'East Nusa Tenggara' (
Indonesian: '''Nusa Tenggara Timur''') is a
province of
Indonesia, located in the eastern portion of the
Lesser Sunda Islands, including
West Timor. The provincial capital is
Kupang, located on West Timor.
The province consists of about 550 islands, but is dominated by the three main
islands of
Flores,
Sumba, and
West Timor, the western half of the island of
Timor. The eastern part of Timor is the independent country of
East Timor. Other islands include
Adonara,
Alor,
Ende,
Komodo,
Lembata,
Menipo,
Rincah,
Rote Island (the southernmost island in Indonesia),
Savu,
Semau, and
Solor.
Administration
After
the declaration of Indonesia independence in
1945, the eastern part of Indonesia declared themselves as the
State of East Indonesia by the statute of ''Staatsblad'' No. 143, 1946. The state was further included in the
United States of Indonesia as one of the agreement of the
Dutch to
transfer its sovereignty to Indonesia in
1949.
In
1955, Indonesia dissolved itself into a
unitary state and began to divide its region into provinces. In
1958, by the Indonesian statute of law (''Undang-Undang'') No. 64/1958, three provinces were established in the
Lesser Sunda Islands, namely
Bali,
West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara provinces.
[3] According to the law, East Nusa Tenggara province includes the western part of
Timor island,
Flores,
Sumba and other several small islands in the region. The province was further divided into twelve
regencies.
[3]
Following the fall of
Suharto regime in
1998, several regional governments expanded its administrative divisions under the new regional autonomy policy. East Nusa Tenggara province observed several expansions in its administration. In
1999, the new
Lembata Regency was formed after splitting
East Flores Regency.
[3] In
2002,
Rote Island was split from
Kupang Regency, forming the new
Rote Ndao Regency.
[3] The following year,
Manggarai Regency is splitted into two and established the new
West Manggarai Regency.
[3] In
2007, the administration of East Nusa Tenggara province was expanded more by the establishment of new four regencies. Therefore, as of 2007, there are nineteen regencies and only one ''
city'', that is
Kupang, recognized in the province.
Closer look to the islands of East Nusa Tenggara
★ A city and also the provincial capital.
Demographics
The population of the province was estimated to be 4,073,249 in
2003 (BPS NTT). The religious mix is atypical of Indonesia, with 91%
Christian (majority Catholic, large Protestant population), 8%
Muslim, 0.6%
Hindu or
Buddhist, and 0.4% holding traditional beliefs. East Nusa Tenggara has become a refuge for Indonesian Christians fleeing from conflict in
Maluku and
Irian Jaya.
The secondary school enrolment rate of 39% is dramatically below the Indonesian average (80.49% in 2003/04, according to UNESCO). Lack of clean drinking water, sanitation, and health facilities mean that child malnutrition (32%) and child mortality (71 per 1000) are higher than in most of the rest of Indonesia.
Economy
By several economic indicators, the province's enconomy is weaker than the Indonesian average, with high
inflation (15%),
unemployment (30%) and
interest rates (22-24%).
References
1.
2. Indonesia's Population: Ethnicity and Religion in a Changing Political Landscape, , , , Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2003,
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
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