Bengkalis, Riau Province, Sumatra, Indonesia

🇮🇩 Bengkalis (Kota Bengkalis) is a large town and the seat (capital) of Bengkalis Regency. in the Riau province of Indonesia It is located on the south coast of Bengkalis Island.

Regency Bengkalis Regency is a regency of Indonesia in Riau Province. The regency was originally established in 1956 and then included most of the northern part of the province, but on 4 October 1999 it was divided up, with most of the territory being split off to form the new Rokan Hilir Regency, Siak Regency and the city of Dumai. On 19 December 2008 a further five districts were removed to create the new Meranti Islands Regency, leaving eight districts (or kecamatan) in the Bengkalis Regency. These eight districts has increased since 2010 to eleven by the splitting of existing districts on the Sumatran mainland.

Bengkalis Regency produces natural resources, particularly petroleum, rubber, and coconut. The southern part of this regency contains a large part of the Bukit Batu Biosphere Reserve.

Geography Bengkalis Regency comprises the whole of Bengkalis Island and Rupat Island, which are located in the Straits of Malacca, together with a wide swathe of the eastern coastal area of Sumatra Island and stretching inland along the drainage area of the Siak River, as well as including other islands within the archipelago to its north-east. The land area covers 8,612.56 km² and it borders on the Malacca Straits to the north, on Siak Regency to the south, on the Meranti Islands Regency to the south-east, and on Dumai City, Rokan Hilir Regency and Rokan Hulu Regency to the west. The administrative centre is the town of Bengkalis on the south coast of the island of the same name.

The Bengkalis Strait separates Bengkalis Island from Sumatra as well as from Padang Island and Tebing Tinggi Island.

Population Following the splitting in 2008 of the regency to create a new Meranti Islands Regency, the residual area of Bengkalis Regency had a population of 498,336 at the 2010 census and 565,569 at the 2020 census; the official estimate as of mid 2024 was 591,800 (comprising 302,838 males and 288,962 females).

Administrative districts There are eleven districts (kecamatan) currently forming the regency and a total of 136 rural desa and 19 urban kelurahan).