Bangka-Belitung Islands is a province of Indonesia, which includes two main islands, Bangka and Belitung, and several smaller ones that lie from the east of Sumatra to the northeast of South Sumatra province. The Bangka Strait separates Sumatra and Bangka, and the Gaspar Strait separates Bangka and Belitung. The South China Sea is to the north, the Java Sea is to the south, and Borneo to the east is separated from Belitung by the Karimata Strait.

The province was formerly part of South Sumatra, but became a separate province along with Banten and Gorontalo in 2000. In 2004 its population was 1,012,655. The capital is Pangkal Pinang.

These islands have significant mining (the largest producers of tin in Indonesia). They also produce white pepper CPO etc.

Bangka Belitung also has many beaches and smaller islands which have attracted tourists from around the world. The famous beaches are Matras beach, Parai beach, Tanjung Pesona beach, Batu Bedaun beach, Remodong beach, Pasir Padi Beach, Tanjung Kelian Beach, Rebo beach, Telok Uber Beach and many others.

Bangka-Belitung is divided into six regencies (kabupaten) and 1 city (kota):

• Bangka (regency seat: Sungailiat (town))
• West Bangka (regency seat: Muntok)
• South Bangka (regency seat: Toboali)
• Central Bangka (regency seat: Koba)
• Belitung (regency seat : Tanjung Pandan)
• East Belitung (regency seat: Manggar)
• Pangkal Pinang (city)

Further reading

• Somers Heidhues, Mary F.(1992)Bangka tin and Mentok pepper : Chinese settlement on an Indonesian island Singapore : Social Isuues in Southeast Asia, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ISBN 9813035994

ar:?????? - ??????? ca:Bangka-Belitung da:Bangka-Belitung de:Bangka-Belitung fr:Bangka-Belitung ko:????? ?? id:Kepulauan Bangka Belitung it:Bangka-Belitung jv:Kapuloan Bangka-Belitung pam:Bangka-Belitung lt:Bankos-Belitungo salos ms:Kepulauan Bangka Belitung nl:Banka-Billiton ja:?????????? pl:Wyspy Bangka i Belitung pt:Bangka-Belitung ru:??????-???????? su:Kapuloan Bangka Belitung fi:Bangka-Belitung sv:Bangka-Belitung vi:Bangka-Belitung zh:??-???

---

Source: Wikipedia | The above article is available under the GNU FDL. | Edit this article