Map of Sumatera Utara

History

Archaeological understanding of early North Sumatran peoples is limited compared to that of other nearby regions. Prehistoric relics in North Sumatra show that the oldest population may have been Austronesian or Melanesian. Archaeological evidence indicates that their dispersal took place in the Mesolithic era (Middle Stone Age). They spread to the eastern part of Indonesia, to the island of Papua, and to the west, to North Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. Early peoples in North Sumatra consumed mostly snails and clams, leaving large shell deposits sometimes referred to as kjokkenmoddinger (kitchen waste), some of which are still found as hills in Saentis, Hinai, Tanjung Beringin, along the Deli-Langkat shore, and on riverbanks.

Geography

The province of North Sumatra stretches across the island of Sumatra, between the Indian Ocean and the Strait of Malacca, with an area of 72,437.755 km2. It borders the province of Aceh to the northwest and Riau and West Sumatra to the southeast. The province contains a broad, low plain along the Strait of Malacca on which the provincial capital, Medan, is located. In the south and west, the land rises to the Bukit Barisan mountain range that runs the length of Sumatra; the mountains here surround Lake Toba, which was formed from the caldera of an ancient volcano. Several large islands in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Sumatra are currently part of North Sumatra, most notably Nias Island and the Batu Islands.

There are 419 islands in North Sumatra.

Economy

North Sumatra is rich in natural resources such as natural gas in the area of Tandem, Binjai and petroleum in Pangkalan Brandan, Langkat which has been explored since the days of the Dutch East Indies. Besides that, in Kuala Tanjung, Asahan, there is the company named PT Inalum (abbreviated from Indonesia Aluminium) that is engaged in ore mining and smelting of aluminium which is the only one in Southeast Asia.

The rivers that disgorge from the mountains around Lake Toba are also a natural resource that has enough potential to become an exploited resource for hydroelectric power plants. Asahan hydropower, which is the largest hydroelectric power plant on Sumatra Island, is located at Porsea in Toba Samosir Regency.

Demographics

North Sumatra recorded a population of 12,985,075 in the 2010 national census, making it the 4th most populous province in Indonesia, with a sex ratio of 99.59 men per 100 women. The 2015 Intermediate census gave a total of 13,923,262, while the 2020 census gave a total of 14,799,361, and the official estimate for mid-2025 was 15,785,839 The mid-2025 total comprised 7,922,846 males and 7,862,993 females, giving a sex ratio of 100.76 men per 100 women.