North Kalimantan
The northern gateway to Indonesian Borneo
Last updated
Kaidor · CC BY-SA 4.0
It covers 69,901 square kilometres and had an official mid-2025 population estimate of 749,370 people.[1][2] On 25 October 2012, the province of North Kalimantan was created by splitting it from East Kalimantan.[1]
Geography and history
A Kayan princess, Asung Luwan, wed a nobleman from Brunei named Datuk Mencang, an event that took place around the 16th century.[3] In 1777, the ruler Wira Amir adopted Islam, taking the name Aji Muhammad and the title Sultan Amirul Mukminin, and the rest of the royal family also converted.[3] A Politiek Contract was signed in 1853 by the Dutch, establishing their sovereignty over the Bulungan kingdom.[3] On 3 July 1964, soldiers from the Brawijaya 517 unit stormed the palace, setting it on fire, looting it, and killing members of the royal family.[4]
What the cited sources add
The KajoMag account states that the Bulungan sultanate was allegedly founded by a Kayan princess from Apau Kayan who married a Bruneian.[5] According to the same source, during its peak the sultanate territory spanned the eastern shores of North Kalimantan up to Tawau, now Malaysian Borneo.[5] The same article notes that after the 1964 tragedy, many Bulungan residents who escaped the massacre fled to the neighboring country.[6] The article also quotes the North Kalimantan provincial government as providing an official support letter for the sultan and his family to process their citizenship transfer.[7]
The "North Kalimantan: Indonesia's Newest Province" source notes that primary forests still cover 69 percent of the land in North Kalimantan.[8]
References
- Wikipedia, "North Kalimantan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Kalimantan Utara Menggeliat" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "North Kalimantan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 27 February 2026, Provinsi Kalimantan Utara Dalam Angka 2026 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.65) (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "North Kalimantan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Kesultanan Bulungan yang Enggan Berperang", Indonesia.go.id, 2019-09-22; "The rise and fall of Bulungan sultanate, a Muslim kingdom with Kayan roots • KajoMag", KajoMag, 2021-06-07 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "North Kalimantan" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Raditya, "Tragedi Pembantaian Bulungan di Perbatasan Malaysia", tirto.id, 2017-08-23 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "The rise and fall of Bulungan sultanate, a Muslim kingdom with Kayan roots • KajoMag", KajoMag, 2021-06-07. facts only, no text reused. kajomag.com
- Raditya, "Tragedi Pembantaian Bulungan di Perbatasan Malaysia", tirto.id, 2017-08-23. facts only, no text reused. tirto.id
- "50 Tahun Hijrah ke Malaysia, Raja Bulungan Ingin Balik Indonesia", liputan6.com, 2017-03-09. facts only, no text reused. liputan6.com
- "North Kalimantan: Indonesia's Newest Province and Southeast Asian Geopolitical Tensions". facts only, no text reused. geocurrents.info
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article North Kalimantan (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Indonesian Provinces
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: North Kalimantan (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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