South Central Timor Regency ( id, Kabupaten Timor Tengah Selatan) is 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 ...

East Nusa Tenggara East Nusa Tenggara ( id, Nusa Tenggara Timur – NTT; pt, Sonda Oriental) is the southernmost province of Indonesia. It comprises the eastern portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, facing the Indian Ocean in the south and the Flores Sea in the nor ...

province of

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 ...

. Established in 1958, the regency has its seat (capital) in the town of Soe. It covers an area of 3,955.36 km² and had a population of 440,470 at the 2010 Census and 455,410 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2021 was 457,958.

Mount Mutis Mount Mutis ( id: Gunung Mutis), also known as Nuaf Nefomasi, is a mountain and highest point of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, at above sea level. It is located in the Gunung Mutis Nature Reserve in the South Central Timor Regency, from Kupang, ...

, the highest mountain in the province of East Nusa Tenggara, is in the northern part of the regency. International visitors have noted that the region is rich in bird life and so is a good site for birdwatching. The local economy in the area is poor and underdeveloped.

Subsistence agriculture Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...

is the main economic activity in many villages. In addition, when opportunities are available, some local village communities sometimes undertake unregulated mining or other resource-based activities. For example, in the Kolbano Beach area south of Soe, there is a local industry in the collection of coloured stones. The stones, which come in a range of attractive shapes and sizes, are sold to local companies. The companies in turn export the stones to countries such as Australia, China, Malaysia, Singapore and elsewhere. Sacks of stones sell (mid-2012) for between Rp 10,000 to Rp 25,000 (about US$1.00 to US$2.50). Local villagers are reported to be able to earn around Rp 50,000 (US$5) per day collecting stones although there are complaints that the prices paid to workers who collect the stones are too low. However, there are concerns amongst some local community groups, such as the Molo people in the Mount Mutis Sanctuary, about the environmental impacts of mining in the area. There has been social resistance, for example, to the activities of mining firms conducting marble quarrying. Partly as a result of the local resistance, marble mining firms abandoned their work in the area in 2010.

Administration

The regency is divided into thirty-two

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''), tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census and the 2020 Census, together with the official estimates as at mid 2021.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2022. The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of villages (rural ''desa'' and urban ''kelurahan'') in each district, and its post code. Notes: (a) except the two ''desa'' (villages) of Bonleu and Tune (which had a post code of 85561). (b) except the ''desa'' (village) of Mnelalete (which had a post code of 85514.

References

Regencies of East Nusa Tenggara {{ENusaTenggara-geo-stub