Anambas Islands Regency ( id, Kabupaten Kepulauan Anambas) is a small

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, located northeast of

Batam Island Batam is the largest city in the province of Riau Islands, Indonesia. The city administrative area covers three main islands of Batam, Rempang, and Galang (collectively called Barelang), as well as several small islands. Batam Island is the cor ...

in the

North Natuna Sea North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

between the

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

n mainland to the west and the island of Borneo to the east. Geographically part of the

Tudjuh Archipelago The Tudjuh Archipelago (, lit. "Seven Islands")"Kepulauan Tudjuh: Indonesia ...

, it is administratively a

regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

within the

Riau Islands Province The Riau Islands ( id, Kepulauan Riau) is a province of Indonesia. It comprises a total of 1,796 islands scattered between Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, and Borneo including the Riau Archipelago. Situated on one of the world's busiest shipping l ...

. It covers a land area of and had a population of 37,411 at the 2010 Census and 47,402 at the 2020 Census. The administrative centre is at Tarempa on Siantan Island.

Islands

Main islands

The principal islands are Siantan (on which is situated the main town of Tarempa), Matak, Mubur, Jemaja and Kiabu (Air Bini).

Matak island

The Anambas archipelago contains a large reserve of

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

that is exported to countries such as

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

and

. The island of

Matak Matak ( Indonesian: ''Pulau Matak'') is an island in the Anambas Islands of Indonesia, located in the South China Sea between the Malay Peninsula and Borneo. The island is a base for oil companies including ConocoPhillips, Premier Oil and St ...

is the main base for oil exploration.

Pulau Bawah

Pulau Bawah, formerly known as

Leeward island french: Îles-Sous-le-Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Leeward Islands. Clockwise: Antigua and Barbuda, Guadeloupe, Saint kitts and Nevis. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean SeaNorth Atlantic Ocean , coor ...

, is a clustered archipelago of six islands with an exclusive resort accessed by the seaplane. It is located about 150 nautical miles northeast of

and

Batam Batam is the largest city in the province of Riau Islands, Indonesia. The city administrative area covers three main islands of Batam, Rempang, and Galang (collectively called Barelang), as well as several small islands. Batam Island is the cor ...

, is a cluster of islets that collectively surround three lagoons, each of which suitable for snorkelling, scubadiving and coral beach activities.Island cruises
/ref>

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

rates the Anambas Islands are one of Southeast Asia's most spectacular coastal spots, with good snorkelling and diving spots, and Pulau Bawah in particular has good tourism potential.Pulau Bawah
/ref> Whilst the majority of the population generates their income from fishing and fishing-related industries, tourism has been gaining traction. Hostel and hotel rooms are available in Jemaja and Tarempa, along with some homestay locations.

Diving

The shipwrecked vessels ''Seven Skies'' and ''Igara'' attract a variety of indigenous marine life and offer diving opportunities.

Administrative districts

At the 2010 Census, the Regency was divided into seven

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

(''kecamatan''), but three additional districts have subsequently been created by splitting of two of the existing districts - Jemaja Barat from Jemaja District, and Siantan Utara and Kute Siantan from Palmatak District. The ten districts are tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and the 2020 Census.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. The table also includes the location of the district administrative centres, the number of villages (rural ''desa'' and urban ''kelurahan'') in each district, and its post code. Notes: (a) the area and 2010 population of the new Jemaja Barat District are included in the figures for Jemaja District, from which it was cut out. (b) notwithstanding the district name, this is situated on Matak Island, of which it comprises the southern part. (c) comprises most of Matak Island, plus nearly small islands. (d) notwithstanding the district name, this is situated on Mubur Island. (e) the areas and 2010 populations of the new Siantan Utara District and Kute Siantan District are included in the figures for Palmatak District, from which they were cut out.

References

External links

* National Geospatial-intelligence Agency (2005
"Borneo: Northwest Coast and Kepulauan Tudjuh"
''Sailing directions (enroute): Borneo, Jawa, Sulawesi, and Nusa Tenggara'' United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency * * Website all things about Anamba
"Virtual Journey to Anambas"

Pulau Bawah website

Pulau Bawah (formerly Leeward Islands) map

Islas ANAMBAS
(Spanish) {{Authority control Regencies of the Riau Islands Archipelagoes of Indonesia Landforms of the Riau Islands Tudjuh Archipelago Islands of Sumatra