Indonesian Provinces Codexery

Riau

Wealthy Indonesian province on Sumatra's east coast.

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Riau

Gunkarta · Public domain

Riau is a province of Indonesia located on the central eastern coast of Sumatra.[1] The province has a total land area of 69,900.78 km² and an estimated population of 6,811,158 in 2025.[1] The province is situated on Sumatra's central eastern coast, stretching from the Barisan Mountains' eastern side to the Malacca Strait and encompassing several large islands within that strait.[1]

Last updated 2026-10-03 from the source article.

Geography and history

Three possible origins for the word "riau" exist: from the Portuguese "rio" meaning river, from "riahi" meaning sea water, or from the Malay "riuh" meaning crowded people.[2][3] Stone tools from the Pleistocene era were discovered in the Sengingi River area in August 2009, indicating habitation between 40,000 and 10,000 BC.[4][5] The Malay kingdoms in Riau were initially based on the Buddhist Srivijaya Empire, evidenced by the Muara Takus Temple.[6] To the northwest, west, and south, Riau has land borders with North Sumatra, West Sumatra, and Jambi respectively, while to the east it shares a maritime boundary with the Riau Islands and Malaysia.[1]

Pekanbaru functions as both the capital and the largest city within Riau, which is divided into ten regencies and two cities.[1] Wood fossils that the research team discovered are thought to be older than the stone tools that were also found.[4][5] A 220-kilometer railway connecting Muaro Sijunjung and Pekanbaru was constructed during the Japanese occupation, relying on forced labor.[7] The division of Central Sumatra into three provinces—Riau, Jambi, and West Sumatra—occurred in 1957.[8][9]

What the cited sources add

The Antara News report states that the prehistoric tool discovery was made by a research team from Universitas Gadjah Mada.[5] According to the same source, these tools provided the first evidence of prehistoric habitation in Riau, an area that previously had only the Muara Takus temple discovery as a reference point for early settlement.[5] A 2001 article reports that a monument was unveiled on VJ Day to honor 700 Allied prisoners of war who perished while constructing the Sumatra railway.[10]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Riau" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 27 February 2026, Provinsi Riau Dalam Angka 2026 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.14) (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Riau" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Samin, "Budaya Melayu dalam perjalanannya menuju masa depan", Yayasan Penerbit MSI-Riau, 1991; "Kondisi Sosial Budaya Provinsi Riau" . Sekretariat Negara, diakses 17 Oktober 2013.; Schnitger, "Forgotten kingdoms in Sumatra", Oxford University Press, 1989 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Riau" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Kondisi Sosial Budaya Provinsi Riau" . Sekretariat Negara, diakses 17 Oktober 2013. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Riau" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Satrio, "Artefak Masa Prasejarah Ditemukan di Riau", Antara News, 2009-08-13; "Fosil Dari Zaman Prasejarah Ditemukan di Riau", tvOneNews, 13 August 2009 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Satrio, "Artefak Masa Prasejarah Ditemukan di Riau", Antara News, 2009-08-13. facts only, no text reused. antaranews.com
  6. Wikipedia, "Riau" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Cœdès, "Kedatuan Sriwijaya : kajian sumber prasasti dan arkeologi : pilihan artikel", Komunitas Bambu, École française d'Extrême-Orient, Pusat Arkeologi Nasional, 2014; Mutalib, Hussin, (1977). Islamic Malay Polity in Southeast Asia," Islamic Civilisation in the Malay World, (ed.) Mohd. Taib Osman, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa da (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Riau" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Menyusuri Jejak Romusa Jepang Pembangunan Rel Kereta Api Di Kuansing-pekanbaru Rel Sudah Pupus, Penemuan Tengkorak Manusia Hal Biasa", Riau Pos, 25 August 2013; Putra, "Menyusuri Bentangan Rel Kereta Api di Riau", Tribun Pekanbaru, 10 June 2013; "Lok Uap di Muaro, Sisa Jalur Kereta Api Maut Muaro Sijunjung - Pekanbaru", KOMPAS.com, 2009-11-06 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Riau" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Gusti, "Memikir ulang regionalisme : Sumatera Barat tahun 1950-an", Yayasan Obor Indonesia, 2007; "Undang-Undang Darurat Nomor 19 Tahun 1957" . hukumonline.com, diakses 23 Oktober 2013. Memerlukan pendaftaran. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  9. "Undang-Undang Darurat Nomor 19 Tahun 1957" . hukumonline.com, diakses 23 Oktober 2013. Memerlukan pendaftaran.. facts only, no text reused. hukumonline.com
  10. "Memorial to Sumatra railway dead", 2001-08-15. facts only, no text reused. news.bbc.co.uk

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Riau (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.

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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.

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