Nias

Nias

Native name: Tano Niha
Geography
Location	South East Asia
Coordinates	1°6′N 97°32′E / 1.100°N 97.533°E / 1.100; 97.533Coordinates: 1°6′N 97°32′E / 1.100°N 97.533°E / 1.100; 97.533
Area	5,121.3 km2 (1,977.3 sq mi)
Highest elevation	800 m (2,600 ft)
Highest point	unnamed
Administration
Indonesia
Province	North Sumatra
Regencies	Nias, South Nias, North Nias, West Nias
Demographics
Population	788,132 (2014 Estimate)
Pop. density	147.8 /km2 (382.8 /sq mi)
Ethnic groups	Nias, Malay, Batak, and Chinese

Nīas (Indonesian: Pulau Nias, Nias language: Tanö Niha) is an island off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Nias (Kepulauan Nias) is also the name of the archipelago, including the small Hinako Islands. Nias Island covers an area of 5,121.3 km² (1,977.3 sq mi) (including minor offshore islands). It is mostly a lowland area rising to around 800 m (2,600 ft) above sea level. There were 756,338 inhabitants on the island (including minor offshore islands) at the 2010 Census. The latest estimate for January 2014 is 788,132.

It is located in a chain of islands parallel to the west coast of Sumatra; Simeulue is about 140 km (87 mi) northwest, and the Batu Islands (which are administered as part of Nias and have an ethnically similar population) are located about 80 km (50 mi) southeast. This chain, which resurfaces in Nusa Tenggara in the mountainous islands of Sumba and Timor, is the forearc of the South Sumatra Basin along the Sunda Trench subduction zone.

At Nias the oceanic plate is being obliquely subducted under the Asian Plate at the rapid rate of 52 mm (2.0 in) a year (Milsom).

Nias is the largest of the islands off Sumatra that are part of North Sumatra province. This archipelago consists of 131 islands, of which Nias Island is the biggest. The population in this area was 756,762 inhabitants at the 2010 Census, including Ono Niha (the indigenous inhabitants of the island), Malay, Batak, and Chinese; in January 2014 the population had risen to 788,132.

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