Sorong is the largest city and the capital of the Indonesian province of Southwest Papua. The city is located on the western tip of the island of New Guinea with its only land borders being with Sorong Regency. It is the gateway to Indonesia's Raja Ampat Islands, species rich coral reef islands in an area considered the heart of the world's coral reef biodiversity. It also is the logistics hub for Indonesia's thriving eastern oil and gas frontier. Sorong experienced rapid growth during the decade from 2010, and further growth is anticipated as Sorong becomes linked by road to other frontier towns in Papua's Bird's Head Peninsula. The official estimate of population as of mid 2024 was 286,028 - comprising 150,236 males and 135,729 females.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2025, Kota Sorong Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.9171) The suburban area of Sorong city contains tropical rainforest and mangrove forest that has increasingly become popular as ecotourism attractions especially for birdwatching or wildlife watching.
Etymology The origin of Sorong's name comes from the word Soren, which means "deep and wavy ocean" in the Biak language. The name was first used by the Biak-Numfor people who sailed to different islands before they finally decided to settle down in Raja Ampat Islands. When the Biak-Numfor people came to the place called "Daratan Maladum", they decided to call it Soren. After centuries of contact with Chinese merchants, European missionaries, and people from Maluku and Sangihe-Talaud, the name underwent further change into Sorong.
History Dutch influence over the region was minimal until the 20th century, when a colonial post was established on Doom Island in 1906, serving as the Dutch administrative center of the region. In the 1930s, the Dutch oil company Nederlandsch Nieuw Guinee Petroleum Maatschappij (NNGPM) had discovered oil off the coast of Sorong. The newly established oil fields led to the expansion of Dutch colonial influence in Western New Guinea, and had made Sorong into a valuable military target. During World War II, Sorong was occupied by the Empire of Japan in 1942, and would serve as the center of operations for Japanese forces during the Western New Guinea campaign. The Battle of Sansapor in June 1944 would effectively end Japanese control over the Bird's Head Peninsula, and by August 1944 any remaining Japanese presence in the region was removed by the US 6th Division. After the Indonesian War of Independence, the colonial administration would attempt to expand oil production with the construction of the 58 kilometer Klamono-Sorong pipeline. However, oil production declined after the war, and by 1961 oil production had dropped another 33%. This decline in production contributed to the demise of the Dutch colonial administration, as the Dutch administration over the territory could no longer be defended as economically viable. Under Indonesian administration, oil production would return to pre-war levels, and by 1967 production had more than trebled from 1961 levels. Today, the city still remains as one of the major oil and gas producers of Indonesian New Guinea.
In 1972, Sorong was reformed into an autonomous city, and then reformed into an administrative city in 1996. Administrative cities were abolished in 1999, granting Sorong full city status, and separating Sorong City from the Sorong Regency.
Administrative districts At the 2010 Census, the city comprised six districts (distrik), but the number has subsequently been increased to ten by the splitting of existing districts. These are tabulated below with their populations at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 2020 Census,Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. together with the official estimates for mid-2024.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2025, Kota Sorong Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.9171) The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of administrative villages or subdistricts (all classed as urban kelurahan, 41 in total) in each district, and its post code.
Kode Kemendagri Name ofDistrict(distrik) Area inkm2 Pop'n 2010Census Pop'n 2020Census Pop'n mid 2024Estimate Admincentre No.of villagesPostcode 92.71.03 Sorong Barat (West Sorong) 127.74 35,306 38,578 39,936Klawasi 498412 92.71.10 Maladum Mes (a) 126.40 (b) 11,412 12,258Tanjung Kasuari 498411 92.71.04 Sorong Kepulauan (c)(Sorong Islands) 200.11 9,711 11,801 13,351Doom Timur 498413 92.71.02 Sorong Timur (East Sorong) 69.39 26,804 40,374 44,424Klamana 498418 02.71.05 Sorong Utara (North Sorong) 127.21 45,001 37,029 39,503Malanu 498410 92.71.01 Sorong (district) 48.81 31,264 19,08318,216Remu 498416 92.71.06 Sorong Manoi 135.97 42,539 55,482 56,268Malawei 598415 92.71.08 Klaurung 88.83 (b) 15,145 16,801Klablim 498417 92.71.09 Malaimsimsa 102.50 (b) 32,600 33,269Klabulu 498419 92.71.07 Sorong Kota (Sorong town) 78.04 (b) 21,446 20,952Kampung Baru 498414 Totals 1,105.50 190,625 284,410 294,978 41 Note: (a) A coastal strip along the northern edge of the city. (b) the populations as of 2010 of the four new districts established after 2010 are included in the figures for the districts from which they were split off. (c) Sorong Kepulauan District comprises 25 islands off the west coast of Sorong but within the city limits, including Doom, Soop, Raam and Umbre Islands.
Demographics
The city had a population of 190,625 at the 2010 Census and 284,410 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate (as at mid 2023) was 286,028 (comprising 150,236 males and 135,729 females).Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2024, Kota Sorong Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.9271) In mid 2022, 47.34% of the city population were Protestant, 44.82% were Muslim, and 7.55% Catholic, with minorities of Buddhists and Hindus.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2023, Kota Sorong Dalam Angka 2023 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.9271)
Climate Sorong experiences a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen Af), as there is no real dry season throughout the year. The wettest month is June, with a total rainfall of , while the driest month is February, with a total rainfall of . The excessive rainfall is caused by the monsoon. The temperature variation remains constant throughout the year. The temperature difference between the hottest month and the coolest month is . The hottest month is November, with an average temperature of , while the coolest month is July, with an average temperature of .
Economy
A container port was built in Sorong with an annual container-handling capacity of 500,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) at a cost of Rp.800 billion (US$93.6 million). Construction began in early 2012 and was intended to be completed in mid-2013, but was delayed and was inaugurated on 20 September 2021.
The state-owned oil company Pertamina operates a dockyard in Sorong. The city is served by Domine Eduard Osok Airport.
In popular culture The phrase "Sorong to Samarai" is commonly used throughout Papua New Guinea and Indonesian Papua to express solidarity and oneness and makes reference to both Sorong, a town in Southwest Papua, Indonesia and Samarai, a small township being one of the easternmost point located in Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. It is sometimes used by Papuan independence activists in reference to Papuan unification, in opposition to the common Indonesian phrase of "Sabang to Merauke". In 2016, the ARIA Music Awards-nominated Papua New Guinean-Australian musician Airileke released a single titled "Sorong Samarai".
Cooperation and friendship In addition to its sister cities, Sorong cooperates with: Baltimore, United States Busan, South Korea Fukuoka, Japan
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