Poso Regency is a regency of Central Sulawesi Province of Indonesia. It covers an area of 7,553.43 km2, and had a population of 209,228 at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 244,875 at the 2020 Census;Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. the official estimate as of mid-2025 was 256,672 (comprising 132,460 males and 124,212 females).Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 27 February 2026, Kabupaten Poso Dalam Angka 2026 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.7204) The principal town lies at Poso (with 47,592 inhabitants in mid 2024).
History The regency as created in 1959 covered a much larger area to the east. However, on 4 October 1999 the regency's south-eastern districts were split off to form a separate Morowali Regency, and on 18 December 2003 the regency's north-eastern districts were likewise split off to form a separate Tojo Una-Una Regency. In 2007 there were calls to divide the remaining Poso Regency into two regencies to overcome religious-based conflicts; one new regency in the southeastern and western sectors would by named Tentena Regency (comprising the first twelve kecamatan listed below), while the residual Poso Regency in the northeast sector (bordering the Gulf of Tomini) would consist of the last seven kecamatan listed below; however, this proposal was not enacted.
Geography Poso Regency is located within the folds of various mountain ranges, namely the Fennema and Toneba Mountains in the west, the Takolekaju Mountains in the southwest, the Verbeek Mountains in the southeast, and the Pompangeo and Lumut Mountains in the northeast.
Administrative districts At the time of the 2010 Census, the Poso Regency was divided at 2010 into eighteen districts (kecamatan), but an additional 19th district (Pamona Pusalemba) was subsequently added by splitting off the western and southern villages of Pamona Utara District. The districts are 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 Poso Dalam Angka 2026 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.7204) The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the numbers of rural and urban villages in each district (totalling 142 rural desa and 28 urban kelurahan), and its postal code.
Kode Wilayah Name ofDistrict(kecamatan) Area in km2 Pop'nCensus2010 Pop'nCensus2020 Pop'nestimatemid2025AdmincentreNo.ofvillagesPostcode 72.02.06 Pamona Selatan (South Pamona) 456.7918,37220,97722,694Pendolo1294664 72.02.20 Pamona Barat (West Pamona) 444.619,34410,21410,643Meko694662 72.02.26 Pamona Tenggara (Southeast Pamona) 309.346,4877,8888,091Korobono994665 72.02.27 Pamona Utara (North Pamona) 613.5730,19114,62815,098Sulewana10 (a)94667 72.02.04 Pamona Pusalemba 496.33(a)19,35720,050Tentena11 (b)94663 72.02.05 Pamona Timur (East Pamona) 602.179,53112,27113,049Taripa1394666 Sub-totals Southeast Sector 2,922.8173,92585,33589,625 61 72.02.09 Lore Selatan (South Lore) 646.535,6316,7747,095Gintu894655 72.02.23 Lore Barat (West Lore) 270.272,8213,1883,382Lengkeka694654 72.02.07 Lore Utara (North Lore) 573.6711,90215,65916,656Wuasa794658 72.02.08 Lore Tengah (Central Lore) 698.784,0334,9715,517Doda894656 72.02.24 Lore Timur (East Lore) 236.844,8776,6907,528Maholo594657 72.02.25 Lore Peore 405.622,9444,0154,500Watutau594653 Sub-totals Western Sector2,831.7132,20841,29744,678 39 72.02.02 Poso PesisirBadan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Poso Pesisir Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.7204040) (Coastal Poso) 286.3920,09822,28524,089Mapane16 (c)94652 72.02.19 Poso Pesisir Selatan (South Coastal Poso) 582.638,8429,91010,102Tangkura994650 72.02.18 Poso Pesisir Utara (North Coastal Poso) 440.0515,68117,42717,935Tambarana1094651 72.02.01 Poso KotaBadan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Poso Kota Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.7204070) (Poso Town) 14.2520,25024,14524,134Gebangrejo7 (d)94617- 94619 72.02.21 Poso Kota SelatanBadan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Poso Kota Selatan Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.7204072) (South Poso Town) 28.648,99210,40210,080Kawua5 (d)94613- 94619 72.02.22 Poso Kota UtaraBadan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Poso Kota Utara Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.7204071) (North Poso Town) 23.9111,05812,93013,595Lawanga7 (d)94611- 94616 72.02.03 Lage 442.8418,17421,14422,434Tagolu1694661 Sub-totals Northeast Sector 1,798.91103,095118,243122,369 70
Notes: (a) including 3 urban kelurahan (Petirodongi, Sawidago and Tendeadongi). (b) including 3 urban kelurahan (Pamona, Sangele and Tentena). (c) including 3 urban kelurahan (Mapane, Kasiguncu and Tabalu). (d) all 19 classed as urban kelurahan, comprising 7 in Poso Town (Gebangrejo, Kayamanya, Moengko Baru, Moengko Lama, Gebangrejo Barat, Gebangrejo Timur and Kayamanya Sentral), 5 in South Poso Town (Bukit Bambu, Kawua, Lembomawo, Ranononcu and Sayo) and 7 in North Poso Town (Bonesompe, Kasintuwu, Lawanga, Lawanga Tawongan, Lombogia, Madale and Tegalrejo).
Social Religions
The population of Poso Regency is made up of various ethnic groups, so it is considered a multicultural regency in Indonesia. The population is also quite diverse in religion. Data from the Ministry of Religion in 2020, around 60.80% (151,261 people) embraced Christianity. Poso Regency's Religious Office noted that the majority of the population in Poso in 2020 was Protestant, with the number of adherents stated to be as many as 147,899 inhabitants (59% of the population). This was followed by 83,597 Muslims (33.6%), 13,937 Hindus (5.6%), 3.362 Roman Catholics (1.35%) and 4 Buddhists, respectively. , the number of places of worship in Poso Regency consisted of 280 mosques, 690 Protestant churches, 26 Catholic churches and 102 Hindu temples.
Prior to colonial rule, the inhabitants of Poso Regency followed a traditional belief system known as Lamoa. Islam became the first prominent religion in Poso during the early 19th century when it was brought by the Mandarese people who settled in the To Kadombuku area (present-day Tomasa River region), although the exact means of their arrival remain unknown. The spread of Christianity in Poso began in the late 19th century with the arrival of Albert Christian Kruyt, a Dutch Calvinist missionary sent by the Netherlands Missionary Society (NZG) to initiate a mission. Following seventeen years of work, their efforts bore fruit when hundreds of To Pebato residents were baptized on Christmas Eve, 25 December 1909. Central Sulawesi Christian Church (GKST) is a church organization that was established on 18 October 1947 in Tentena. GKST serves Central, West and South Sulawesi. In 2006, 188,000 people were registered as members, and there were 376 congregations served by 625 priests.
Tourism Tambing Lake is located in Lore Lindu National Park, 3 hours drive from Palu and 100 meters away from Palu-Napu Road. In 2014, 3,000 foreign tourists visited Tambing Lake, which is known as Endemic Bird Paradise, with 30 percent of the 270 kinds of birds endemic.
Ecology
Sulawesi black Ebony, also known as diospyros celebica, naturally can be found in Central Sulawesi (Parigi, Poso, Donggala), South Sulawesi (Maros), West Sulawesi (Mamuju) and Maluku. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has issued their red list in 2000 and D. celebica belong to the category of vulnerable species, which means that ebony is at the limit of high risk for extinction in the wild (vulnerable to exploitation).
Most of the endemic fauna in Poso is located in the area of cultural and natural heritage, such as Lake Poso and Lore Lindu National Park. Whitten (1987), Maurice Kottelat, and L.R. Parenti states that there are several species of endemic biota that is only found in Lake Poso, such as Xenopoecilus poptae (Adrianichthys poptae); Adrianichthys kruyti, Weberogobius amadi and Nomorhamphus celebensis. Other endemic fish is Anguilla celebensis, Xenopoecilus sarasinorum, Xenopoecilus oophorus (adrianichthys oophorus), Adrianichthys roseni; gastropods such as Miratesta celebensis; and some small shrimp (Caridina sp).
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