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Central Sulawesi

Central Sulawesi
Sulawesi Tengah
Province
Mountains, rice fields and pile houses near Palu
Mountains, rice fields and pile houses near Palu
Flag of Central Sulawesi
Flag
Official seal of Central Sulawesi
Seal
Motto: Maliu Ntinuvu (Palu)
(Unites All The Elements and The Potential that Exists)
Location of Central Sulawesi in Indonesia
Location of Central Sulawesi in Indonesia
Coordinates: 1°00′S 121°00′E / 1.000°S 121.000°E / -1.000; 121.000Coordinates: 1°00′S 121°00′E / 1.000°S 121.000°E / -1.000; 121.000
Country Indonesia
Capital Palu
Government
 • Governor Drs. H. Longki Djanggola, M.Si (Gerindra)
 • Vice Governor Sudarto
Area
 • Total 61,841.29 km2 (23,877.06 sq mi)
Population (2014)
 • Total 2,839,290
 • Density 46/km2 (120/sq mi)
Demographics
 • Ethnic groups Butung (23%)
Kaili (20%)
Bugis (19%)
Tolaki (16%)
Muna (15%)
Gorontaloan (7%)
 • Religion Islam (76.6%)
Protestantism (17.3%)
Roman Catholicism (3.2%)
Hinduism (2.7%)
Buddhism (0.16%)
 • Languages Indonesian (official)
Time zone WITA (UTC+8)
Vehicle registration DN
HDI Steady 0.664 (Medium)
HDI rank 25th (2014)

Central Sulawesi (Indonesian: Sulawesi Tengah) is a province of Indonesia located at the centre of the island of Sulawesi. Its capital and largest city is Palu. The 2010 census recorded a population of 2,633,420 for the province, while the latest official estimate (for January 2014) is 2,839,290.

Established in 1964, Central Sulawesi has an area of 61,841.29 km2 (23,877 sq mi). It is bordered by the provinces of Gorontalo to the north, West Sulawesi, South Sulawesi and South East Sulawesi to the south, by Maluku to the east, and by the Makassar Strait to the west.

There are over 400 granite megaliths in the area of the Lore Lindu National Park, of which around 30 represent human forms. They vary in size from a few centimetres to approximately 4.5 metres (15 ft). The original purpose of the megaliths is unknown. Other megaliths are in form of large pots (Kalamba) and stone plates (Tutu'na). Various archaeological studies have dated the carvings from between 3000 BC to 1300 AD.

Central Sulawesi Province has many caves, seven of which have ancient pictures and, based on 2011 research by a joint Indonesian and Australian team, the pictures are known to have been drawn at least 40,000 years ago (about the same age as pictures found in the Caves of Monte Castillo, Spain which are known as the oldest ancient pictures in Europe).

Islam reached the region in the 17th century, shortly after the Islamic avowal of Gowa, the powerful kingdom at the south part of the Sulawesi island. The Dutch colonial rule was established in the 18th century and began the protestantic missionary of the population. About a quarter of them are now Protestant, which is the highest percentage of the Indonesien archipelago. After the Japanese occupation in the Second World War, the region belonged to the Province North Sulawesi and separated in 1964 to the new formed Province Central Sulawesi.


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