West Manggarai Regency () is one of the eight regencies which comprise the island of Flores, located in the province of East Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Timur) in Indonesia. The Regency was created on 25 February 2003 by the separation off of the western districts from Manggarai Regency. It covers a land area of 3,129.00 km2, and had a population of 221,703 at the 2010 census,Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. rising to 251,689 at the 2015 Intermediate census and to 256,317 at the 2020 census.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. The official estimate as at mid 2025 was 281,692 (comprising 141,320 males and 140,372 females).Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 27 February 2026, Kabupaten Manggarai Barat Dalam Angka 2026 (Katalog 1102001.5315) The regency's capital is the town of Labuan Bajo.
Geography The regency includes the western portion of Flores island (Pulau Flores) and several small islands mainly lying to the west of it, including the two largest islands, Komodo (Pulau Komodo) and Rinca (Pulau Rinca) as well as others such as Greater Seraya (Pulau Seraya Besar), Lesser Seraya (Pulau Seraya Kecil), Bidadari (Pulau Bidadari) and Longgos (Pulau Longgos). The total area of West Manggarai Regency is , consisting of a land area of and a sea area of .
Administration At the time of the 2010 census West Manggarai Regency was divided into seven districts (kecamatan), but a further five districts have subsequently been created by the division of existing districts. These are tabulated below with their areas and their 2010Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 2020Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. census populations, together with the official estimates as at mid 2025.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 27 February 2026, Kabupaten Manggarai Barat Dalam Angka 2026 (Katalog 1102001.5315) The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of administrative villages in each district (totaling 164 rural desa and 5 urban kelurahan), and its post code. Altogether there are 242 named islands off the coast of West Manggarai Regency, of which the two largest (Komodo and Rinca) with smaller islands form the Komodo National Park.
Kode Wilayah Name ofDistrict(kecamatan) Land area in km2 Pop'ncensus2010 Pop'ncensus2020 Pop'nestimatemid 2025Admin centre No.ofvillagesPostcode 53.15.05 Komodo (a)Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Komodo Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5315010) 986.8441,25853,72462,448Labuan Bajo19 (b) 86763 53.15.06 Boleng (c)Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Boleng Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5315011) 294.4316,56718,92520,648Terang1186754 53.15.04 Sano NggoangBadan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Sano Nggoang Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5315020) 202.1825,11314,22915,126Werang1586758 53.15.10 MbelilingBadan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Mbeliling Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5315021) 280.44 (d)13,75815,056Warsawe1586757 53.15.03 LemborBadan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Lembor Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5315030) 202.0849,73233,65337,018Wae Nakeng15 (e) 86753 53.15.07 WelakBadan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Welak Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5315031) 146.1419,10021,38923,112Orong1686762 53.15.09 Lembor Selatan(South Lembor)Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Lembor Selatan Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5315032) 363.13 (f)23,46125,460Lengkong Cepang1586761 53.15.02 KuwusBadan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Kuwus Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5315040) 54.0440,36513,67314,434Golo Welu12 (g)86752 53.15.08 NdosoBadan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Ndoso Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5315041) 123.82 (h)20,03221,421Ndoso1586750 53.15.12 Kuwus BaratBadan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Kuwus Barat Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5315042) (West Kurus) 40.14 (h)10,69511,722Landong1086751 53.15.01 Macang Pacar (i)Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Macang Pacar Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5315050) 264.8829,56815,93617,056Bari13 86756 53.15.11 PacarBadan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Pacar Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5315051) 170.86 (j)16,84218,191Pacar1386755 Totals 3,129.00 221,703 256,317 281,692 Labuan Bajo169
Notes: (a) includes the 139 islands off the west coast of Flores, of which the largest are Komodo and Rinca; the district also includes the most westerly part of the Flores mainland, including the regency capital of Labuan Bajo and the entire west coast of Flores. (b) including two kelurahan - Labuan Bajo and Wae Kelambu - and 17 desa.(c) includes the offshore islands of Pulau Boleng and Pulau Longos.(d) The 2010 census population quoted for Sanonggoang District includes the figure for the new Mbeliling District, cut out of it between 2010 and 2015. (e) including one kelurahan - Tangge. (f) The 2010 census population quoted for Lembor District includes the figure for the new Lembor Selatan District, cut out of it in the same period. (g) including 2 kelurahan - Golo Ru'u and Nantal. (h) The 2010 census population quoted for Kuwus District includes the figure for the new Ndoso District, cut out of it in the same period, while the 2010 census population quoted for Kuwus District additionally includes the figure for the new Kuwus Barat District, cut out of it in 2018. (i) includes the offshore islands of Pulau Medang and Pulau Sebabi. (j) The 2010 census population quoted for Macang Pacar District includes the figure for the new Pacar District, cut out of it in 2018.
Demographics Religion Most of the population of West Manggarai Regency are Christians, amounting to 78.56%, of which the majority are Catholics (77.76%) and Protestants (0.80%). There is also a large proportion of the population who adhere to Islam (21.39%), while the rest are Hindus (0.4%) and Buddhists (less than 0.01%).
Ethnic groups The Manggarai people are the majority and native population of West Manggarai Regency. They speak the Manggarai language, which consists of several dialects.Ethnic groups in NTT and Interesting Facts About It In addition, there are also Komodo people who live on the Komodo Island, to the west, but their population is known to be extinct. Where the current population is a mixture of Bimanese, Manggarai, Buginese, Makassarese, and Bajau peoples.Getting to Know the Uniqueness of the Komodo Tribe, the Original Ancestor of Komodo Island The Bajau people are known to have migrated from the Sulu Archipelago in what is now the Philippines, where they mostly inhabit Labuan Bajo and Komodo Island in West Manggarai.The History of Labuan Bajo, the Land of Birth of the Native Fish-Man Race of the Archipelago
No. Ethnic groups Proportion (%) 1 Manggarai 84.13% 2 Buginese 5.48% 3 Bimanese 4.45% 4 Javanese 3.20% 5 Bajau 0.64% 6 Others 2.10% Notes: "Others" is a classification of various other ethnic groups that are not recorded (2010 census).Central Statistics Agency of Manggarai Regency (2010).
Development issues
Rural development
The West Manggarai Regency, along with other nearby regencies on Flores, has a long and hot dry season. Programs of tree-planting have been initiated in recent years which are helping improve the local environment.Markus Makur, 'Marselinus Agot: Three million trees for Manggarai Raya', The Jakarta Post, 30 September 2011. Also Markus Makur, 'Aventinus Sadip: Greening to ease warming', The Jakarta Post, 2 April 2013. These activities include efforts to promote continued attention to the cultivation of sugar palms (Arenga pinnata).Markus Makur, 'Abraham Manggas: Rescuing sugar palms', The Jakarta Post, 14 August 2012.
Education
Education facilities in the region are limited, especially in the outlying areas. Some non-government organisations help, for example, with the provision of books for children to isolated villages.Eva Muchtar, 'Gardens of Learning' , The Jakarta Post Weekender, 26 April 2012.
Tourism
Various local community groups in different parts of the regency work to promote the local tourist industry through, for example, the development of local dance troupes and foods from local areas.Markus Makur, 'Yoseph Ugis: Never give up', The Jakarta Post, 28 December 2012. In Liang Ndara village, which has been designated as a tourist site, there are programs to teach English in the local community to support the tourist industry,Markus Makur, 'Tourism: Farmers learn English to welcome more foreign tourists', The Jakarta Post, 22 March 2013.
Mount Mbeliling (), one of the highest peaks in the regency (1,325 meters) is a well-known destination for climbers and tourists to the regency.Markus Makur, Onesimus Patrio Nyamang: Climbing mountains', The Jakarta Post, 3 September 2012. The area around Mt Mbeliling, which is rich in bird life, attracts bird-watching groupsMarkus Makur, 'Samuel Rabenak: From fascination to preservation', The Jakarta Post, 8 March 2012.
Tourism Sano Nggoang Sano (means Mount) Nggoang is 513 hectares (1.9 sq. mi.) of volcanic crater lake with depth of around 600 meters (1968.5 ft.), the deepest lake of its kind in the world.
Shark and manta ray sanctuary In late August 2013, the local authority designated all regency's marine and coastal waters up to 12 nautical miles offshore (which occupied 7,000 square kilometres in area) as a shark and manta ray sanctuary (includes the sea around Komodo Island).
Komodo National Park The national park was founded in 1980 to protect the Komodo dragon, the world's largest lizard.UNESCO: Advisory Body Evaluation, retrieved 2 February 2010 In 1991 the national park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
See also Kokotuku Peninsula
References