Kotabaru Regency is one of the eleven regencies in the Indonesian province of South Kalimantan. It consists of two parts; the smaller (2,361.61 km2) but more populated insular part comprises Laut Island ("Sea Island"), the largest island off the coast of Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo), together with the smaller Sebuku Island off Laut Island's east coast and other even smaller islands nearby; the larger (6,993.82 km2) but less populated part consists of the 12 districts on the mainland of Kalimantan. The regency as a whole has an area of 9,354.93 km2, and had a population of 290,142 at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 325,622 at the 2020 Census.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. The official estimate as at mid 2025 was 336,785 (comprising 173,678 males and 163,107 females), of whom 180,973 were in the insular part and 156,712 in the mainland part of the regency.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 27 February 2026, Kabupaten Kotabaru Dalam Angka 2026 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.6302) The regency seat is located at the large town of Kotabaru at the northern tip of Laut Island.
It has the second largest GRDP in the province after the city of Banjarmasin, mainly due to its coal industry. It is also the largest regency by land area in the province.
History
Etymology The regency got its name from Kotabaru town, which is the administrative center of the regency. The town was previously a village that grew because of coal mining around 1873 and 1881. The coal mines were mostly owned by nobles of small kingdoms in the islands such as Pagatan and Kusan. The village grows into a town and called Kotta Baroe, which literally means "new town". Throughout the 20th century until today, the region became commonly known as Kotabaru.
Early history In the region of what is now the regency, there were several petty kingdoms and sultanates which were closely tied to the Sultanate of Banjar. It is estimated that these kingdoms came into existence around after 1786, following the foundation of the Kusan and Pagatan Kingdoms on the island of Laut by Prince Amir from the Kingdom of Kayutangi (modern Martapura) Both kingdoms later on became subject to Kayutangi, and were obliged to pay tributes. In 1840, Kusan and Pagatan entered a personal union after the fourth king of Kusan, Jaya Sumitra, gave the kingdom to Arung Abdul Karim who was the king of Pagatan, thereby assuming control over the entire island of Laut. In 1881, son of Jaya Sumitra, Prince Husin Kusuma took the title of fourth king of Laut Island. Husin Kusuma soon died in 1900 when taking a hajj and was succeeded by Prince Aminullah who would become the last king of Laut.
Colonial era In 1905, the Dutch East Indies government declared the end of the small kingdoms' existence on the island, following the defeat of the Banjar Sultanate after the Banjarmasin War. The region was then directly ruled by the colonial government instead of through local kings and officials. In 1942, the region was occupied by the Empire of Japan during World War II.
In the aftermath of the war and the Indonesian National Revolution, the returning Dutch proposed a puppet state of Southeast Borneo Federation in the region. This was opposed and conflicts erupted in the region, known as Kalimantan Physical Revolution. On 1 September 1945, Committee for Assisting Republic Indonesian (BPRI, Badan Pembantu Republik Indonesia) was formed in the town of Pagatan, and spread its branch across Laut Island. On 6 December 1945, students and Republican militia passed a motion declaring the region to be part of the Indonesian Republic. On 7 February 1946, a battle broke out between Republican militia and Dutch soldiers who tried to land on the beach of Laut island around the village of Kampung Baru.
Following the return of Dutch authority, several demonstrations were held in town of Pagatan and Kotabaru and Indonesian flag was hoisted in a wet market in Pagatan in October 1949. Southeast Borneo Federation were eventually dissolved by its own parliament and joined Indonesian Republic following transfer of sovereignty.
After independence The regency on its own came into existence in 1953, when it was composed of administrative districts in Laut Island, Southern Tanah Bumbu, Northern Tanah Bumbu, and Pasir Residency. However, Pasir was cut off from the regency in 1959 after the division of Kalimantan into several provinces in 1956, and became a regency of East Kalimantan. Following the fall of Suharto and the rapid decentralization that followed, there was a demand from mainland districts (Tanah Bumbu) to secede from the regency and form their own; this demand has been caused by dissatisfaction on the mainland with the regency government on Laut Island, as the island is more developed than the mainland Kalimantan parts. The southern part of the Tanah Bumbu region (the southern 40.7% of the mainland area) was split off from the rest of Kotabaru Regency on 25 February 2003 and made into a separate regency. The northern part of the Tanah Bumbu region (the northern 59.3% of the mainland area) also demanded separation; however, by 2026 this additional split has not materialized because of the Indonesian Government moratorium on the created of new regencies.
Geography
Climate Kotabaru has a tropical savanna climate (Aw) with heavy rainfall year-round.
Governance
Administrative districts At the time of the 2010 Census, Kotabaru Regency was divided into twenty districts (kecamatan), but an additional district (Pulau Laut Tanjung Selayar) was added subsequently from part of Pulau Laut Barat District, and then in 2020 a further district (Pulau Laut Sigam) was added from the most northerly part of Pulau Laut Utara District (which includes the administrative capital, Kotabaru town). The districts are listed below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and the 2020 Census,Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. together with the official estimates as at mid 2025.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 27 February 2026, Kabupaten Kotabaru Dalam Angka 2026 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.6302) The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of administrative villages in each district (a total of 198 rural desa and 4 urban kelurahan), the number of (named) islands in each district, and its post code. The first ten districts as listed comprise the southern or insular part of the regency, while the last twelve districts comprise the northern or mainland portion (Tanah Bumbu Utara).
Kode Wilayah Name ofDistrict(kecamatan) Areain km2 Pop'n 2010Census Pop'n 2020Census Pop'n mid 2025EstimateAdmincentreNo. of villagesNo. of islandsPostcode 63.02.01 Pulau Sembilan (Sembilan Island) 43.10 5,649 6,206 6,139 Tengah 5 19 72181 63.02.02 Pulau Laut Barat(West Laut Island} 245.52 18,668 10,192 10,580 Sebanti 11 5 72153 63.02.21 Pulau Laut Tanjung Selayar 57.97 (a)10,633 12,128 Tanjung Pelayar 10 - 72151 63.02.03 Pulau Laut Seletan(South Laut Island) 325.93 8,792 10,242 11,286 Tanjung Seloka8 10 72157 63.02.20 Pulau Laut Kepulauan(Laut Island Islands) 116.68 10,801 13,620 14,979 Tanjung Lalak Selatan9 11 72154 63.02.04 Pulau Laut Timur(East Laut Island) 621.53 12,796 14,218 14,282 Berangas 14 4 72152 63.02.05 Pulau Sebuku(Sebuku Island) 218.26 7,212 7,261 7,472 Sungai Bali 8 10 72155 63.02.06 Pulau Laut Utara (North Laut Island) 99.50 79,639 53,657 54,363 Dirgahayu 10 (b) - 72111-72117 63.02.16 Pulau Laut Tengah(Central Laut Island) 591.19 9,385 11,411 12,147 Salino 7 - 72156 63.02.22 Pulau Laut Sigam (Sigam Laut Island) 36.98 (c)36,577 36,697 Sigam 11 (d) - 63.02.07 Kelumpang Seletan(South Kelumpang) 337.88 9,187 10,208 10,529 Pantai 9 6 72160 63.02.17 Kelumpang Hilir 300.71 20,089 24,441 24,929 Serongga9 2 72161 63.02.08 Kelumpang Hulu 1,091.73 14,414 15,983 17,519 Sungai Kupang 10 5 72162 63.02.14 Hampang 1,591.24 10,158 12,556 13,531 Hampang 9 - 72163 63.02.15 Sungai Durian 934.29 10,400 11,716 12,558 Manunggul Lama 7 2 72167 63.02.09 Kelumpang Tengah(Central Kelumpang) 315.15 12,495 13,258 13,329 Tanjung Batu 13 5 72164 63.02.18 Kelumpang Barat(West Kelumpang) 483.99 5,343 7,421 8,290 Bungkukan 6 17 72164-72167 63.03.10 Kelumpang Utara(North Kelumpang) 218.06 5,299 5,652 5,810 Pudi 7 - 72165 63.02.11 Pamukan Seletan(South Pamukan) 369.34 12,881 12,928 12,794 Tanjung Samalantakan 11 1 72168 63.02.12 Sampanahan 403.69 9,884 10,868 11,449 Gunung Batu Besar 10 10 72166 63.02.13 Pamukan Utara(North Pamukan) 572.00 18,070 16,281 14,863 Bakau 13 - 72169 63.02.19 Pamukan Barat(West Pamukan) 375.24 8,980 10,293 11,111 Sengayam 5 - 72169
Notes: (a) The 2010 population is included with the figure for Pulau Laut Barat District, from which the new district was divided. (b) includes one kelurahan - Kotabaru Hulu (with 4,613 inhabitants in 2024) and nine desa of which the most populous are Semayap (16,137) and Dirgahayu (10,290). (c) The 2010 population is included with the figure for Pulau Laut Utara District, from which the new district was divided on 3 February 2020. (d) includes three kelurahan - Baharu Selatan (with 4,961 inhabitants in 2024), Kotabaru Hilir (3,184 inhabitants) and Kotabaru Tengah (4,115 inhabitants), plus eight desa of which the most populous are Hilir Muara (5,165) and Baharu Utara (4,996).
Local government It is a second-level administrative division equivalent to a city. As a regency, it is headed by a regent who is elected democratically. Head of districts are appointed directly by the regent with the recommendation of the regency secretary. Executive power lies with the regent and vice regent while legislative function is exercised by the regency's parliament.
Economy The GRDP of the Kotabaru Regency is valued at 23.79 trillion rupiahs in 2020, which is the second biggest in the province after Banjarmasin. Nominally, this was a decrease of 153.47 billion rupiahs from 2019 which were valued at 24.12 trillion rupiahs. The decrease was caused by deflation and economic downturn during COVID-19 pandemic as well as general decline of mining industry. The economy experienced contraction of 1.87% in 2020 compared to previous year.
The economy of the regency is undergoing a restructurization, with the general decline of primary sector and a shift to the tertiary sector, as with many regions in Indonesia. This is mostly seen in 2020 where the combined figures for mining, agriculture, and fishery contributed to 37.25% of the regency's GRDP compared to 38.51% in 2016. As of 2020, the biggest single sector that contributed to the regency's GRDP was manufacturing with contribution of 33.80%. This followed by agriculture with 19.07%, mining with 18.18%, and transportation with 6.12%. The manufacturing industry consists mostly of food and drink-related industries as well as the palm oil processing industry. There are significant numbers of crude palm oil factories in the regency. Other than that, there is significant production of tobacco, textiles, furniture, and paper pulp.
The agriculture sector, which is the second biggest in the regency, is dominated by commodities such as palm oil plantation, maize, and rice. The third biggest sector in the regency is mining that is dominated by coal production as well as iron ore that are exported mostly to India and China.
Poverty rate as of 2020 was 4.22% and unemployment rate in 2020 was 4.96%.
Demographics