Bengkalis Regency is a regency of Indonesia in Riau Province. The regency was originally established in 1956 and then included most of the northern part of the province, but on 4 October 1999 it was divided up, with most of the territory being split off to form the new Rokan Hilir Regency, Siak Regency and the city of Dumai. On 19 December 2008 a further five districts were removed to create the new Meranti Islands Regency, leaving eight districts (or kecamatan) in the Bengkalis Regency. These eight districts has increased since 2010 to eleven by the splitting of existing districts on the Sumatran mainland.
Bengkalis Regency comprises the whole of Bengkalis Island and Rupat Island, which are located in the Straits of Malacca, together with a wide swathe of the eastern coastal area of Sumatra Island and stretching inland along the drainage area of the Siak River, as well as including other islands within the archipelago to its north-east. The land area covers 8,628.06 km2 and it borders on the Malacca Straits to the north, on Siak Regency to the south, on the Meranti Islands Regency to the southeast, and on Dumai City, Rokan Hilir Regency and Rokan Hulu Regency to the west. The administrative centre is the town of Bengkalis on the south coast of the island of the same name.
Following the splitting in 2008 of the regency to create a new Meranti Islands Regency, the residual area of Bengkalis Regency had a population of 498,336 at the 2010 census[2] and 565,569 at the 2020 census;[3] the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 584,916 (comprising 299,480 males and 286,436 females).[1]
Administrative districts
The eleven districts (kecamatan) currently forming the regency are listed below with their areas and their populations at the 2010[2] and 2020 censuses,[3] together with the official estimates as at mid 2023.[1] The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of administrative villages in each district (a total of 136 rural desa and 19 urban kelurahan), and its post code.
Kode Wilayah
Name of District (kecamatan)
Area in km2
Pop'n census 2010
Pop'n census 2020
Pop'n estimate mid 2023
Admin centre
No. of villages
Post code
14.03.09
Mandau
517.75
219,264
152,258
153,978
Air Jamban
11 (a)
28783
14.03.13
Pinggir
775.02
78,404
62,098
63,269
Pinggir
10 (b)
28784
14.03.16
Bathin Solapan
674.28
(c)
91,586
96,775
Sebangar
13
28785
14.03.15
Talang Muandau
1,379.26
(d)
24,000
24,867
Beringin
9
28786
Sub-total
Southern (inland) group
3,346.31
297,668
329,942
338,889
43
14.03.03
Bukit Batu
598.70
30,129
21,771
22,902
Sungai Pakning
10 (e)
28761
14.03.12
Siak Kecil
948.11
18,709
24,186
25,956
Lubuk Muda
17
28771
14.03.14
Bandar Laksamana
1,303.79
(f)
15,842
17,070
Tenggayun
7
28762
Sub-total
Northern (coastal) group
2,850.60
48,838
61,799
65,928
34
14.03.10
Rupat
1,145.19
30,550
34,719
35,892
Batu Panjang
16 (g)
28781
14.03.11
Rupat Utara
378.51
13,020
14,117
14,396
Tanjung Medang
8
28782
14.03.01
Bengkalis
442.60
72,221
83,085
86,198
Bengkalis Kota
31 (h)
28711 - 28741
14.03.02
Bantan (i)
464.85
36,039
41,907
43,613
Selat Baru
23
28763
Sub-total
Offshore islands group
2,431.15
151,830
173,828
180,099
89
Total Regency
8,628.06
498,336
565,569
584,916
Bengkalis
155
Notes: (a) comprising 9 kelurahan (Air Jamban, Babussalam, Balik Alam, Batang Serosa, Duri Barat, Duri Timur, Gajah Sakti, Pematang Pudu and Makeruh (Talang Mandi)) and 2 desa. (b) comprising 2 kelurahan (Balai Raja and Titian Antui) and 8 desa. (c) the 2010 population of the new Bathin Solapan District is included in the figure for Mandau District, from which it was cut out. (d) the 2010 population of the new Talang Muandau District is included in the figure for Pinggir District, from which it was cut out. (e) including one kelurahan (Sungai Pakning). (f) the 2010 population of the new Bandar Laksamana District is included in the figure for Bukit Batu District, from which it was cut out. (g) comprising 4 kelurahan (Batu Panjang, Pergam, Tanjung Kapal and Terkul) and 12 desa. (h) comprising 3 kelurahan (Bengkalis Kota, Damon and Rimba Sekampung) and 28 desa. (i) the northern part of Bengkalis Island.
Bengkalis Island comprises Bengkalis District and Bantan District, while Rupat Island comprises Rupat District and Rupat Utara (North Rupat) District. The remaining seven districts lie on Sumatra Island - Bukit Batu, Siak Kecil and Bandar Laksamana being on the Sumatran coast, while Mandau, Pinggir, Bathin Solapan and Talang Muandau are inland districts further south.
References
^ abcBadan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2024, Kabupaten Bengkalis Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1403)