South Central Timor Regency () is a regency in East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia, established in 1958. the regency has its seat (capital) in the town of Soe. It covers an area of 3,955.36 km2 and had a population of 440,470 at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 455,410 at the 2020 Census;Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. the official estimate as at mid 2025 was 487,999 (comprising 242,011 males and 245,988 females).Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 27 February 2026, Kabupaten Timor Tengah Selatan Dalam Angka 2026 (Katalog 1102001.5304)
Mount Mutis, the highest mountain in the province of East Nusa Tenggara, is in the northern part of the regency. International visitors have noted that the region is rich in bird life and so is a good site for birdwatching.Neville Kemp, 'Bird-watching on Timor a rewarding experience' , The Jakarta Post, 3 May 2005. Demographics Of the population in mid 2025, 133,811 (27.42%) were below the age of 15, and 354,188 were aged 15 and above; of the latter, 316,029 (64.76%) were of working age and 38,159 (7.82%) were aged 65 and above.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 27 February 2026, Kabupaten Timor Tengah Selatan Dalam Angka 2026 (Katalog 1102001.5304)
Economy The local economy in the area is poor and underdeveloped. Subsistence agriculture is the main economic activity in many villages. In addition, when opportunities are available, some local village communities sometimes undertake unregulated mining or other resource-based activities. For example, in the Kolbano Beach area south of Soe, there is a local industry in the collection of coloured stones. The stones, which come in a range of attractive shapes and sizes, are sold to local companies. The companies in turn export the stones to countries such as Australia, China, Malaysia, Singapore and elsewhere. Sacks of stones sell (mid-2012) for between Rp 10,000 to Rp 25,000 (about US$1.00 to US$2.50). Local villagers are reported to be able to earn around Rp 50,000 (US$5) per day collecting stones although there are complaints that the prices paid to workers who collect the stones are too low.Yemris Foituna, 'East Nusa Tenggara: Farmers shift tactics to collecting stones', The Jakarta Post, 4 August 2012.
However, there are concerns amongst some local community groups, such as the Mollo people in the Mount Mutis Sanctuary, about the environmental impacts of mining in the area. There has been social resistance, for example, to the activities of mining firms conducting marble quarrying. Partly as a result of the local resistance, marble mining firms abandoned their work in the area in 2010.Nani Afrida, 'Aleta Baun: Environmental heroine', The Jakarta Post, 18 April 2013.
Administration The regency is divided into thirty-two districts (kecamatan), tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census and the 2020 Census, together with the official estimates as at mid 2025.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 27 February 2026, Kabupaten Timor Tengah Selatan Dalam Angka 2026 (Katalog 1102001.5304) The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of administrative villages in each district (totaling 266 rural desa and 12 urban kelurahan), and its post code. They are grouped below for convenience into three geographical sectors (which have no administrative function) plus the regency capital, Soe. Outside of the urban area of Soe, the highest average population densities are in the eastern sector (with 153 people per km2), while the lowest average population densities lie in the northeast sector (with less than 75 people per km2).
Kode Wilayah Name ofDistrict(kecamatan) English name Area in km2 Pop'nCensus2010 Pop'nCensus2020 Pop'nestimatemid 2025 Admin centre No.of villagesPostcodes 53.02.03 Mollo Utara Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Mollo Utara Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304010) North Mollo 208.2223,28222,87024,003Kapan1885552 53.02.12 Fatumnasi Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Fatumnasi Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304011) 198.656,6616,7807,171Kuanoel585561 53.02.31 Tobu Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Tobu Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304012) 98.899,3779,93010,714Tobu885552 (a) 53.02.32 Nunbena Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Nunbena Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304013) 134.495,0785,4605,939Numbena685544 53.02.02 Mollo Selatan Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Mollo Selatan Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304020) South Mollo 147.1815,12217,42018,930Siso785542 53.02.13 Polen Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Polen Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304021) 250.2913,66813,76014,488Puna1185545 53.02.22 Mollo Barat Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Mollo Barat Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304022) West Mollo 165.147,4937,3007,662Kiukole585541 53.02.30 Mollo Tengah Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Mollo Tengah Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304023) Central Mollo 99.687,1287,6708,340Saktao685543 Totals Northwestern (Mollo) Sector 1,302.5487,80991,19097,247 66 53.02.01 Kota SoeBadan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Kota Soe Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304030) Soe Town 28.0839,28540,19042,657Soe13 (b) 85511-85519 Totals Town (Soe) Sector 28.0839,28540,19042,657 13 53.02.07 Amanuban Barat Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Amanuban Barat Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304040) West Amanuban 114.3021,75224,84027,812Neonmat885551 (c) 53.02.14 Batu Putih Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Batu Putih Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304041) 102.3212,12913,35014,685Oebobo785565 53.02.27 Kuatnana Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Kuatnana Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304042) 141.2214,90316,32017,896Tetaf885551 53.02.06 Amanuban Selatan Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Amanuban Selatan Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304050) South Amanuban 326.0124,05124,43025,838Panite1085562 53.02.26 Noebeba Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Noebeba Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304051) 186.0211,35812,29013,397Oepliki785567 53.02.11 Kuanfatu Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Kuanfatu Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304060) 136.5218,97719,70021,056Kuanfatu1385564 53.02.21 Kualin Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Kualin Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304061) 195.8420,89520,40021,416Kualin885566 53.02.05 Amanuban Tengah Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Amanuban Tengah Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304070) Central Amanuban 87.7115,17216,13017,177Niki-Niki10 (d) 85571 53.02.19 Kolbano Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Kolbano Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304071) 108.7018,47619,26020,627Kolbano1285563 53.02.18 Oenino Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Oenino Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304072) 154.9610,53311,06812,725Oenino785583 53.02.04 Amanuban Timur Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Amanuban Timur Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304080) East Amanuban 149.2616,62316,11016,913Oe’Ekam1085572 53.02.28 Fautmolo Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Fautmolo Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304081) 46.347,2567,4607,935Oeleon785582 53.02.29 Fatukopa Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Fatukopa Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304082) 65.594,9965,8706,655Nunfutu785581 Totals Southern (Amanuban) Sector 1,814.77197,121207,228224,132 114 53.02.10 Kie Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Kie Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304090) 162.7821,31823,14025,276Napi1385575 53.02.20 Kot'olin Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Kot'olin Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304091) 58.9411,12510,65011,182Hoibeti885576 53.02.98 Amanatun Selatan Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Amanatun Selatan Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304100) South Amanatun 82.6416,56818,38019,440Oinlasi1385573 53.02.15 Boking Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Boking Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304101) 94.589,8929,63010,112Boking785584 53.02.17 Nunkolo Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Nunkolo Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304102) 69.0913,74413,41014,076Nunkolo9 85586 53.02.24 Noebana Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Noebana Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304103) 49.634,6624,7805,080Noebana585585 53.02.25 Santian Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Santian Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304104) 48.176,4776,0006,295Santian585587 53.02.09 Amanatun Utara Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Amanatun Utara Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304110) North Amanatun 105.8416,34816,16016,894Snok985574 53.02.16 Toianas Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Toianas Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304111) 103.9512,38211,86012,454Toianas985578 53.02.23 Kokbaun Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Kokbaun Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5304112) 34.323,1633,0103,154Lotas685577 Totals Eastern (Amanatun) Sector 809.94115,679117,020123,963 84 Totals for Regency 3,955.36440,470455,410487,999 Soe278
Notes: (a) except the two desa (villages) of Bonleu and Tune (which have a post code of 85561). (b) comprising 11 kelurahan (Cendana, Kampung Baru, Karang Sirih, Kobekamusa, Kuatae, Nonohonis, Nunumeu, Oekefan, Oebesa, Soe and Taubneno) and 2 desa. The kelurahan of Kobekamusa is an exclave to the east of the town, separated from the rest of Kota Soe by part of Amanuban Barat District. (c) except the desa (village) of Mnelalete (which has a post code of 85514). (d) including one kelurahan - Niki-Niki (with 3,189 inhabitants in 2024).
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