Central Aceh Regency ( id, Kabupaten Aceh Tengah) 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 ...

in Aceh Special Region (''Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam'') 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 ...

. It is located on

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

island. Formerly this regency covered a much larger area; in 1969, the Southeast Aceh Regency was separated from the Central Aceh Regency, and in 2003 the

Bener Meriah Regency Bener Meriah Regency ( id, Kabupaten Bener Meriah) is a regency in Aceh Special District, Indonesia. It is located on the island of Sumatra. The regency covers an area of 1,941.61 square kilometres and it had a population of 122,277 at the 2010 ...

was separated from the remaining Central Aceh Regency. The remaining regency covers an area of 4,454.04 square kilometres and had a population of 175,527 according to the 2010 census, which rose to 215,576 at the 2020 Census. Most of its inhabitants are Gayo. Central Aceh is famous for its

Lake Laut Tawar Lake Laut Tawar () is a lake in Central Aceh Regency of Aceh Province, Indonesia. It is located at . The name literally means "freshwater sea". File:Laut Tawar Lake.jpg, Laut Tawar Lake File:Danau Laut Tawar.jpg, View of Lake Laut Tawar See ...

. Its capital is

Takengon Takengon is a town in Aceh, Indonesia. The town itself sits on three administrative districts of the Central Aceh Regency - Bebesen, Kebayakan, and Lut Tawar, and acts as the seat of Central Aceh Regency. The town is in the highlands of western S ...

, in Lut Tawar District. The residual regency is the main centre of coffee production within Aceh province and is home to the

Gayo people The Gayo people are an ethnic group living in the highlands of Aceh Province, Sumatra, Indonesia. The Gayo tribe has a population of 336,856 and they live predominantly in the mountains. Most Gayo live in three regencies in Aceh namely Bener ...

who are mostly concentrated in this regency and in the neighbouring

and

Gayo Lues Regency Gayo Lues Regency ( id, Kabupaten Gayo Lues) is a Regencies of Indonesia, regency in the Aceh Special Region of Indonesia. It is located on the island of Sumatra. The regency was created in 2002 under Statute UU 4/2002 from the northern part of Ac ...

Geography

The regency borders

Pidie Regency Pidie Regency (also known as: Pidie, Pědir; "king of"; id, Kabupaten Pidie) is a regency of Aceh Special region, in Indonesia. It is located in the north of the island of Sumatra, in Western Indonesia, bordered by the Malacca Strait and Pidie ...

, Bireuen Regency and

to the north,

East Aceh Regency East Aceh Regency ( id, Kabupaten Aceh Timur) is a regency in eastern Aceh Special Region (''Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam'') of Indonesia. It is located on the island of Sumatra. The regency covers an area of 6,040.60 square kilometres and had a popu ...

to the east,

to the south and West Aceh,

Pidie Pidie Regency (also known as: Pidie, Pědir; "king of"; id, Kabupaten Pidie) is a regency of Aceh Special region, in Indonesia. It is located in the north of the island of Sumatra, in Western Indonesia, bordered by the Malacca Strait and Pidie Jay ...

, and Nagan Raya regencies to the west. Central Aceh District is a highland with an altitude between 200 – 2600 meters above sea level with an area of 4,454.50 km2.

Administrative districts

The regency is divided administratively into fourteen

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. The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres and the number of villages (rural ''desa'' and urban ''kelurahan'') in each district.

Politics

Its current regent is Drs. Shabela Abubakar, while his vice regent is H. Firdaus SKM. They have held the positions since 28 December 2017. The Parliament Members are: # Ir. Syukur Kobath