# West Sulawesi

West Sulawesi (Indonesian: Sulawesi Barat), covering a land area of 17,152.99 km$^2$ with its capital at Mamuju, is a province of Indonesia on the western side of Sulawesi (formerly Celebes) island, consisting 6 regencies (kabupaten), namely Polewali Mandar, Mamasa, Majene, Mamuju, Central Mamuju and Pasangkayu (formerly called North Mamuju).

## History

On 11 December 2019, a team of researchers led by Dr. Maxime Aubert announced the discovery of the oldest hunting scenes in prehistoric art in the world which is more than 44,000 years old from the limestone cave of Leang Bulu’ Sipong 4. Archaeologists determined the age of the depiction of hunting a pig and buffalo thanks to the calcite ‘popcorn’, different isotope levels of radioactive uranium and thorium.

## Geography

The West Sulawesi Province, borders the provinces of South Sulawesi and Central Sulawesi to the east, Makassar Strait to the west, and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The province also shares maritime borders with East Kalimantan and South Kalimantan to the west.
Gandang Dewata National Park, with it's core at and around Gandang Dewata mountain, forms the centre of province. Karama River and Lariang River which rises in Donggala Regency of Central Sulawesi goes on to form part of the border between Central Sulawesi and West Sulawesi and enters the Macassar Strait just past the town of Lariang, are the major rivers which drain the province. Balabalagan Islands in Mamuju Regency are also part of the province. The islands rest on a coral reef, itself placed on an undersea bank which extends out from Kalimantan, presenting a major hazard to navigation; the Admiralty Pilot has warned that "No vessel should venture among [them] without local knowledge."

## Economy

Its economy consists mainly of mining, agriculture and fishing.

## Government and administrative divisions

West Sulawesi Province is divided into six regencies: Polewali Mandar, Mamuju, Pasangkayu, Mamasa, Majene, and Central Mamuju. The sixth regency - Central Mamuju Regency (Kabupaten Mamuju Tengah) - was cut out of the existing Mamuju Regency on 14 December 2012.
The province now forms one of Indonesia's 84 national electoral districts to elect members to the People's Representative Council. The West Sulawesi Electoral District consists of all of the 6 regencies in the province, and elects 4 members to the People's Representative Council.

## Demographics

Its population at the 2010 census was 1,158,651 increasing at 2.67% annually. Of those 171,356 were classified as below the poverty line of Indonesia. The official estimate as at mid 2023 was 1,481,077.

### Religion

Religion by Regency in West Sulawesi Province (2016) :
| Regency | Islam | Protestant | Catholic | Hinduism | Buddhism | Confucianism /Konghucu | Folk |
| Majene | 99.75% | 0.10% | 0.10% | 0.02% | 0.03% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Mamasa | 20.29% | 70.80% | 4.35% | 2.92% | 0.01% | 0.01% | 1.62% |
| Mamuju | 81.61% | 16.61% | 0.87% | 0.88% | 0.02% | 0.01% | 0.00% |
| Central Mamuju | 80.24% | 12.90% | 2.18% | 4.57% | 0.10% | 0.01% | 0.01% |
| Pasangkayu | 86.98% | 6.99% | 1.83% | 4.19% | 0.01% | 0.01% | 0.00% |
| Polewali Mandar | 96.00% | 2.77% | 1.00% | 0.19% | 0.04% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| West Sulawesi | 82.22% | 14.82% | 1.47% | 1.25% | 0.04% | 0.01% | 0.19% |
* Islam (83.92%)
* Protestantism (13.25%)
* Hinduism (1.33%)
* Roman Catholic (1.09%)
* Folk religion and others (0.38%)
* Buddhism (0.03%)

## Transport

There are ir no rail transport, or national and state highways. The roads are mostly unpaved dirt tracks. Sumarorong Airport (Bandar Udara Sumarorong) at Sumarorong town in Mamasa Regency is the only airport in the province. Other major airport nearby is the Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport at Makassar in South Sulawesi Province.