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Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi.2), including adjacent islands such as the Simeulue Island, Nias Island, Mentawai Islands, Enggano Island, Riau Islands, Bangka Belitung and Krakatoa archipelago.
Sumatra is an elongated landmass spanning a diagonal northwest–southeast axis. The Indian Ocean borders the northwest, west, and southwest coasts of Sumatra, with the island chain of Simeulue, Nias, Mentawai Islands, and Enggano off the western coast. In the northeast, the narrow Strait of Malacca separates the island from the Malay Peninsula, which is an extension of the continent. In the southeast, the narrow Sunda Strait, containing the Krakatoa archipelago, separates Sumatra from Java. The northern tip of Sumatra is near the Andaman Islands, while off the southeastern coast lie the islands of Bangka and Belitung, Karimata Strait and the Java Sea. The Bukit Barisan mountains, which contain several active volcanoes, form the backbone of the island, while the northeastern area contains large plains and lowlands with swamps, mangrove forest and complex river systems. The equator crosses the island at its centre in West Sumatra and Riau provinces. The climate of the island is tropical, hot, and humid. Lush tropical rain forest once dominated the landscape.
Sumatra has a wide range of plant and animal species but has lost almost 50% of its tropical rainforest in the last 35 years. Many species are now critically endangered, such as the Sumatran ground cuckoo, the Sumatran tiger, the Sumatran elephant, the Sumatran rhinoceros, and the Sumatran orangutan. Deforestation on the island has also resulted in serious seasonal smoke haze over neighbouring countries, such as the 2013 Southeast Asian haze which caused considerable tensions between Indonesia and affected countries Malaysia and Singapore. The widespread deforestation and other environmental destruction in Sumatra and other parts of Indonesia has often been described by academics as an ecocide.
In the late 13th century, Marco Polo referred to the kingdom as Samara, while his contemporary fellow Italian traveller Odoric of Pordenone used the form Sumoltra. Later in the 14th century the local form "Sumatra" became popular abroad due to the rising power of the kingdom of Samudera Pasai and the subsequent Aceh Sultanate.Arthur Anthony Macdonell (2025). 9788120820005, Motilal Banarsidass Publications. . ISBN 9788120820005
From then on, subsequent European writers mostly used Sumatra or similar forms of the name for the entire island.
Aceh in the north of Sumatra became known in the 16th century as trading centre for the pepper trade by shipping quality piperaceae ( pepper). Aceh became the main commercial centre of the Aceh Sultanate and trading routes were established to the Mediterranean via the Red Sea to rival the Portuguese . The reign of Iskandar Muda is known as the golden age of Sumatra because he extended the cultural influence of the Aceh Sultanate to Padang and Johor. (2025). 9789814279123, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ISBN 9789814279123 The Aceh Sultanate sustained the rivalry with the Johor Sultanate, the Dutch, and the Portuguese throughout the 16th and 17th century. When the Dutch were weakened in the 18th century the British empire began to actively intervene in Aceh, establishing close relations between Banda Aceh and Penang. In the 17th and 18th century the Aceh Sultanate battled the Siak sultanate in the south of Sumatra. The port city of Banda Aceh was recorded in European historical writings since the 13th century. In terms of economic development the port of Banda Aceh only started to face competition in the 18th century when more ports were constructed in Sumatra for maritime transport. Nevertheless, major pepper suppliers used the port of Banda Aceh at the beginning of the 19th century. The port in Medan grew swiftly in the late 19th and early 20th century. Meanwhile the medium sized port of Palembang faced a stiff economic decline as the heritage of the Srivijaya empire was superseded by the economic policy of the Singhasari and Majapahit. The Palembang sultanate experienced a terminal decline in the early 19th century. (2025). 9789811582332, Springer Nature Singapore. ISBN 9789811582332
With the coming of the Dutch Empire, the many Sumatran princely states gradually fell under their control. Aceh posed major obstacles, as the Dutch were involved in the long and costly Aceh War (1873–1903).
During the Second World War, Japan invaded Sumatra in 1942.
The Free Aceh Movement fought against Indonesian government forces in the Aceh Insurgency from 1976 to 2005. Security crackdowns in 2001 and 2002 resulted in several thousand civilian deaths.
The island was heavily impacted by both the 1883 Krakatoa and the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami.
Below are 11 largest ethnic groups in Sumatra based on the 2010 census (including Riau Islands, Bangka Belitung, Nias island, Mentawai islands, Simeulue island and islands around it)
| Javanese people | 15,239,275 |
| Bataks | 7,302,330 |
| Minangkabau | 5,799,001 |
| Ethnic groups from South Sumatera | 4,826,272 |
| Malays | 4,016,182 |
| Ethnic groups from Aceh | 3,991,883 |
| Ethnic groups from Jambi | 1,379,351 |
| Sundanese people | 1,231,888 |
| Ethnic groups from Lampung | 1,109,601 |
| Nias people | 1,021,267 |
| Other | 2,086,804 |
| 53,409,001 |
| 5,592,010 |
| 1,023,603 |
| 832,415 |
| 193,917 |
| 37,214 |
| 10,893 |
| 61,099,053 |
The majority of people in Sumatra are Muslims (87.12%), while 10.69% are Christians, and less than 2.19% are Buddhists and Hindus.
To the southeast is Java, separated by the Sunda Strait. To the north is the Malay Peninsula (located on the Asian mainland), separated by the Strait of Malacca. To the east is Borneo, across the Karimata Strait. West of the island is the Indian Ocean.
Sumatra is a highly seismic island. The Great Sumatran fault (a strike-slip fault), and the Sunda megathrust (a subduction zone), run the entire length of the island along its west coast. Huge earthquakes have been recorded throughout history. In 1797, an 8.9 earthquake shook Western Sumatra, and in 1833, a 9.2 earthquake shook Bengkulu and Western Sumatra. Both events caused large . Earthquakes are very common throughout the coastal area of the west and center of the island, and tsunamis are common due to the high seismicity in the area.
On 26 December 2004, the western coast and islands of Sumatra, particularly Aceh province, were struck by a tsunami following the Indian Ocean earthquake. This was the longest earthquake recorded, lasting between 500 and 600 seconds (8.33–10 minutes). More than 170,000 Indonesians were killed, primarily in Aceh. Other recent earthquakes to strike Sumatra include the 2005 Nias–Simeulue earthquake and the 2010 Mentawai earthquake and tsunami.
Lake Toba is the site of a Supervolcano eruption that occurred around 74,000 years ago, representing a climate-changing event. The most important rivers in Sumatra belong to the catchment area of the South China Sea. Heading north to south, the Asahan River, Rokan River, Siak River, Kampar River, Indragiri River, Batanghari flow into the Malacca Strait, while the island's largest river, the Musi, flows into the sea at Bangka Strait in the south. To the east, big rivers carry silt from the mountains, forming the vast lowland interspersed by swamps. Even if mostly unsuitable for farming, the area is currently of great economic importance for Indonesia. It produces oil from both above and below the soil – Oil palm and petroleum.
Sumatra is the largest producer of Indonesian coffee. Small-holders grow Arabica coffee ( Coffea arabica) in the highlands, while Robusta ( Coffea canephora) is found in the lowlands. Arabica coffee from the regions of Gayo, Lintong and Sidikilang is typically processed using the Giling Basah (wet hulling) technique, which gives it a heavy body and low acidity.
By population, Medan is the largest city in Sumatra.Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta. Medan is also the most visited and developed city in Sumatra.
The island is home to 201 mammal species and 580 bird species. There are nine endemic mammal species on mainland Sumatra and 14 more endemic to the nearby Mentawai Islands. There are about 300 freshwater fish species in Sumatra.Nguyen, T. T. T., and S. S. De Silva (2006). "Freshwater finfish biodiversity and conservation: an asian perspective". Biodiversity & Conservation 15(11): 3543–3568 There are 93 amphibian species in Sumatra, 21 of which are endemic to Sumatra.
The Sumatran tiger, Sumatran rhinoceros, Sumatran elephant, Sumatran ground cuckoo, Sumatran orangutan and Tapanuli orangutan are all critically endangered, indicating the highest level of threat to their survival. In October 2008, the Indonesian government announced a plan to protect Sumatra's remaining forests.
The island includes more than 10 national parks, including three which are listed as the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra World Heritage Site – Gunung Leuser National Park, Kerinci Seblat National Park and Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park. The Berbak National Park is one of three national parks in Indonesia listed as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
Sumatra has lost almost 50% of its tropical rainforest since 1980. Many species are now critically endangered, such as the Sumatran ground cuckoo, the Sumatran tiger, the Sumatran elephant, the Sumatran rhinoceros, and the Sumatran orangutan. Deforestation on the island has also resulted in serious seasonal smoke haze over neighbouring countries, such as the 2013 Southeast Asian haze which caused considerable tensions between Indonesia and affected countries Malaysia and Singapore. The widespread deforestation and other environmental destruction in Sumatra and other parts of Indonesia has often been described by academics as an ecocide.
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Administration
Sumatra is one of seven geographical regions of Indonesia, which includes its adjacent smaller islands. Sumatra was one of the eight original provinces of Indonesia between 1945 and 1948. Including adjacent archipelagoes normally included with Sumatra (such as the Riau Islands, Nias and the Bangka-Belitung group), it now covers ten of Indonesia's 38 provinces, which are set out below with their areas and populations.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakartya, 2023.
+Provinces within the region of Sumatra
! Name Capital Banda Aceh Medan Padang Pekanbaru Tanjung Pinang Jambi Palembang Bengkulu Bandar Lampung Pangkal Pinang 60,795,669
Geography
The longest axis of the island runs approximately northwest–southeast, crossing the equator near the centre. At its widest point, the island spans . The interior of the island is dominated by two geographical regions: the Barisan Mountains in the west and swampy plains in the east. Sumatra is the closest Indonesian island to mainland Asia.
Largest cities
1 Medan North Sumatra 1 July 1590 265.10 2,097,610 2,435,252 2 Palembang South Sumatra 17 June 683 400.61 1,455,284 1,668,848 3 Bandar Lampung Lampung 17 June 1682 169.21 881,801 1,166,066 4 Pekanbaru Riau 23 June 1784 633.01 897,767 983,356 5 Padang West Sumatra 7 August 1669 694.96 833,562 909,040 6 Jambi City Jambi 17 May 1946 205.00 531,857 606,200 7 Bengkulu Bengkulu 18 March 1719 144.52 308,544 373,591 8 Dumai Riau 20 April 1999 2,039.35 253,803 316,782 9 Binjai North Sumatra 90.24 246,154 291,842 10 Pematangsiantar North Sumatra 24 April 1871 60.52 234,698 268,254 11 Banda Aceh Aceh 22 April 1205 61.36 223,446 252,899 12 Lubuklinggau South Sumatra 17 August 2001 419.80 201,308 234,166
Flora and fauna
Sumatra supports a wide range of vegetation types that are home to a rich variety of species, including 17 endemic genera of plants. Unique species include the Sumatran pine which dominates the Sumatran tropical pine forests of the higher mountainsides in the north of the island and rainforest plants such as Rafflesia arnoldii (the world's largest individual flower), and the titan arum (the world's largest unbranched inflorescence).
Rail transport
Several unconnected railway networks built during Netherlands East Indies exist in Sumatra, such as the ones connecting Banda Aceh-Lhokseumawe-Besitang-Medan-Tebing Tinggi-Pematang Siantar-Rantau Prapat in Northern Sumatra (the Banda Aceh-Besitang section was closed in 1971, but is currently being rebuilt). Padang-Solok-Bukittinggi in West Sumatra, and Bandar Lampung-Palembang-Lahat Regency-Lubuklinggau in Southern Sumatra.
See also
Notes
Further reading
External links
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