Batam, officially the City of Batam or Batam City (, not to be confused with Batam Kota, a district within this city), is the largest city in the Indonesian province of the Riau Islands.
The city of Batam includes Batam Island at , as well as other major islands such as Rempang at and Galang at . Together, the three-interconnected islands of the Riau Archipelago are known as Barelang (an abbreviation of Batam–Rempang–Galang). The remaining hundreds of tiny islands are largely conservation areas, small fishing outposts, or uninhabited mangroves. Collectively, the land area of all these islands make up around . Batam Island is the core urban and industrial zone, while both Rempang Island and Galang Island maintain their rural character and low-density population; they are connected to Batam Island by short bridges. Bulang Island and the islands to its north lie to the west of Batam Island; while they are part of the Belakang Padang District, they are also administratively within the city.
Batam City is an industrial boomtown, an emerging transport hub and part of a free trade zone in the Indonesia–Malaysia–Singapore Growth Triangle, located off Singapore's south coast. According to Statistics Indonesia's 2020 census, Batam had a municipal population of 1,196,396,Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. making it the third largest city in the region of Sumatra, after Medan and Palembang. Islands that form part of Batam are also the closest parts of Indonesia to Singapore, at a minimum distance of across the Singapore Strait. In clear weather and good visibility, both Batam and Singapore are visible from each other with the naked eye. Batam was the fastest-growing municipality in Indonesia during the decade prior to 2010, with a population growth rate of 11% per year; however, there were setbacks during the subsequent decade. In 2017, the island suffered severe job losses; some 300,000 workers were laid off. The official estimated population as of mid 2025 was 1,296,960.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 27 February 2026, Kota Batam Dalam Angka 2026 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.2171)
History
The first recorded inhabitants at Batam Island are the Malays known as the Orang Laut, from the year 231 CE. Then the Orang Darat who are the remnants of the pre-Malay population on the island of Batam and Rempang. The island group once served as the field of struggle of Admiral Hang Nadim, against Portuguese invaders in the 16th century, and was utilised by the Indonesian government in the 1960s, who maintained a petroleum logistics base on Sambu Island, one of the minor islands in the Batam group of islands.
In the 1970s, according to Presidential Decree No. 41/1973, Batam Island was designated as a working environment of an industrial area supported by Batam Island Industrial Development Authority or better known as Batam Authority Board (BOB, now Batam Development Board ( or BP Batam) as the driving force for the development of Batam, with the initial aim of making Batam the "Indonesian version of Singapore". With the rapid development of the island, based on Government Regulation No. 34/1983, the Batam District (which is part of Riau Islands Regency) was upgraded to municipality status which has the duties to run government administration and society and support the development of BP Batam.
In the Indonesian Reformation era in the late 1990s, with Act No. 53/1999, the Batam administrative municipality changed its status to an autonomous region, namely Batam City Government to carry out governmental and developmental functions by involving BP Batam.
Geography Batam is a roughly oval island with many bays, islets, and peninsulas, located west of Bintan Island, south of Singapore, north of Rempang Island and Galang Island, and east of Bulang Island. The Singapore Strait separates Singapore and Batam, while the Riau Strait separates Batam and Bintan island. Batam Municipality covers 3,869 km2, of which 1,020.28 km2 is land, a figure which includes some land reclamation. However, Barelang Island (not actually one but three, see above) covers roughly 715 km2 of that 1,020.28 km2, and Batam island itself covers only about 410 km2 out of the total. The bulk of the municipal population resides on Batam Island.
Climate Batam has a tropical rainforest climate (Af) with heavy rainfall year-round.
Governance Mayor The Batam city government takes care of all population administration and civil registration as well as human resources. The current mayor is Amsakar Achmad who has served since 2025, accompanied by Li Claudia Chandra as deputy mayor.
Batam Development Board (BP) The Agency for Free Trade Zone and Free Port of Batam, often abbreviated as BP Batam, is a government nonstructural body under the Chairmanship of the Board of Regions (DK) Batam Central Government, which is chaired by a Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs. BP Batam plays a role in land governance and investment in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) of Batam.
Administrative divisions
Batam city is divided into twelve districts (kecamatan) – which include several adjacent islands such as Bulang to the west, and Rempang and Galang to the south, as well as Batam Island itself. Batam Island is connected by bridges to Rempang and Galang, and this group is thus often known by the abbreviation of Barelang. The districts are tabulated below with their areas, 2010 census populationsBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 2020 census populations, together with the official estimates as at mid 2025.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 27 February 2026, Kota Batam Dalam Angka 2026 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.2171) The table also includes the number of administrative villages within each district, all classed as urban kelurahan,Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 27 February 2026, Kota Batam Dalam Angka 2026 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.2171) and its postal codes.
Name ofDistrict(kecamatan) Land Area inkm2 Pop'nCensus2010 Pop'nCensus2020 Pop'nestimatemid 2025No.ofvillages Postalcodes Belakang Padang (a)Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Belakang Padang Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.2171010). 66.3218,50822,43923,640629412, 2941329414, 29416 Bulang (b)Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Bulang Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.2171020). 156.919,53110,70710,870629471 - 29476 Galang (c)Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Galang Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.2171030). 344.8114,98316,98917,330829481 - 29487 Sungai Beduk Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Sei Beduk Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.2171040). (Sungai Beduk) 107.0380,34996,193100,740429433 & 29437 Sagulung Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Sagulung Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.2171041). 54.25149,727209,306236,410629439 Nongsa (d)Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Nongsa Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.2171050). 107.1249,82881,45199,180429465 - 29468 Batam Kota Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Batam Kota Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.2171051). (Central City) 37.75162,238198,617210,270629431 - 29433,29461, 29464 Sekupang (e)Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Sepukang Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.2171060). 71.76100,108156,283186,110729425 - 29428 Batu Aji Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Batu Aji Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.2171061). 38.02127,455139,512139,910429422, 29424 & 29438 Lubuk BajaBadan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Lubuk Baja Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.2171070). 10.9180,78084,53382,950529432, 29441, 29443 - 29445 Batu Ampar Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Batu Ampar Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.2171080). 11.7158,74560,45058,840429452 - 29454 Bengkong Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Bengkong Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.2171081). 13.6992,033119,836130,710429432 & 29458
Notes: (a) comprises 116 islands to the west of Batam Island, including Kepala Jeri Island, Lumba Island, Pemping Island and Belakang Padang. (b) comprises 70 islands to the southwest of Batam Island, including Bulang Island. (c) comprises 82 islands to the south of Batam Island, including Galang Island and Rempang Island. (d) comprises the east part of Batam Island, but also includes 23 islands off the north-eastern shore. (e) includes 14 islands off the north coast of Batam Island.
Demographics At the 2020 census, Batam had a population of 1,196,396 inhabitants. The population was increasing rapidly, with a population growth rate of more than 8% per year between 2001 and 2012, but the increase has subsequently slowed. It is now growing by about 20,000 persons per year
Ethnicity Ethnic groups in Batam, 2000Leo Suryadinata, Evi Nurvidya Arifin, Aris Anan; Indonesia's population: ethnicity and religion in a changing political landscape, 2003 Ethnicity Percentage Malay 26.78% Javanese 17.61% Batak 14.97% Minangkabau 14.93% Chinese 6.28% Buginese 2.29% Banjarese 0.67% Others 16.47%
Today, Batam is inhabited by a heterogeneous mixture of people due to labor migration and desire to be close to Singapore; it is very diverse, two-thirds of the population are migrants. The predominant ethnicities are Malays, Javanese, Batak, Minangkabau, and Chinese. The indigenous people of Batam who are related to the Malays are the Orang Laut who are nomads who depend on the sea for their livelihood and the Orang Darat who live nomadically in the interior forests of Rempang whose population is threatened with extinction. As a municipality it exemplifies the national motto of "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika" (Unity in Diversity). The location of Batam, which is close to Singapore, is conducive to the development of economic, sociopolitical, and cultural aspects of the local community.
Religion
Islam is the majority religion in Batam, followed by Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism. Most of those who follow Islam are Javanese, Malays and Minangkabau. The Great Mosque of Batam, located in the city center adjacent to the main square, the mayor's office and the provincial Parliament, is an important symbol of Islamic religious life in Batam. Christianity is also widely embraced by the people of Batam, especially those from the Batak and Nias people of North Sumatra (Protestantism) and migrants from Flores island in Nusa Tenggara Timur province, East Indonesia (Roman Catholicism) as well as Javanese Catholics from Yogyakarta and Central Java who emigrated to this province along with a minority of Chinese Indonesians and internal migrant Indian Indonesians from Medan, North Sumatra. The majority of the Chinese population practises Buddhism. A number of Viharas are located in Batam, of which Vihara Duta Maitreya is one of the most frequented, and is the largest Vihara in Southeast Asia with an area of 4.5 hectares. In addition, Hinduism in practiced by a quarter of its small ethnic Indian Indonesian minority as well as by its Balinese emigrant minority ethnic populace who migrated from the tourist island of Bali and are resident for business purposes in this city.
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