Meranti Islands (Kepulauan Meranti) is an archipelago, most of which forms a regency (kabupaten) of Riau Province and lies off the eastern coast of the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. It was created on 19 December 2008 by the separating of these large islands from the mainly mainland regency of Bengkalis. The regency comprises the islands of Tebing Tinggi, Rangsang, Padang, and Merbau, together with minor offshore islands, but does not include Bengkalis Island to the north, which is geographically part of the archipelago but remains within Bengkalis Regency. The principal town is Selat Panjang (also written as Selatpanjang) on Tebing Tinggi Island. The regency covers a land area of 3,144.18 km2 and had a population of 176,290 at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 206,116 at the 2020 Census;Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. the official estimate as of mid 2025 was 212,289 (comprising 109,307 males and 102,916 females).Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 27 February 2026, Kabupaten Kepulauan Meranti Dalam Angka 2026 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1410) Administrative districts When created in 2008, the regency was divided into five districts (kecamatan), listed below with their populations at the 2010 Census:Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. Name ofDistrict(kecamatan) English name Pop'nCensus2010 Tebing Tinggi Barat Western Tebing Tinggi Island 15,260 Tebing Tinggi (Eastern) Tebing Tinggi Island 65,748 Rangsang (Eastern) Rangsang Island 26,526 Rangsang Barat Western Rangsang Island 24,926 Merbau Merbau and Padang Islands 44,030
On 26 January 2011, the regency was re-divided into nine districts. The additional four districts are Tebing Tinggi Timur (East Tebing Tinggi Island, leaving the residual area of Tebing Tinggi District to cover the town of Selat Panjang and its surroundings), Rangsang Pesisir (Coastal Rangsang, actually the central part of that island), Pulau Merbau (Merbau Island, leaving the residual area of Merbau District to cover the southern part of Padang Island) and Tasik Putri Puyu (covering the northern part of Padang Island). The areas and the populations of the nine districts at the 2020 Census,Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. together with the official estimates as of mid 2025,Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 27 February 2026, Kabupaten Kepulauan Meranti Dalam Angka 2026 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1410) are as follows. The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of administrative villages in each district (totaling 96 rural desa and 5 urban kelurahan), and its postcode.
Kode Wilayah Name ofDistrict(kecamatan) Area in km2 Pop'n2020CensusPop'nmid 2025Estimate Admin centre No. ofvillagesPostcode 14.10.04 Tebing Tinggi Barat Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Tebing Tinggi Barat Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1410010) 489.8718,38219,688Alai 14 28758 14.10.01 Tebing Tinggi (town) Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Tebing Tinggi Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1410020) 89.4567,21966,260Selat Panjang 9 (a) 28753 14.10.07 Tebing Tinggi Timur Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Tebing Tinggi Timur Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1410021) 637.6113,29314,321Sungai Tohor 10 28754 Sub-totals for Tebing Tinggi Island 1,216.93 99,851 100,269 33 14.10.03 Rangsang Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Rangsang Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1410030)319.7720,12320,797Tanjung Samak 14 28755 14.10.09 Rangsang Pesisir Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Rangsang Pesisir Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1410031) (Coastal Rangsang)198.1218,85319,828Telesung 11 28757 14.10.02 Rangsang Barat Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Rangsang Barat Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1410040) 95.6519,48820,248Bantar 12 28756 Sub-totals for Rangsang Island 613.54 58,464 60,873 37 14.10.05 Merbau Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Merbau Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1410050) 534.0415,30516,055Teluk Belitung 10 (b) 28752 14.10.06 Pulau Merbau Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Pulau Merbau Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1410051) 216.0715,82417,141Semukut 11 28750 14.10.08 Tasik Putri Puyu Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2024, Kecamatan Tasik Putri Puyu Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1410052) 563.6017,62917,951Bandul 10 28751 Totals for Regency 3,144.18 206,116 212,289 Selatpanjang 101
Notes: (a) comprising 4 kelurahan (Selat Panjang Barat, Selat Panjang Kota, Selat Panjang Selatan and Selat Panjang Timur) - with 42,723 inhabitants altogether in 2023 - and 5 desa. (b) including one kelurahan - Teluk Belitung - with 5,062 inhabitants in 2023.
The island of Tebing Tinggi comprises three districts - Tebing Tinggi itself in the centre of its north coast, Tebing Tinggi Barat in the west of the island and Tebing Tinggi Timur in the east. The island of Rangsang is also composed of three districts - Rangsang Barat in the west, Rangsang Pesisir in the centre (in spite of its name!) and Rangsang in the east (including smaller islands off its southeast end). Padang Island is composed of two districts - Tasik Putri Puyu in the north and Merbau in the south (note Merbau District is now entirely on Padang Island and does not contain any part of Merbau Island). Merbau Island (Pulau Merbau) is identical with the district of that name.
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