Riau islands

Riau Islands Kepulauan Riau
Province
Other transcription(s)
• Jawi	كڤولاوان رياو
• Chinese	廖内群岛
From top, left to right: Barelang Bridge, Bungalows at Loola resort, Trikora beach Bintan, Batam centre and Orang laut village of Senggarang, near Tanjung Pinang
Seal
Motto: Berpancang Amanah Bersauh Marwah (Malay) (Staked by Trust, Anchored by Dignity)
Location of Riau Islands in Indonesia
Coordinates: 3°56′N 108°09′E / 3.933°N 108.150°E / 3.933; 108.150Coordinates: 3°56′N 108°09′E / 3.933°N 108.150°E / 3.933; 108.150
Country	Indonesia
Established	September 24, 2002
Capital	Tanjung Pinang
Government
• Body	Riau Islands Regional Government
• Governor	Nurdin Basirun (acting) (Nasdem Party)
• Vice-governor	Vacant
Area
• Total	10,595.41 km2 (4,090.91 sq mi)
Area rank	31st
Elevation	2-5 m (−14 ft)
Highest elevation	1,165 m (3,822 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population (2015)
• Total	1,973,403
• Rank	27th
• Density	190/km2 (480/sq mi)
• Density rank	10th
Demonym(s)	Riau Islander Warga Kepulauan Riau (id) Kaum Kepulauan Riau (ms)
Demographics
• Ethnic groups	Malays (35.6%) Javanese (18.2%) Chinese (14.3%) Minangkabau (9.3%) Batak (8.1%) Buginese (2.2%) Banjarese (0.7%)
• Religion	Islam (70.34%) Protestantism (11.17%) Buddhist(9.09%) Hinduism (4.65%) Roman Catholicism (2.28%) Confucianism (0.2%)
• Languages	Indonesian (official) Malay (regional) Other languages: Javanese, Minangkabau, Batak, Buginese, Banjarese, Riau Hokkien, Hakka, Teochew, Yue, Mandarin, Tamil
Time zone	Indonesia Western Time (UTC+7)
Postcodes	29xxx
Area codes	(62)77x
ISO 3166 code	ID-KR
Vehicle sign	BP
GRP per capita	US$ 8,036.09
GRP rank	5th
HDI	0.738 (High)
HDI rank	4th (2015)
Largest city by area	Batam - 770.27 square kilometres (297.40 sq mi)
Largest city by population	Batam - (1,188,985 - 2015)
Largest regency by area	Karimun Regency - 2,873.20 square kilometres (1,109.35 sq mi)
Largest regency by population	Karimun Regency - (225,298 - 2015)
Website	Government official site

Riau Islands Province (Indonesian; Provinsi Kepulauan Riau, acronym; Kepri, Jawi: كڤولاوان رياو‎, Chinese: 廖内群岛; pinyin: Liào nèi qúndǎo), is a province of Indonesia. It comprises the principal group of the Riau Archipelago along with other island groups to the south, east and northeast. In Indonesian, Riau Islands and Riau Archipelago are synonymous and are distinguished by the word for province, "Provinsi".

Originally part of the Riau province, the Riau Islands were split off as a separate province in September 2002.

The island of Batam, which lies within the central core group of islands (the Riau Archipelago), contains a majority of the province's population. Since becoming part of a Demilitarized Zone with Singapore in 2006, it has experienced high population growth rates. Other highly populated islands in the Riau Archipelago include Bintan and Karimun, while the archipelago also includes islands such as Bulan and Kundur. There are around 3,200 islands in the province, which has its capital at Tanjung Pinang in the south of Bintan Island.

The Riau Islands province includes the Lingga Islands to the south of the main Riau Archipelago, while to the northeast lies the Tudjuh Archipelago, between Borneo and mainland Malaysia; the Tudjuh Archipelago consists of four distinct groups — the Anambas Islands, Natuna Islands, Tambelan islands and Badas Islands — which were attached to the new province, though not geographically part of the Riau Archipelago. The 2015 census count was 1,968,313, less than estimated but nevertheless the second fastest growing province in Indonesia.