Nusa Laut

Nusa Laut Island
Nusa Laut Island is located in Maluku
Nusa Laut Island
Nusa Laut Island
Geography
LocationOceania
Coordinates3°40′6″S 128°47′11″E / 3.66833°S 128.78639°E / -3.66833; 128.78639
ArchipelagoMaluku Islands
Area32.50 km2 (12.55 sq mi)
Highest elevation358 m (1175 ft)
Administration
ProvinceMaluku
RegencyCentral Maluku
Demographics
Population5,437 (mid 2023 estimate)
Pop. density176.7/km2 (457.7/sq mi)
LanguagesAmbonese Malay, Indonesian, Nusa Laut
Additional information
Time zone

Nusa Laut (also called Pulau Nusahulawano or Pulau Emas) is the smallest of the three inhabited island in the Lease Islands group situated east of Ambon Island, in Indonesia's Maluku province. It lies just off the south-western corner of Saparua island, separated from it by a deep channel. The island's coasts are fringed by a drying reef.[1]

Nusa Laut covers a land area of 32.5 km2 and had a population of 5,322 at the 2010 Census[2] and 5,780 at the 2020 Census;[3] the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 5,437 inhabitants.[4] live in seven villages - Leinitu, Sila, Nalahia and Ameth in the north of the island, and Titawaai, Abubu and Akoon in the south of the island - all sharing the postcode of 97518. They speak the Nusa Laut language, as well as Indonesian and Ambonese Malay.[5]

Kode
Wilayah
Name
of
desa
Area
in
km2
Pop'n
Estimate
mid 2023[6]
81.01.16.2001 Ameth 5.75 595
81.01.16.2002 Titawaai 6.00 1,453
81.01.16.2003 Abubu 4.25 1,849
81.01.16.2004 Akoon 4.75 745
81.01.16.2005 Nalahia 5.25 492
81.01.16.2006 Sila 3.00 286
81.01.16.2007 Leinitu 3.50 277

Nusa Laut has an all-Christian population and has been spared the 1999–2000 riots plaguing the rest of the region. Its villages have many colonial style houses and churches, two of which compete for the title of being the oldest church in Maluku. There is also an old fort - the Dutch East India Company's Fort Beverwijk.

Visitors come to the island for its beaches and to dive off the reefs of Ameth - reputedly one of the best dive spots in the Lease Islands.[7]

  1. ^ Pub164, 2004 Sailing Directions (Enroute): New Guinea
  2. ^ Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011.
  3. ^ Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021.
  4. ^ Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2024, Kabupaten Maluku Tengah Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.8101)
  5. ^ Nusa Laut - Ethnologue
  6. ^ Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2024, Kecamatan Nusa Laut Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.8103081)
  7. ^ Muller, Dr. Kal (1990). Spice Islands: The Moluccas. Periplus Editions. ISBN 0-945971-07-9