Belu Regency is a regency in East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia. Situated on the north side of Timor island, it originally stretched to the south coast, but in December 2012 its southern half was detached to form the new Malaka Regency. It now adjoins the North Central Timor Regency to the west, the new Malaka Regency to the south, and the separate nation of Timor Leste to the east, while to the north lies the Sawu Sea. Established on 20 December 1958, Belu Regency has its seat (capital) in the large town of Atambua, which lies inland from the coastal port of Atapupu (which is in Kakuluk Mesak District).
Etymology "Belu" means "friend" in the indigenous language of Tetum.
Demographics Of the population in mid 2025, 68,100 (28.33%) were below the age of 15, and 172,300 were aged 15 and above; of the latter, 157,400 (65.48%) were of working age and 14,900 (6.2%) were aged 65 and above.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 27 February 2026, Kabupaten Belu Dalam Angka 2026 (Katalog 1102001.5306)
Administrative districts The Belu Regency was until 2013 divided into twenty-four districts (kecamatan), but in December 2012, the twelve southern kecamatan were removed to form the new Malaka Regency, leaving the twelve northern kecamatan in Belu Regency. The residual Belu Regency is thus composed of twelve districts (kecamatan), tabulated below with their areas (in km2) and their populations at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 2020 Census,Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. together with the official estimates as at mid 2025.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 27 February 2026, Kabupaten Belu Dalam Angka 2026 (Katalog 1102001.5306) The table also includes the locations of the district headquarters, the number of administrative villages in each district (totaling 69 rural desa and 12 urban kelurahan - the latter being the 12 comprising Atambua town), and its postal code.
Kode Wilayah Name ofDistrict(kecamatan) Area in km2 Pop'nCensus2010 Pop'nCensus2020 Pop'nEstimatemid 2025AdmincentreNo. ofvillagesPostcode 53.04.12 Kota AtambuaBadan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Atambua Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5306060). (Central Atambua) 24.9026,39630,83734,100Tenukiik485711-85718 53.04.21 Atambua BaratBadan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Atambua Barat Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5306061). (West Atambua) 15.5521,60424,17826,200Sesekoe485713-85718 53.04.22 Atambua SelatanBadan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Atambua Selatan Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5306062). (East Atambua) 15.7322,46426,14428,900Asuulun485716-85718 Total Atambua town 56.1870,46481,15989,200 1285711-85718 53.04.13 Rai Manuk Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Raimanuk Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5306032). 179.4214,41116,75518,500Arekama985760 53.04.04 Tasifeto Barat Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Tasifto Barat Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5306050). (West Tasifeto) 224.1922,36224,54526,400Kimbana885753 53.04.05 Kakuluk Mesak Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Kakuluk Mesak Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5306051). 187.5417,60821,98825,100Umarese685752 53.04.23 Nanaet Dubesi Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Nanaet Dubesi Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5306052). 60.254,0064,7835,300Tete Seban485751 53.04.02 Tasifeto Timur Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Tasifeto Timur Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5306070). (East Tasifeto) 211.3720,93226,12129,800Wedomu1285771 Western rural sector (a)862.7779,31994,192105,100 39 53.04.03 Raihat Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Raihat Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5306071). 87.2013,31914,35915,300Bei Sari Loo685773 53.04.17 Lasiolat Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Lasiolat Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5306072). 64.486,1667,0967,800Lafuli785771 53.04.01 Lamaknen Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Lamaknen Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5306080). 105.9011,58312,63213,500Weluli985772 53.04.18 Lamaknen Selatan Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Lamaknen Selatan Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5306081). (South Lamaknen) 108.417,3128,5359,400Pie Bulak885770 Eastern salient (b)365.9938,38042,62246,000 30 Totals for Belu Regency 1,284.94188,163217,973240,400 81
Note: (a) the five westerly rural kecamatan, mainly surrounding or south of Atambua, including the northern coast. (b) the area projecting into East Timor.
Media Belu Regency is served with four radio stations that cover the wider area around this regency (including Malaka Regency, Alor Regency, and Timor Tengah Utara Regency), which are RRI Pro1 Atambua (FM 91.5 MHz) RRI Pro2 Atambua (FM 99.8 MHz) RRI Pro3 (FM 99.0 MHz), and Saluran Citra Budaya Timor (alias Pro4) (FM 93.1 MHz). There's still a lot of radio that can be found in the town.
The regency is only served with two television stations (TVRI - including TVRI East Nusa Tenggara, Belu TV) and a few other East Timor stations that reach the border pass.
References