Bengkulu

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Bengkulu
Province
Province of Bengkulu
Coat of arms
Nickname(s):  Bumi Rafflesia (Indonesian) Land of Rafflesia
Motto(s):  Sekundang Setungguan Seio Sekato (Bengkulu) (Many hands make the works lighter)
Bengkulu in    Indonesia
OpenStreetMap
Established	18 November 1968
Capital and largest city	Bengkulu
Government
• Body	Bengkulu Provincial Government
• Governor	Rohidin Mersyah (Golkar)
• Vice Governor	Rosjonsyah Syahili [id]
Area
• Total	19,919.33 km2 (7,690.90 sq mi)
• Rank	28th in Indonesia
Highest elevation (Mount Patah)	2,852 m (9,357 ft)
Population  (mid 2023 estimate)
• Total	2,086,006
• Rank	26th in Indonesia
• Density	100/km2 (270/sq mi)
	[1]
Demographics
• Ethnic groups	60% Rejangese 22% Javanese 18% Lembak/Serawai 5% Chinese 4.4% Pasemah 4.3% Minangkabau 8.6 other[2]
• Religion	95% Islam 4% Christianity 1% other
• Languages	Indonesian (official) Rejangese, Javanese, Serawai, Lembak, etc.
Time zone	UTC+7 (Indonesia Western Time)
HDI	0.727 (High)[3]
HDI rank	18th in Indonesia (2023)[4]
Website	bengkuluprov.go.id

Bengkulu (Indonesian pronunciation: [bəŋˈkulu]), historically known as Bencoolen, is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the southwest coast of Sumatra. It was formed on 18 November 1968 by separating out the area of the historic Bencoolen Residency from the province of South Sumatra under Law No. 9 of 1967 and was finalized by Government Regulation No. 20 of 1968. Spread over 20,130.21 km², it is bordered by the provinces of West Sumatra to the north, Jambi to the northeast, Lampung to the southeast, and South Sumatra to the east, and by the Indian Ocean to the northwest, south, southwest, and west.

Bengkulu is the 28th largest province by area; it is divided into nine regencies and the city of Bengkulu, the capital and the only independent city. Bengkulu is also the 26th largest province by population in Indonesia, with 1,715,518 inhabitants at the 2010 Census^[5] and 2,010,670 at the 2020 Census;^[6] the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 2,086,006 (comprising 1,065,992 males and 1,020,014 females).^[1] According to a release by Badan Pusat Statistik, it has the eleventh highest Human Development Index among the provinces, with a score of about 0.744 in 2013. By 2014, the province is positioned 28th highest in gross domestic product and 20th highest in life expectancy, 70.35 years.

Bengkulu also includes offshore Mega Island and Enggano Island in the Indian Ocean. Bengkulu has 525 kilometres of coastline along the Indian Ocean on its western side, from Dusun Baru Pelokan in Mukomuko Regency to Tebing Nasal in Kaur Regency. Bengkulu has many natural resources such as coal and gold, and has big and potential geothermal resources.^[7][8] However, it is less developed than other provinces in Sumatra.