Resort in Ambarita, Samosir Regency
Batak Toba House in Simanindo, Samosir Regency
Tomok Market, Samosir Regency
Samosir Regency is an inland regency in
North Sumatra
North Sumatra () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan on the east coast of the island. It borders Aceh to the northwest, Riau to the sou ...
. It was created on 18 December 2003 by splitting away the western districts of the former
Toba Samosir Regency. The regency covers a land area of 1,444.25 square kilometres, including the whole of
Samosir Island in the inland sea of
Lake Toba. It had a population of 119,653 at the 2010 census
[Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011.] and 136,441 at the 2020 Census;
[Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021.] the official estimate for mid 2024 was 143,071 - comprising 71,584 males and 71,487 females.
[Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2025, ''Kabupaten Samosir Dalam Angka 2025'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1217)] Its administrative seat is the town of
Pangururan on the west coast of Samosir Island.
Administrative districts
The regency is divided administratively into nine
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 ...
(''kecamatan''), tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census
and the 2020 Census,
together with the official estimates as of mid-2024.
[Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2025, ''Kabupaten Samosir Dalam Angka 2025'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1217)] The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centers, the number of administrative villages in each district (128 rural ''desa'' and 6 urban ''kelurahan''), and its postcode.
Notes: (a) includes the small island of Tulas (''Pulau Tulas'') in
Lake Toba. (b) including the 2 ''kelurahan'' of Parhusip III and Siruma Hombar. (c) including the 3 ''kelurahan'' of Pasar Pangururan, Pintu Sona and Siogung Ogung. (d) includes the small islands of ''Pulau Tolping'', ''Pulau Malau Satu,'' and ''Pulau Malau Dua'' in Lake Toba. (e) including the ''kelurahan'' of Tuktuk Siadong.
Six of the nine districts (''
kecamatan'') within the regency are on the island of
Samosir (which lies within Lake Toba), while the others lie on the 'mainland' of Sumatra.
* Samosir Island districts
** Onan Runggu
** Palipi
** Pangururan
** Ronggur Nihuta
** Simanindo
** Nainggolan
* Mainland districts
** Sitiotio
** Harian
** Sianjur Mula Mula
However, a small part of Pangururan District (the two villages of ''Desa'' Tanjung Bunga and ''kelurahan'' Siogung Ogung, with a combined area of 10.50 km
2 and a population of 3,222 at the 2020 Census
) lies on the 'mainland', cut off from the rest of the district by the canal.
Botanical Garden
2011: Samosir Regency with supervision from
LIPI will build a 100-hectare Botanical Garden. It will finish 10 years later with a cost predicted about Rp.73 billion ($8.6 million).
Geo park
A geopark worth Rp20 billion ($2.2 million) is expected to be created - beginning in mid-2012 - in cooperation with the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT). It has been proposed for incorporation into the world geopark network.
References Indonesia capital
Regencies of North Sumatra
Asahan Toba basin
Singkil basin
{{NSumatra-geo-stub