Morowali Regency

Morowali Regency is a regency of Central Sulawesi Province of Indonesia. It covers a land area of 5,472 km². The districts currently within the regency had a combined population of 102,228 at the 2010 Census; the regency population at the 2020 Census was 161,727; and with rapid growth in the regency's population in recent years the official estimate as at mid 2024 was 198,968. The administrative centre is at the town of Bungku. The Regency includes the far-flung Menui Islands, lying to the southeast of the rest of the province.

History

Before Dutch rule, the region comprising what is today Morowali was the territory of the Kingdom of Bungku. After Dutch annexation, it was administered as the landschap of Boengkoe. On 4 October 1999, Morowali Regency was created out of a portion of Poso Regency. At that time it was composed of the southeastern fourteen districts from the Poso Regency.
On 12 April 2013 this Morowali Regency was in turn divided into two Regencies; the seven northernmost districts were split off to form a new North Morowali Regency covering nearly two-thirds of the area of the then Morowali Regency, while the seven southernmost districts were retained as the residual Morowali Regency, although two additional districts were created by the division of existing ones.

Economy

Morowali Regency contains rich deposits of high-quality nickel, a vital material needed to manufacture lithium batteries. Starting in the 2010s and into the 2020s, the thriving nickel industry in Morowali has resulted in a large increase in the region's GDP, but the expansion of the extraction industry has also caused environmental degradation. From 2014 to 2020, over US$6.5 billion in foreign direct investment has flowed into the construction of nickel smelters and other downstream processing activities in Morowali Regency. Morowali is the site of an industrial park, the Morowali Industrial Park, specifically earmarked for refining activities. In Morowali, GDP more than tripled in just six years from Rp 6.9 trillion in 2013 to Rp 24.3 trillion in 2019, almost all of it driven by investment in downstream nickel processing. As of 2021, the largest foreign investors were American, Chinese, and Japanese companies, while the government of Indonesia is attempting to build a domestic battery industry.
The growth of this facility has resulted in the rapid expansion in the population, particularly in Bahodopi District where the mine is situated. The increased workforce migrating into the area has been largely male, resulting in a substantively high gender ratio in the regency.

Administrative districts

The Morowali Regency was divided into seven districts, but two further districts were later created. These are all tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census and 2020 Census, together with the official estimates as at mid 2024. The table also includes the location of the district headquarters, the numbers of administrative villages in each district, and its postal codes.

Kode Wilayah	Name of District	Area in km²	Pop'n Census 2010	Pop'n Census 2020	Pop'n Estimate mid 2024	Admin centre	No. of villages	Post codes
	Sombori Kepulauan	267.78			6,460	Tanjung Harapan	13	94975
72.06.07	Menui Kepulauan	127.65	12,064	13,232	9,636	Ulunambo	14	94975
72.06.06	Bungku Selatan	232.10	17,273	13,914	14,869	Kaleroang	23	94979
72.06.10	Bahodopi	1,080.98	6,594	37,322	45,434	Bahodopi	12	94974
72.06.15	Bungku Pesisir	867.29		6,625	8,467	Lafeu	10	94981
72.06.05	Bungku Tengah	725.57	27,774	29,302	36,385	Marsaoleh	19	94973
72.06.18	Bungku Timur	387.23		12,061	15,341	Kolono	10	94980
72.06.08	Bungku Barat	758.93	10,093	14,061	21,064	Wosu	10	94977
72.06.09	Bumi Raya	504.77	11,488	14,524	17,648	Bahonsuai	13	94976
72.06.12	Witaponda	519.70	16,942	20,686	23,664	Laantula Jaya	9	94978
	Totals	5,472.00	102,228	161,727	198,968		133

Notes: the Sombori Islands District was formed in 2022 from part of Menui Islands District plus part of South Bungku District.
the 2010 and 2020 Census populations are included in the figures for Menui Islands and South Bungku Districts, from which they were taken.
until 2022 this was partly on Sulawesi island, but is now reduced to the island group to the southeast of the rest of the province. The largest are Menui Island and the two Padui Islands. including one kelurahan.
until 2022 this included a group of islands off the northeast coast of Bungku Selatan, of which the largest are Umbele, Paku, Waru-Waru and Pado-Pado. These have now been removed to the newly-formed district of that name.
the 2010 populations of Bungku Pesisir District and Bungku Timur District are included in the figures for the Districts from which they were cut out in 2013.
including 6 kelurahan.