This page is a short summary containing more general information about the province of West Nusa Tenggara. Extensive information on West Nusa Tenggara can be found in the directories 'Nusa Tenggara' and 'Lombok' on this website.
Location map of West Nusa Tenggara.
West Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Barat) is a province in south-central Indonesia. It covers the western portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, except for Bali.
The two largest islands in the province are Lombok in the west and the larger Sumbawa island in the east. Mataram, on Lombok, is the capital and largest city of the province. The province is administratively divided into six regencies (kabupaten) and one municipality (kotamadya):
Bima
Dompu
West Lombok
Central Lombok
East Lombok
Sumbawa
West Sumbawa
Bima (municipality)
Lombok is mainly inhabited by the Sasak ethnic group, with a minority Balinese population, and Sumbawa is inhabited by Sumbawa and Bima ethnic groups. Each of these groups has a local language associated with it as well. The population of the province is 3.821.134; 71 percent of the population lives in Lombok (2000 census).
A 2002 United Nations Development Programme report classified West Nusa Tenggara as the least-developed province in Indonesia.