Aceh

Coordinates: 5°33′N 95°19′E / 5.550°N 95.317°E / 5.550; 95.317
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Aceh
Regional transcription(s)
 • Jawoëاچيه دارالسلام
Flag of Aceh
Official seal of Aceh
Nickname(s): 
Serambi Mekkah
Porch of Mecca
Motto(s): 
"Pancacita"(Sanskrit)
"Five goals"
Map indicating the location of Aceh in Indonesia
Location of Aceh in Indonesia.
Coordinates: 5°33′N 95°19′E / 5.550°N 95.317°E / 5.550; 95.317
Country Indonesia
EstablishedDecember 7, 1956
Capital
(and largest city)
Banda Aceh
Government
 • GovernorIrwandi Marzuki (PNA)
 • Vice GovernorNova Iriansyah
Area
 • Total58,376.81 km2 (22,539.41 sq mi)
 • Rank11th
Elevation
125 m (410 ft)
Highest elevation
3,466 m (11,371 ft)
Lowest elevation
0 m (0 ft)
Population
 (2017)[1]
 • Total5,189,500
 • Rank14th
 • Density89/km2 (230/sq mi)
  • Rank20th
DemonymsAcehnese
Warga Aceh (id)
Kawom Aceh (ace)
Demographics
 • Ethnic groups70.65% Acehnese
8.94% Javanese
7.22% Gayo
3.29% Batak
2.13% Alas
1.49% Simeulue
1.40 Aneuk Jamee
1.11% Tamiang Malay
1.04% Singkil
0.74% Minangkabau[2]
 • ReligionIslam 98.48%
Protestantism 1.02%
Buddhism 0.16%
Catholicism 0.07%
Hinduism 0.003% Confucianism 0.0008%
Others 0.006%
 • LanguagesIndonesian (official)
Acehnese (regional)
Gayo, Simeulue, Tamiang Malay, Aneuk Jamee, Alas-Kluet, Singkil (minority)
Time zoneUTC+7 (Indonesia Western Time)
Postcodes
23xxx, 24xxx
Area codes(62)6xx
ISO 3166 codeID-AC
Vehicle signBL
GRP per capitaUS$2,239.49
GRP rank26th
HDI (2016)Increase 0.700 (High)
HDI rank12th (2014)
Websiteacehprov.go.id

Aceh (/ˈɑː/) is a province of Indonesia at the northern end of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Banda Aceh. It is close to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India across the Andaman Sea.

Aceh is a religiously conservative territory and the only Indonesian province practicing Sharia law officially. Islam first entered Indonesia here.

Aceh has large amounts of oil and natural gas. Some estimate that Aceh gas reserves are one of the largest in the world.[3]

Tsunami disaster[change | change source]

Aftermath of the tsunami in Aceh

The west coast of Aceh, including the cities of Banda Aceh, Calang, and Meulaboh, were hit hard by the tsunami after the magnitude 9.2 Indian Ocean earthquake on 26 December 2004.[4] More than 170,000 people were killed by tsunami in Aceh and about 500,000 were homeless.

Government[change | change source]

Aceh is governed not as an Indonesian province but as a special territory (daerah istimewa). This different title is to give the area more autonomy from the central government in Jakarta.

Internal divisions[change | change source]

Regencies of Aceh

The province is has eighteen regencies (kabupaten) and five cities (kota). The capital and the largest city is Banda Aceh. It on the coast near the northern tip of Sumatra.

References[change | change source]

  1. "Statistik Indonesia 2018". Badan Pusat Statistik. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  2. Aris Ananta; Evi Nurvidya Arifin; M. Sairi Hasbullah; Nur Budi Handayani; dan Agus Pramono (2015). Demography of Indonesia's Ethnicity. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies dan BPS – Statistics Indonesia.
  3. How An Escape Artist Became Aceh's Governor Archived 2008-08-03 at the Wayback Machine, Time Magazine, 15 February 2007
  4. For details of the impact of the tsunami in Aceh, see Jayasuriya, Sisira and Peter McCawley in collaboration with Bhanupong Nidhiprabha, Budy P. Resosudarmo and Dushni Weerakoon, The Asian Tsunami: Aid and Reconstruction after a Disaster, Cheltenham UK and Northampton MA USA: Edward Elgar and Asian Development Bank Institute, 2010.

Other websites[change | change source]