Central Kalimantan (Indonesian:Kalimantan Tengah) is aprovince of Indonesia. It is one of five provinces inKalimantan, the Indonesian part ofBorneo. It is the largest province in Indonesia by area since 2022, bordered byWest Kalimantan to the west,South Kalimantan andEast Kalimantan to the east,Java Sea to the south and is separated narrowly fromNorth Kalimantan andMalaysia by East Kalimantan'sMahakam Ulu Regency. Its provincial capital isPalangka Raya and in 2010 its population was over 2.2 million,[10] while the 2020 Census showed a total of almost 2.67 million;[11] the official estimate as at mid 2025 was 2,844,992 (comprising 1,467,139 males and 1,377,853 females).[1]
The population growth rate was almost 3.0% per annum between 1990 and 2000, one of the highest provincial growth rates in Indonesia during that time; in the subsequent decade to 2010 the average annual growth rate slowed markedly to around 1.8%, but it rose again in the decade beginning 2010. More than is the case in other provinces on Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan is populated by theDayaks, the indigenous inhabitants of Borneo.
Since the eighteenth century the central region of Kalimantan and its Dayak inhabitants were ruled by the MuslimSultanate of Banjar. Following Indonesian independence afterWorld War II, Dayak tribes demanded a province separate from South Kalimantan province.[12]
In 1957South Kalimantan was divided to provide the Dayak population with greater autonomy from theMuslim population in the province. The change was approved by the Indonesian Government on 23 May 1957 under Presidential Law No. 10 Year 1957, which declared Central Kalimantan the seventeenth province of Indonesia. President Sukarno appointed the Dayak-born national heroTjilik Riwut as the first Governor and designatedPalangkaraya as the provincial capital.[13]
Central Kalimantan is the largest Indonesian province by area (Papua held this position until the 2022 partition) with a size of 153,443.91 km2 (59,245.02 sq mi), about 1.5 times the size of the island ofJava, and it is slightly larger thanBangladesh or the U.S. state ofIllinois orMurmansk Oblast. It is bordered byWest Kalimantan andEast Kalimantan provinces to the north, by theJava Sea to the south, bySouth Kalimantan and East Kalimantan provinces to the east, and by West Kalimantan province to west.
TheSchwaner Mountains stretch from the north-east of the province to the south-west, 80% of which is covered in dense forest,peatland swamps,mangroves, rivers and traditional agriculture land. Highland areas in the north-east are remote and not easily accessible. Non-volcanic mounts are scattered in this area includingKengkabang,Samiajang,Liang Pahang andUlu Gedang.
The centre of the province is covered with tropical forest, which producesrattan,resin and valuable timber such asUlin andMeranti. The southern lowlands are dominated by peatland swamps that intersect with many rivers.Sabangau National Park is a protected peatland area internationally acknowledged as sanctuary for the endangeredOrangutan. Recently the peat swamp forests have been damaged by theMega Rice Project, which unsuccessfully sought to turn large areas intorice paddies.
The province's climate iswet weather equatorial zone with an eight-month rainy season, and 4 months of dry season. Rainfall or precipitation is 2,776—3,393 mm per year with an average of 145 rainy days annually.[citation needed]
Central Kalimantan has numerous rivers from the catchment areas to the north in theSchwaner Mountains, flowing to theJava Sea. The major rivers include:
Rivers are an important mode oftransportation and a primary location for settlement. With relatively undeveloped infrastructure, the province's economy relies heavily on the rivers.[citation needed]
Based upon the research of the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Central Kalimantan has approximately 10 different ecological regions and is dominated by two main ecological regions. Those two are peat ecological region which covered 26% of the total area of Central Kalimantan and the fluvial plain ecoregion which covered 21% of the whole area of Central Kalimantan.[14] Due to its high concentration of peat ecological region, Central Kalimantan is prone to drought and peat fires during the dry season and inundation during the rainy season within each episodes of theENSO and theIOD. These situations worsen because of massive deforestation in the region and climate change.
Central Kalimantan Province, when separated from South Kalimantan in 1958, comprised threeregencies (kabupaten) -Barito,Kapuas andKotawaringin. However on 26 June 1959 two of these were split - Barito Regency was divided into aSouth Barito Regency and aNorth Barito Regency, while Kotawaringin Regency was divided into aWest Kotawaringin Regency and anEast Kotawaringin Regency. On 14 June 1965 the provincial capital ofPalangka Raya was split off from Kapuas Regency to form an independent city (kotamadya).
On 10 April 2002 an additional eight regencies were created by splitting existing regencies -Sukamara andLamandau from parts of West Kotawaringin Regency,Seruyan andKatingan from parts of East Kotawaringin Regency,Pulang Pisau andGunung Mas from parts of Kapuas Regency,East Barito from part of South Barito Regency, andMurung Raya from part of North Barito Regency. Thus the province now is administratively divided into thirteen regencies (each headed by a regent) and the single city. These are listed below with their areas and their populations at the 2010[10] and 2020[11] Censuses, together with the official estimates as at mid 2025.[1]
The six western regencies (covering the original pre-1958 Kotawaringin Regency, have a combined area of 71,565.2 km2 and had a total population of 1,264,451 persons as at mid 2025. The seven eastern regencies (plus the municipality of Palangka Raya) have a combined area of 81,878.7 km2 and had a total population of 1,580,541 persons as at mid 2025.[1] There has been a campaign in Kotawaringin for the six western regencies to be split away to form a separate province.[16]
In addition to the civil service, Central Kalimantan also recognises a traditional governing system led by traditional leaders known asDamang. The province is divided into 67 traditional law areas known asKedamangan, headed byDamang. The system is intended to culturally recognise and preserve the customs and heritage of the Dayak tribes.[17]
The province now forms one of Indonesia's 84 national electoral districts to elect members to thePeople's Representative Council. TheCentral Kalimantan Electoral District consists of all of the 13 regencies in the province, together with the city of Palangkaraya, and elects 6 members to the People's Representative Council.[18]
This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(February 2021)
ARussian company had been contracted to build railroads from Central Kalimantan toEast Kalimantan for coal transportation, with an estimated cost of US$2.4 billion, that was expected to start in 2013 and be completed by 2017.[19]
The total population of Central Kalimantan was 2,669,969 people based upon the national census in 2020; the official estimate as at mid 2024 was 2,809,700. The sex ratio of this province is 107 which means there are 107 males to every 100 females. The population density of Central Kalimantan is only 18.3 people/km2.[21]
According to the Statistics on 2021, the largest religious group in Central Kalimantan province is Islam with more than 74% of its total population. Then, the second largest group is Christianity with more than 19% of its total population. The rest of the population adhere to the local belief ofKaharingan, Hinduism, and Buddhism with more than 5%.[23][4][5]
Religious Buildings in Central Kalimantan
Darussalam Grand Mosque in Palangka Raya
Balai Basarah Induk Intan in Muara Teweh (Kaharingan temple)
Kalimantan Evangelical Church in East Barito
Buddhist temple with Chinese architecture in Palangka Raya
Central Kalimantan is predominantly inhabited by the Dayak people that would further be divided into three major Dayak sub-ethnics. The three major Dayak tribes in Central Kalimantan are theNgaju, Ot Danum and DusunMa'anyan Ot Siang. The three major tribes extended into several branches of prominent Dayak tribes in Central Kalimantan such asLawangan, Taboyan, Dusun Siang, Boyan, Bantian, Dohoi and Kadori.
A Karungut Music Group Performance in Isen Mulang Cultural Festival in 2018. To the left of the group it can be seen that the group played three main musical instruments of Dayak people i.e. Japen or Kacapi, Gandang Manca, and Garantung.
The most well-known traditional musical instrument from Central Kalimantan is Japen, Garantung, and Gandang Manca which are traditional Dayak musical instruments. These musical instruments are usually played during traditional procession or ritual.[26][27]
Japen or Kecapi is a lute-like instrument that is honored byDayak people. This traditional musical instrument is usually played as an accompaniment for Central Kalimantan traditional music such as Karungut recitation, a Dayak oral literature in the form of musicalizedrhyme scheme. Japen is mainly made of wood and nylon rope for its strings.[28][29]
Garantung is apercussion instrument that is fairly similar withkempul ingamelan. It is a type of hanging gong that is normally played ensemble with Gandang Manca or Gandang Kembar. Gandang Manca itself is a two-headed drum of Dayak traditional musical instrument that is mainly made of wood for the body of the drum and leather membranes to cover the cavity at both ends that are tied byrattan rope.[27] Both Garantung and Gandang Manca are commonly played ensembly as an accompaniment for Dayak traditional processions and rituals.[30]
The most notablefine arts of Dayak people is the traditional house. The traditional house of Dayak people in Central Kalimantan is commonly called Huma Betang. Huma Betang or simply called Betang like many other traditional houses in Indonesia is built on stilts. This traditional house structure is mainly made of iron wood which is commonly anti-termite and resistant to high humidity, thus the house can stand up to hundreds of years. Huma Betang is very well-known for its huge and long size. The length of this house structure is usually between 30 and 150 metres, the width is somewhere between 5 and 30 metres, and the height is approximately 3 to 6 metres. Due to its huge and long size, this house can be occupied by up to 150 people and usually inhabited by one big family.[31]
Huma Betang Structures
A Huma Betang in Sei Pasah Village, Kapuas Regency, Central Kalimantan
A Huma Betang in Lewu Hante Museum, East Barito, Central Kalimantan
A Huma Betang with Sapundu sculpture at the front of the house in West Kotawaringin, Central Kalimantan
Sapundu Sculptures of Dayak Ngaju in Central KalimantanMandau blade, hilt, scabbard, and other equipmentsTalawang shield used as a dance instrument
Central Kalimantan is well-known for its unique traditional carving. The three most famous carving from this province are the three dimensional wood carving sculpture of Sapundu and the traditional weapons i.e. Mandau and Talawang.
Sapundu sculpture is a three dimensional wood carving in the form of humanoid statue. This sculpture is commonly adorned with decorative motifs or even colors. Sapundu sculpture is mainly made of Bornean iron wood and usually presents during Tiwah procession. In ancient times, Sapundu sculpture symbolized the social status of its owner and was believed to possess magical powers.[32]
TheMandau andTalawang are the main traditional weapon of Dayak people in Central Kalimantan. TheMandau is a type of sword with a single edge blade i.e. one side is convex and the other side is concave. TheMandau consists of three different parts, which are (i) theBilah or the blade that made ofMantikei iron plate with a sharp edge and is 70 cm long, (ii) thePulang Gagang or the hilt that is usually made of wood, deer's horns, or even human bones, and (iii) theSarung or the sheath which covers the blade and is typically made of wood and usually covered with bracelet-shaped bone on the upper part and wrapped by rattan rope.[33]
TheTalawang is a shield that mainly made of Bornean iron wood that is carved with certain motifs and adorned with some bright colors. In ancient times, this weapon was used as a protection against wild animals and enemy's arrows and sword slashes. However, the function currently shifts to become a decorative ornament ofKaharingan temples, public buildings, or even people's houses mostly in Central Kalimantan.[34]
Central Kalimantan is home for various sub-ethnics ofDayak tribe. Each of those Dayak sub-ethnics live spread out across all regencies in Central Kalimantan. This makes every regency have their own unique traditional dances. These are some of the traditional dances from Central Kalimantan:[35]
Kinyah Mandau Hatue Dance, originating from Kapuas Regency and depicting theatrical war and martial arts of Dayak tribes in ancient time.[36]
Giring-Giring Dance, coming from East Barito Regency and usually performed in group of 6 to 10 people.[37]
Walian Dadas Dance, originating from South Barito Regency and used to be performed as a way to heal a region from negativity.[38]
Babukung Dance, originally from Lamandau Regency and performed during funeral especially among Dayak Tomun people.[39]
Tambun Bungai Dance, originating from Palangka Raya city and depicting heroic action of Tambung and Bungai protecting the territory from enemy who tried to loot people's crops.[40]
^abcdeStatistik Kependudukan, Jakarta, July 2025,Provinsi Kalimantan Tengah Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 2101023.62)
^Leo Suryadinata; Evi Nurvidya Arifin; Aris Ananta (2003).Indonesia's Population: Ethnicity and Religion in a Changing Political Landscape. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
^Aris Ananta; Evi Nurvidya Arifin; M. Sairi Hasbullah; Nur Budi Handayani; Agus Pramono (2015).Demography of Indonesia's Ethnicity. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
^Law No. 7/2017 (UU No. 7 Tahun 2017) as amended by Government Regulation in Lieu of Law No. 1/2022 and Regulation of General Elections Commission No. 6/2023.
^Aris Ananta; Evi Nurvidya Arifin; M. Sairi Hasbullah; Nur Budi Handayani; Agus Pramono (2015).Demography of Indonesia's Ethnicity. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies dan BPS – Statistics Indonesia.
^Chalmers, Ian (2006). "The Dynamics of Conversion: The Islamisation of the Dayak Peoples of Central Kalimantan". In Vickers, A.; Hanlon, M. (eds.).Proceedings of the 16th Biennial Conference of the Asian Studies Association of Australia (ASAA): Asia Reconstructed, Jun 26–29 2006. Wollongong, NSW: Australian National University.hdl:20.500.11937/35283.ISBN9780958083737.
^"Warisan Budaya Tak Benda Mandau" (in Indonesian). Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Indonesia). January 2010. Retrieved17 May 2023.
