,972 | 10,019 | 9,719 | Saketa | 10 | 7 | 97782 | Halmahera |
| 82.04.23 | Gane Barat Selatan | Southwest Gane | 252.55 | 5,545 | 6,796 | 7,087 | Gane Dalam | 8 | 19 | 97782 | Halmahera |
| 82.04.24 | Gane Barat Utara | Northwest Gane | 501.69 | 6,027 | 7,336 | 7,289 | Dolik | 12 | - | 97789 | Halmahera |
| 82.04.25 | Kepulauan Joronga | Joronga Islands | 148.93 | 5,264 | 7,203 | 7,146 | Kukupang | 7 | 30 $^{(f)}$ | 97786 | Joronga Islands |
| 82.04.03 | Gane Timur | East Gane | 661.65 | 8,729 | 9,253 | 9,678 | Maffa | 12 | 1 | 97783 | Halmahera |
| 82.04.27 | Gane Timur Tengah | East Central Gane | 309.67 | 3,796 | 4,354 | 4,719 | Bisui | 8 | 2 | 97788 | Halmahera |
| 82.04.26 | Gane Timur Selatan $^{(g)}$ | Southeast Gane | 284.20 | 3,478 | 4,104 | 4,037 | Gane Luar | 5 | 85 | 97787 | Halmahera |
| Sub-totals | Gane and offshore islands | | 2,652.36 | 40,811 | 49,065 | 49,674 | | 62 | 144 | 9778x | Gane and Islands |
Notes: (a) except for Bobo desa, which has a postcode of 97792. (b) formally called Kepulauan Batanglomang; situated between Bacan and Mandioli Islands. (c) includes Lata Lata Island (27.9 km$^2$, with 1,201 inhabitants in 2020), located to the northwest of Kasiruta Island, and comprising two desa - Lata Lata and Sidanga. (d) Kayoa Barat (essentially Pulau Muari, but also includes the four small offshore islets of Pulau Guaigo, Pulau Guaigo Kecil, Pulau Intan and Pulau Tamotamo) actually lies closer to Kasiruta Island than to the rest of the Kayoa group; it is geographically adjacent to Lata Lata Island, part of Kasiruta Barat District. (e) Makian Island is a stratovolcano, like the islands to the north of it (such as Moti, Mare, Tidore, Ternate and Hiri), and unlike those to the south (like Kayoa and the Bacan Islands). (f) comprising the villages (desa) of Gonone, Kukupang, Kurunga, Liboba Hijrah, Pulau Gala, Tawabi and Yomen; the largest islands are Pulau Damar (or Kukupang) and Pulau Yoruga (or Joronga Island). (g) includes the Widi Islands off the east coast of the Gane Peninsula.

## Languages

The various South Halmahera languages are a branch of Austronesian languages.

## Economy

South Halmahera has been designated by provincial governor Abdul Ghani Kasuba as a region for tourism development. The Widi International Fishing Tournament was founded for this purpose. Kasuba also successfully negotiated for the China-based Jinchun Group to build a nine-trillion rupiah nickel smelter in the Obi Islands.