North Central Timor Regency () is a regency in East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. It covers an area of 2,669.70 km2, and had a population of 229,803 at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 259,829 at the 2020 Census;Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. the official estimate as at mid 2025 was 279,637 (comprising 140,357 males and 139,280 females).Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 27 February 2026, Kabupaten Timor Tengah Utara Dalam Angka 2026 (Katalog 1102001.5305) Its regency seat is located at the town of Kefamenanu, which had a population of 50,249 in mid 2024. The regency borders Timor Leste's Oecusse exclave, and thus is one of few Indonesian regions that have a land border with other countries.
History North Central Timor Regency was de jure formed on 9 August 1958 from three autonomous royal regions (swapraja) but de facto function only began early November 1958 after its first regent was sworn in. Since 1915, the region had been part of Onderafdeeling Noord Miden Timor during Dutch rule; it was composed of the native kingdoms of Miomaffo, Insana, and Biboki. In 1921, the administrative seat was moved from the town of Noeltoko to its current location in Kefemenanu; the move is annually commemorated by the local government since 2005.
In 1942, the Japanese forces occupied the Dutch East Indies. Local government structure changed little under the Japanese, who mostly preserved it to simplify civil administration. In 1946, after the end of the Second World War, during the Malino Conference, the region's local rulers wanted to be included in Lesser Sunda province, together with Bali and West Nusa Tenggara, under the newly formed Indonesian Republic. Local administration was reorganized in 1949 after independence, and formed its own parliament under Timor Regional Law Number 10 of 1949. In a parliament session between 10 and 12 May 1950, it voted in favour of disbanding the State of East Indonesia under the United States of Indonesia and forming a unitary Indonesian state, which was realized not long after. Shortly before the creation of the regency, Lesser Sunda province was split into West Nusa Tenggara, Bali, and East Nusa Tenggara provinces.
During the Indonesian occupation of East Timor and the subsequent independence referendum and violence that followed, many civilians from East Timor fled to the regency, causing a huge increase in the population. Many were integrated into the regency's society to the point they constituted 8.1% of the regency's population. The regency was devastated by Cyclone Seroja in early 2021, prompting the relocation of several settlements and buildings by Indonesian government.
Geography North Central Timor Regency borders South Central Timor Regency in the south, the country of East Timor in the northwest, the coast of the Sawu Sea in the north, Kupang Regency in the west, and Belu Regency in the east. It has a total area of or 5.6% of the province's area. Most of the regency has slopes below 40 degrees, consisting of 77.4%. Most of the regency is less than above sea level. Around 74%, of the regency's area is used for plantation and agriculture, and only are used for human settlement.
Most of the regency's soil is litosol and grumusol, and is relatively fertile. The region's climate is classified as semi-arid, which makes large-scale farming challenging due to low precipitation compared to other regions in Indonesia. To solve this, the government of Indonesia has built several new dams in the region to avoid drought and secure access to water for its population.
The temperature ranges from , with air humidity level between 69 and 87% annually. Between June and September, wind comes from Australia, bringing little water vapor to the region, and the dry season begins. The region is prone to drought and harvest failure.
Demographics Of the population in mid 2025, 80,943 (28.95%) were below the age of 15, and 198,694 were aged 15 and above; of the latter, 178,373 (63.79%) were of working age and 20,321 (7.27%) were aged 65 and above.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 27 February 2026, Kabupaten Timor Tengah Utara Dalam Angka 2026 (Katalog 1102001.5305)
Governance
Administrative districts The regency is divided into twenty-four districts (kecamatan), tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census and the 2020 Census, together with the official estimates as at mid 2025.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 27 February 2026, Kabupaten Timor Tengah Utara Dalam Angka 2026 (Katalog 1102001.5305) The districts are grouped below into three geographical sectors (which have no administrative significance), plus the regency capital, Kota Kefamenanu. The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of administrative villages in each district (in total, 160 rural desa and 33 urban kelurahan), and its post code.
Kode Wilayah Name ofDistrict(kecamatan) Area in km2 Pop'nCensus2010 Pop'nCensus2020 Pop'nEstimatemid 2025 Admin centre No.of villagesPostcodes 53.03.02 Miomaffo Barat Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Miomaffo Barat Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5305010) (West Miomaffo) 199.6314,42415,33716,012Eban 13 (a) 85661 53.03.11 Miomaffo Tengah Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Miomaffo Tengah Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5305011) (Central Miomaffo) 75.005,2516,0816,619Bijaepasu 685660 53.03.12 Musi Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Musi Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5305012) 82.174,0704,7405,173Oeolo 685662 53.03.13 Mutis (b) Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Mutis Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5305013) 90.506,5767,1507,546Naekake 485663 53.03.01 Miomaffo Timur Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Miomaffo Timur Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5305020) (East Miomaffo) 101.4510,56012,41713,616Nunpene 11 (c) 85654 53.03.04 Noemuti Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Noemuti Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5305021) 155.6010,92612,74313,918Fatumuti 12 (d) 85664 53.03.14 Bikomi Selatan Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Bikomi Selatan Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5305022) (South Bikomi) 48.689,78611,18812,102Tublopo 10 (e) 85650 53.03.15 Bikomi Tengah Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Bikomi Tengah Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5305023) (Central Bikomi) 61.506,7497,6138,181Oenenu Utara 985652 53.03.16 Bikomi Nilulat Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Bikomi Nilulat Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5305024) 82.004,2984,8005,133Sunkaen 685651 53.03.17 Bikomi Utara Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Bikomi Utara Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5305025) (North Bikomi) 70.705,5646,2526,705Napan 985653 53.03.18 Naibenu Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Naibenu Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5305026) 88.004,9585,5765,983Bakitolas 485655 53.03.10 Noemuti Timur Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Noemuti Timur Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5305027) (East Noemuti) 55.773,7084,2704,635Haekto 485665 Totals Miomaffo & Bikomi Sector1,111.0086,870 98,167105,623 94 53.03.05 Kota KefamenanuBadan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Kota Kefamenanu Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5305030) (Kefamenanu town)74.0043,05849,09550,917Sasi 9 (f) 85611- 85617 Totals Town Sector74.0043,05849,09550,917 9 53.03.08 Insana Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Insana Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5305040) 333.0818,07820,99622,885Oelolok 17 (g) 85671 53.03.09 Insana Utara Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Insana Utara Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5305041) (North Insana) 53.848,69710,16611,115Wini 5 (h) 85674 53.03.20 Insana Barat Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Insana Barat Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5305042) (West Insana) 102.008,87910,66011,808Mamsena 12 (i) 85670 53.03.21 Insana Tengah Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Insana Tengah Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5305043) (Central Insana) 124.009,17110,49111,350Maubesi 7 (j) 85673 53.03.19 Insana Fafinesu Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Insana Fafinesu Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5305044) 52.884,9685,8986,498Loel 685672 Totals Insana Sector665.8049,79358,21163,656 47 53.03.03 Biboki Selatan Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Biboki Selatan Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5305050) (South Biboki) 164.178,6679,3939,898Manufui 8 (k) 85680 53.03.22 Biboki Tanpah Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Biboki Tanpah Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5305051) 99.155,3345,6205,841Oenopu 485684 53.03.23 Biboki Moenleu Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Biboki Moenleu Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5305052) 85.787,0348,0218,665Kaubele 785681 53.03.06 Biboki Utara Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Biboki Utara Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5305060) (North Biboki) 138.7010,25511,26911,956Lurasik 10 (m) 85683 53.03.07 Biboki Anleu Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Biboki Anleu Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5305061) 206.4014,84617,12818,609Ponu 9 (n) 85613 53.03.24 Biboki Feotleu Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Biboki Feotleu Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5305062) 124.703,9464,2544,472Manumean 585682 Totals Biboki Sector818.9050,08255,68559,441 43 Totals for Regency2,669.70229,803259,829279,637 Kefamenanu193
Notes: (a) including two kelurahan - Eban and Sallu. (b) Mutis District forms a geographical salient from the rest of the Regency, bordering on the Oecusse exclave of Timor Leste to the north and east, and Kupang Regency and South Central Timor Regency to the west and southwest, with only a short connection to the rest of North Central Timor Regency to the southeast, through West Miomaffo District; it includes Mount Mutis (2,127m), the highest peak in Timor. (c) including two kelurahan - Bitefa and Oesena. (d) comprising five kelurahan (Fatumuti, Kiuola, Oenak, Nifuboke and Noemuti) and seven desa. (e) including two kelurahan - Oelami and Tublopo. (f) all nine are kelurahan (Aplasi, Bansone, Benpasi, Kefamenanu Selatan, Kefamenanu Tengah, Kefamenanu Utara, Maubeli, Sasi and Tubuhue). (g) comprising five kelurahan (Ainiut, Bitauni, Fatoin, Manunain A and Nunmafo) and twelve desa. (h) including one kelurahan - Humusu C. (i) including one kelurahan - Atmen. (j) including one kelurahan - Maubesi. (k) including two kelurahan - Supun Up and Faon. (m) including two kelurahan - Boronubaen and Boronubaen Timur. (n) including one kelurahan - Ponu.
Local government
North Central Timor Regency is a second-level administrative division equivalent to a city. The regency is headed by a regent, who is democratically elected. The regent directly appoints heads of districts with the recommendation of the regency secretary. Executive power lies with the regent and vice-regent, and legislative function is exercised by the regency's parliament.
Politics