Alor Island


Alor is the largest island in the Alor Archipelago and is one of the 92 officially listed outlying islands of Indonesia. It is located at the eastern end of the Lesser Sunda Islands chain that runs through southeastern Indonesia, which from the west include such islands as Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Komodo, and Flores.
To the east of the island across the Ombai Strait lie the islands of Wetar and Atauro, the latter belonging to East Timor. To the south, across the Strait of Alor, lies the western part of Timor. To the north lies the Banda Sea. To the west lies Pantar and the other islands of the Alor archipelago, and further yet the rest of the Sunda Islands.
Alor Island, as well as the rest of its archipelago, is part of East Nusa Tenggara province.

Geography

Alor has an area of about 2,125 km2, making it the largest island of the Alor archipelago. Kalabahi is the only town on the island of Alor, with an estimated population of 19,210 in mid 2023. The variety of goods obtainable in Kalabahi is surprising considering its size and location. The 2010 census recorded the population of the island as 145,299 out of 190,000 in the regency. The 2020 census produced a total of 163,377, and the official estimate as at mid 2024 was 174,150.
Alor is of volcanic origin and has very rugged terrain. The main part of the island is mountainous, but there is a prominent peninsula along its north coast which includes the main town of Kalabahi; the peninsula encompasses the administrative districts of Alor Barat Laut and Kabola, plus the northern half of the Mutiara Bay District. This peninsula is called the Bird's Head. The region near Kalabahi is the only flat area. This may be why the Dutch chose the location as the capital and main harbor in 1911.
On 12 November 2004, an earthquake occurred, killing 34 people, and injuring 400. The shock had a moment magnitude of 7.5 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII.

Administration

Alor Island comprises twelve of the eighteen districts of the Alor Regency, as follows, with the official estimates as at mid 2023. The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of administrative villages in each district and 16 urban kelurahan, and its post code.
Kode
Wilayah		Name of
District
English nameArea
in
km2		Pop'n
census
2010		Pop'n
census
2020		Pop'n
estimate
mid 2024		Admin
centre		No.
of
villages		Post
codes
53.05.03Alor Barat DayaSouthwest Alor265.5921,53018,32719,818Moru13 85861
53.05.12Mataru102.775,5826,0436,341Kalunan785860
53.05.18Abad SelatanSouth Abad182.386,2836,567Tribur785861
53.05.04Alor SelatanSouth Alor192.988,8869,92910,548Apui14 85871
53.05.05Alor TimurEast Alor562.767,5058,6099,239Maritaing10 85870
53.05.08Alor Timur LautNortheast Alor208.488,6009,1179,490Bukapiting885873
53.05.13Pureman147.883,4713,5613,660Peitoko485874
53.05.01Teluk Mutiara Mutiara Bay80.1848,41053,33956,356Kalabahi16 85811
- 85819
53.05.10Kabola 73.017,3268,3858,991Wolibang5 85819
53.05.02Alor Barat Laut Northwest Alor107.9618,76522,96125,265Kokar19 85851
53.05.07Alor Tengah UtaraNorth Central Alor125.1410,91912,32213,140Alim Mebung1485870
53.05.15Lembur75.794,1314,5014,735Alemba685875
AlorTotal Alor Island2,124.92145,125163,377174,150Kalabahi123

Notes: includes just the northern part of Pantar Island. includes the kelurahan of Kabir. includes offshore islands of Pulau Kura and uninhabited Batang and Lapang.
includes offshore Pulau Treweng. includes offshore islands of Pulau Kangge and uninhabited Kambing, Rusa and Tikus. including the kelurahan of Moru.
the 2010 population of the new Abad Selatan District is included with the figure for Alor Barat Daya District, from which it was subsequently split off in 2020.
including the kelurahan of Kelaisi Timur. including the kelurahan of Kolana Utara.
including the town of Kalabahi, and neighbouring rural desa on both sides of Mutiara Bay, plus uninhabited Pulau Kapas.
comprises 10 kelurahan and 6 desa.
includes the uninhabited offshore islands of Sika and Nub. includes the kelurahan of Kabola. apart from villages of Alila Timur and Lawahing.
includes the offshore islands of Pulau Kepa, Pulau Buaya and uninhabited Pulau Ternate. includes the kelurahan'' of Adang.

Economy

The island's infrastructure is only weakly built. The inhabitants practice mainly subsistence agriculture. In the villages, vanilla, tamarind, almonds and other nuts are cultivated. In the forests sandalwood is cut down for trade.
The latest geological explorations have discovered valuable resources such as gypsum, kaolin, petroleum, natural gas, tin, gold, and diamonds. Alor's snorkelling and diving may promise an increase in tourism in the future. Alor hosts some of the most healthy and diverse corals in Indonesia and has areas of black volcanic sand for specialized scuba diving interests.

Religion

211,872 people lived on Alor and Pantar in 2020, of whom 163,377 were on Alor itself; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 171,275. 68.46% were Protestants, 25.65% Muslims and 3.04% Roman Catholics. Animistic rites and traditions are still strongly practiced.

Language

The majority of the more than fifteen indigenous languages spoken on Alor belong to the Papuan family of Alor languages. These include Abui, Adang, Hamap, Kabola, Kafoa, Woisika, Kelon, and Kui. In addition, Alorese is a Malayo-Polynesian language which is spoken along the coast of the western and southern Bird's Head of Alor Island and in places on surrounding islands; it is a dialect of Lamaholot which is spoken in East Flores and the Solor Archipelago.
Many of the Papuan languages of Alor are endangered and are no longer being actively acquired by children. Some languages have fewer than 1000 speakers remaining. Significant linguistic documentation efforts have been undertaken recently by Leiden University. The language of daily communication is Alor Malay, a unique Malay variety with some similarities to Kupang Malay. Indonesian is taught in schools and used widely in media.

Transportation

Alor is served by Alor Mali Airport. The airport is small, and all incoming and outgoing flights are thus via Kupang Airport. Alor is serviced 3–4 times daily by both Wings Air and NAM Air. Flights originating in Bali, Surabaya or Jakarta with the final destination of Alor stop in Kupang to change planes. There are no direct services from Labuan Bajo, Ende, Maumere or Makassar.