Nusa Laut (also called Pulau Nusahulawano or Pulau Emas) is the smallest of the three inhabited island in the Lease Islands group situated east of Ambon Island, in Indonesia's Maluku province. It lies just off the south-western corner of Saparua island, a deep channel separates it. The island's coasts are fringed by a drying reef.Pub164, 2004 Sailing Directions (Enroute): New Guinea
Nusa Laut covers a land area of 32.5 km2 and had a population of 5,322 at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 5,780 at the 2020 Census;Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 5,437 inhabitants.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2024, Kabupaten Maluku Tengah Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.8101) live in seven villages - Leinitu, Sila, Nalahia and Ameth in the north of the island, and Titawaai, Abubu and Akoon in the south of the island - all sharing the postcode of 97518. They speak the Nusa Laut language, as well as Indonesian and Ambonese Malay.Nusa Laut - Ethnologue Kode Wilayah NameofdesaArea inkm2 Pop'nEstimatemid 2023Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2024, Kecamatan Nusa Laut Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.8103081) 81.01.16.2001 Ameth 5.75 595 81.01.16.2002 Titawaai 6.00 1,453 81.01.16.2003 Abubu 4.25 1,849 81.01.16.2004 Akoon 4.75 745 81.01.16.2005 Nalahia 5.25 492 81.01.16.2006 Sila 3.00 286 81.01.16.2007 Leinitu 3.50 277 Nusa Laut has an all-Christian population and has been spared the 1999–2000 riots plaguing the rest of the region. Its villages have many colonial style houses and churches, two of which compete for the title of being the oldest church in Maluku. There is also an old fort - the Dutch East India Company's Fort Beverwijk.
Visitors come to the island for its beaches and to dive off the reefs of Ameth - reputedly one of the best dive spots in the Lease Islands.Muller, Dr. Kal (1990). Spice Islands: The Moluccas. Periplus Editions.
References
External links Old map of Manipa, Haruku, Saparua and Nusa Laut