Belitung Island
Topography of Belitung, Indonesia
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| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | South East Asia |
| Coordinates | 2°50′S 107°55′E / 2.833°S 107.917°ECoordinates: 2°50′S 107°55′E / 2.833°S 107.917°E |
| Area | 4,800.6 km2 (1,853.5 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 500 m (1,600 ft) |
| Highest point | Mount Tajam |
| Administration | |
| Province | Bangka-Belitung Islands |
| Largest settlement | Tanjung Pandan |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 271,868 (2014) |
| Pop. density | 56.63 /km2 (146.67 /sq mi) |
Belitung (or in English, Billiton) is an island on the east coast of Sumatra, Indonesia in the Java Sea. It covers 4,800.6 km2 (1,853.5 sq mi), and had a population of 271,868 in 2014. Administratively, it forms part of the province of Bangka-Belitung Islands. The island is known for its pepper and for its tin. It was in the possession of the United Kingdom from 1812 until Britain ceded control of the island to the Netherlands in the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824. Its main town is Tanjung Pandan.
The population was 262,357 at the 2010 Census; the latest official estimate (as in 2014) is 271,868. The population is centred in several small towns; the largest are Tanjung Pandan in the west and Manggar in the east, which are the respective capitals of the two Regencies (Belitung and Belitung Timur) into which the island is administratively divided. While ethnic Malays people make up the largest percentage along with Chinese people, Belitung has significant populations of Bugis, Sundanese, and Javanese people who formerly worked for the Dutch, mining tin. There is also a small population of Madurese who were settled there in the Suharto era transmigration.
Before the arrival of Dutch missionaries, the island's inhabitants and most of the Indonesian archipelago had already converted from Hindu-Buddhist and Animist religions to some form of Islam due to the work of Chinese Muslim traders. As a result, Christian churches were unable to gain considerable numbers of followers. Today, Belitung is a religiously diverse island. Sunni Islam is the most widely practised religion, with sizeable minorities of Buddhists, Christians and adherents of Confucianism.
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