Paser Regency (; ) is the southernmost regency in the East Kalimantan province of Indonesia. It was created on 26 June 1959 from the northern parts of Kotabaru Regency. It was previously known as Pasir Regency until its renaming on 22 August 2007. Its northeastern districts were split off on 10 April 2002 to form the new Penajam North Paser Regency. The residual regency covers an area of 11,603.94 km2, and it had a population of 230,316 at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 275,452 at the 2020 Census;Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. the official estimate as at mid 2025 was 315,033 (comprising 49.134% males and 50.866% females).Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 27 February 2026, Kabupaten Paser Dalam Angka 2026 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.6401) Its administrative centre is the town of Tana Paser (or Tanah Grogot).
History
On 26 June 1959, Pasir was first established as a regency in East Kalimantan, after being separated from Kotabaru in South Kalimantan, for "historic and social-economic reasons". At the time of its formation, it originally consisted of four districts as mentioned: Central Pasir, North Pasir (not to be confused with Penajam North Paser), Pasir Hulu, and South Pasir. Meanwhile, it largely inherited the borders from , with the exception of parts south of modern East Kalimantan–South Kalimantan border (still part of Kotabaru till this day). Little are known the archives relating to its separation from South Kalimantan.
Twenty-eight years later, on 13 October 1987, Pasir annexed the district of Penajam, then known as Balikpapan Seberang. Four northeastern districts, namely Penajam, Sepaku (created in 1996), Waru, and Babulu (also created in 1996), were later separated on 10 April 2002 to form Penajam North Paser. On 22 August 2007, Pasir was officially renamed to Paser by the regional government.
Boundaries North : West Kutai Regency and Penajam North Paser Regency East : Makassar Strait South : Kota Baru Regency West : Balangan Regency, Tabalong Regency, and North Barito Regency
Administrative districts Following the separation of the districts in the northeast to form the new Penajam North Paser Regency on 10 April 2002, the residual Paser Regency is now divided into ten districts (kecamatan), tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census and the 2020 Census, together with the official estimates as of mid 2025.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 27 February 2026, Kabupaten Paser Dalam Angka 2026 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.6401) The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of administrative villages in each district (totalling 5 urban kelurahan and 139 rural desa), and its postal codes.
Proposals have been under consideration for the existing regency to be split in two, with separate regencies being formed for South Paser and for Central Paser. The proposed South Paser Regency () would comprise five districts in the south and west (specifically Batu Sopang, Muara Komam, Muara Samu, Batu Engau and Tanjung Harapan) with its capital at Batu Sopang, a combined area of 5,941.34 km2 and a population of 86,886 as at mid 2025. The proposed Central Paser Regency () would comprise five districts in the centre and east (specifically Long Kali, Long Ikis, Kuaro, Tanah Grogot and Pasir Belonglong) with its capital at Kuaro, a combined area of 5,662.60 km2 and a population of 228,147 as at mid 2025.
Kode Wilayah Name ofDistrict(kecamatan) Area in km2 Pop'n Census2010 Pop'n Census 2020 Pop'n Estimate mid 2025AdmincentreNo.ofvillages Postcode 64.01.01 Batu Sopang Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Batu Sopang Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.6401010) 1,111.3822,54026,86730,817Batu Kajang976252 64.01.10 Muara Samu Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Muara Samu Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.6401011) 855.254,2216,8558,242Muser976250 64.01.09 Batu Engau Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Batu Engau Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.6401021) 1,507.2611,66216,96922,123Kerang1376261 64.01.02 Tanjung Harapan (a) Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Tanjung Harapan Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.6401022) 714.057,7208,85610,946Tanjung Aru776260 64.01.03 Paser Belengkong Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Paser Belengkong Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.6401030) 990.1123,54328,59532,298Pasir Belengkong1576271 64.01.04 Tanah Grogot (b) Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Tanah Grogot Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.6401040) 335.5863,31176,34488,841Tanah Grogot(c) 1776251 64.01.05 KuaroBadan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Kuaro Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.6401050) 747.3023,93429,18832,572Kuaro(c) 1476281 64.01.06 Long Ikis (d) Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Long Ikis Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.6401060) 1,204.2236,70141,14744,993Long Ikis(c) 2776282 64.01.07 Muara KomamBadan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Muara Komam Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.6401070) 1,753.4012,45913,05614,758Muara Koman(c) 1476253 64.01.08 Long Kali Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Long Kali Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.6401080) 2,385.3924,22527,57529,443Long Kali(c) 2476283 Totals 11,603.94230,316275,452315,033Tanah Grogot144
Note: (a) including the offshore islands of Pulau Batukapal, Pulau Burung and Pulau Merayap. (b) including the offshore islands of Pulau Rantau Besar and Pulau Rantau Kecil ("Great and Little Rantau Islands"). (c) includes one urban kelurahan - the district admin centre (the rest being desa). (d) including the offshore island of Pulau Bansik.
Climate Tana Paser has a tropical rainforest climate (Af) with moderate rainfall in August and September and heavy to very heavy rainfall in the remaining months.
References