Samarinda () is the capital city of the Indonesian province of East Kalimantan. It is situated on the riverbanks of lower Mahakam, and both parts are connected by Mahakam Bridge, , and . It holds title of the seventh largest Indonesian city by area, with a total area of around . Samarinda is also the most populous city on the entire island of Borneo, with population estimates of 727,500 (2010 Census);Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. 827,994 (2020 Census);Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. and 865,306 (mid 2025). As of , it is divided into 10 districts and further into 59 urban villages ().
Samarinda was formally established as a city on 26 June 1959, after being separated from the outgoing Special Region of Kutai, a second-level administrative division similar to a regency that was ruled by the eponymous sultanate. Before becoming the capital city of East Kalimantan, it was the seat of Special Region of Kutai during its early years until it was moved into Tenggarong in 1956. Today, Samarinda is an enclave surrounded by different districts belonging to the Kutai Kartanegara Regency: (in clockwise direction from the north) Tenggarong Seberang, Muara Badak, Anggana, Sanga-Sanga, Muara Jawa, Loa Janan, and Loa Kulu.
Samarinda was one of Indonesia's top ten Most Liveable Cities in 2022, ranks first on East Kalimantan Human Development Index Samarinda is East Kalimantan's largest exporter and fifth-largest importer. The city has the highest number of bank headquarters in East Kalimantan. In 2021, Samarinda Harbour became the busiest passenger port in East Kalimantan. The container port in Samarinda is also the busiest in East Kalimantan, handled more than in 2019. Samarinda is known for its traditional food amplang, as well as the cloth sarung samarinda.
Etymology The name Samarinda originates from the description of the way in which the Bugis houses were constructed. At that time houses were customarily built on a raft and generally had the same height. This provided important social symbolism of equality between residents; no person's house, and thus no person, was seen as higher or lower than another. They named the settlement “Samarenda”, meaning “equally low”. After hundreds of years of use the pronunciation of the name changed slightly and the city became known as Samarinda.
History
Samarinda, which nowadays has been known as a city, was a part of the Sultanate of Kutai. In the 13th century CE, before it was known as Samarinda, there had been settlements in six locations, namely Pulau Atas, Karang Asan (Karang Asam), Karamumus (Karang Mumus), Luah Bakung (Loa Bakung), Sembuyutan (Sambutan), and Mangkupelas (Mangkupalas).Mees, Constantinus Alting (1935). De Kroniek van Koetai. Sanpoort, p.134. The mentioning of 6 villages above was found at a manuscript of Surat Salasilah Raja dalam Negeri Kutai Kertanegara written by Khatib Muhammad Tahir in 30 Rabi' al-Awwal AH 1265 (24 February 1849).
At the start of the Gowa War, the Dutch under Admiral Speelman's command attacked Makassar from the sea. Meanwhile, the Netherlands' Bugis ally Arung Palakka led a ground attack. The Kingdom of Gowa was forced to surrender and Sultan Hasanuddin was made to sign the Treaty of Bongaja on 19 November 1667.
The treaty did not quell all trouble for the Dutch however, since the Bugis from Gowa continued their struggle using guerilla tactics. Some Buginese moved to other islands close by such as Kalimantan. A few thousand people led by Lamohang Daeng Mangkona or Pua Ado I, moved to East Kalimantan, known then as Kutai, where they were welcomed by the local Sultan.
Samarinda was a small, sleepy town in 1942 with several small oil fields in the vicinity. It was occupied by the Japanese after the Dutch East Indies had fallen.
In 1955, the Apostolic Vicariate of Samarinda was established in the city. In 1961, it was promoted as the Diocese of Samarinda. In 2003, the diocese was promoted as the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Samarinda.
Administrative districts
At the time of the 2010 Census, Samarinda City was divided into six districts (Indonesian: kecamatan), but four additional districts were subsequently created by splitting of existing ones. The ten districts are tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census and the 2020 Census, together with the official estimates as of mid-2025.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 27 February 2026, Kota Samarinda Dalam Angka 2026 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.6472) The table also includes the number of urban villages in each district (all classed as urban kelurahan) and their post codes.
Regional code District name Area (km2) Population Administrative centre Most populous village Number of villages Post code(s) 2010 2020 2025 Urban 64.72.01 Palaran 221.29 49,079 63,189 69,934 Rawa Makmur 5 75241 – 75253 64.72.02 Samarinda Seberang 12.49 114,183 64,050 66,817 Baqa Sungai Keledang 6 75131 – 75133 64.72.03 Samarinda Ulu (Upper Samarinda) 22.12 126,651 129,806 142,533 Air Putih 8 75122 – 75128 64.72.04 Samarinda Ilir (Lower Samarinda) 17.18 120,936 69,142 69,421 Sidomulyo 5 75114 – 75117 64.72.05 North Samarinda() 229.52 202,607 106,743 106,949 Lempake North Sempaja 8 75117 – 75119 64.72.06 Sungai Kunjang 43.04 114,044 133,543 141,167 Loa Bakung Lok Bahu 7 75125 – 75127 64.72.07 Sambutan 100.95 (a) 57,941 58,061 Sambutan 5 75114, 75115 64.72.08 Sungai Pinang 34.16 (c) 105,970 106,339 Sungai Pinang Dalam 5 76117 – 76119 64.72.09 Samarinda Kota (Samarinda town) 11.12 (a) 31,719 35,426 Sungai Pinang Luar 5 7511 – 75113,75117, 75121 64.72.10 Loa Janan Ilir 26.13 (b) 65,892 68,659 Simpang Tiga Rapak Dalam 5 75131 Totals 718.00 727,500 827,994 865,306 Bugis (de facto) Sungai Pinang Dalam 59
Notes: (a) the 2010 populations of Samarinda Kota and Sambutan Districts are included in the 2010 figure for Samarinda Ilir District, from which they were later split off. (b) the 2010 population of Loa Janan Ilir District is included in the figure for Samarinda Seberang District, from which it was later split off. (c) the 2010 population of Sungai Pinang District is included in the figure for Samarinda Utara District, from which it was later split off.
Territorial evolution During its early days after its formation in 1960, Samarinda initially only consisted of 2 districts, namely Samarinda Kota (not to be confused with the current district that was formed in 2010) and Samarinda Seberang (both comprised a total area of 167 km2, and each located north and south of the Mahakam). Then, Samarinda Kota was bifurcated into Samarinda Ilir and Samarinda Ulu (date unknown), both of them still exist to this day. Samarinda Seberang also became the oldest existing district in the city, following its legal establishment in 1923. On 24 April 1969, months following the approval of Governor of East Kalimantan Decree No. 18/TH-Pem/1969 on 2 February 1969, the districts of Palaran (first known separation from Anggana), Sanga-Sanga, Muara Jawa and Samboja were transferred from Kutai Regency to Samarinda, therefore, its total area increased to around 2,727 km2. This move was related to the enormous size of Kutai Regency at the time, causing ineffectivity in public service, as well as the closer proximity of four districts with Samarinda rather than with Tenggarong, the capital city of Kutai. The districts were also home to several major companies active in oil and gas sector, and it was hoped to bring that revenue into Samarinda's government.
However, the previous annexations of 1969 instead brought reverse effects into both Samarinda and Balikpapan, as only below 5% of their total areas were usable, while being inhabited by less than 300,000 people at the time. The cities made multiple negotiations in 1985 with the governments of Kutai and Pasir regencies, respectively, in order to alter each other's boundaries. It culminated on significant reduction of the cities' territories on 13 October 1987, where Sanga-Sanga, Muara Jawa, and Samboja were separated from Samarinda and soon attached to Kutai (Palaran remains part of the city). In exchange, Samarinda received 6 villages from neighbouring few districts of Kutai Regency, namely Bantuas (from Sanga-Sanga, attached to Palaran); Loa Buah and Loa Bakung (from Loa Janan, attached to Samarinda Ulu); Loa Janan Ilir (from Loa Janan, attached to Samarinda Seberang); Sungai Kapih, Sambutan, and Pulau Atas (from Anggana, attached to Samarinda Ilir).
On 11 June 1996, under Government Regulation Number 38 of 1996, the districts of Sungai Kunjang and North Samarinda were created from parts of Samarinda Ulu and Samarinda Ilir, respectively. Four years forward on 23 February 2001, the remaining rural villages () of Sambutan, Sindang Sari, Makroman, Pulau Atas, Sungai Kapih, Loa Buah, and Simpang Pasir changed their statuses into urban counterparts (). On 22 February 2006, new 11 urban villages were created from existing ones: Sengkotek and Tani Aman (from Loa Janan Ilir, then renamed as Simpang Tiga), Rapak Dalam (from Baqa), Tanah Merah (from Lempake), Bandara (from Pelita), Gunung Lingai (from Temindung Permai), North Sempaja (from Sempaja, then renamed as South Sempaja), Mugirejo (from Sungai Pinang Dalam), Bukit Pinang (from Air Putih), Karang Asam Ilir (from Karang Asam, then renamed as Karang Asam Ulu), and Karang Anyar (from Teluk Lerong Ulu).
On 14 December 2010, four new districts were created in Samarinda, namely Samarinda Kota (from Samarinda Ulu and Samarinda Ilir), Sambutan (from Samarinda Ilir), Sungai Pinang (from North Samarinda), and Loa Janan Ilir (from Samarinda Seberang). As a result, the administrative capitals of Samarinda Ilir and North Samarinda were relocated from Sambutan and Sungai Pinang Dalam villages to Sidomulyo and Lempake, respectively. The latest creation of new villages occurred on 12 August 2014, resulting on Mangkupalas and Tenun (from Mesjid), Gunung Panjang (from Sungai Keledang), West Sempaja and East Sempaja (from South Sempaja), and Budaya Pampang (from Sungai Siring). Since 2025, there have been ongoing proposals to create the new villages of South Sungai Pinang and North Sungai Pinang from existing Sungai Pinang Dalam (this would also increase the number of villages in Samarinda from 59 to 61).
Geography Climate Samarinda has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen: Af) with heavy rainfall and hot, oppressively humid temperatures year-round. Hail is extremely rare, it was recorded on 21 November 2019. The lowest recorded temperature in Samarinda is in October 1982, while the highest recorded is on 8 February 2008.
Demographics
The territory's population in mid 2024 was 868,499, with an annual growth rate of 0.77% in 2023–2024.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2025, Kota Samarinda Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.6472) The majority of the people of Samarinda are of Native Indonesian and Chinese descent with a small minority of Arabs. There are also Americans, Canadians, Europeans, Japanese, Filipinos and Koreans working in Samarinda. Life expectancy in Samarinda was 73.6 years as of 2014.
Nationality / Origin2019 (pre-pandemic)2019%20201Asia47347.2%3152Europe17217.1%53ASEAN16816.7%1264Oceania16316.3%155America232.3%196Africa40.4%12Total1,003100.0% As of 31 December 2020 Source: Samarinda Statistics Department
Religion Samarinda's main religions are Islam and Christianity. The Muslim community forms the majority of the population numbering around 91%. The Christian community numbers at nearly 66,000 individuals or slightly over 7% of the total population; Protestants form a larger number than Roman Catholics at a rate of 10:3. There are also small Buddhist, Hindu and other religious communities.
Samarinda Metropolitan Area