Mentawai Islands Regency

The Mentawai Islands Regency are a chain of about seventy islands and islets approximately off the western coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. They cover 6,033.76 km2 and had a population of 76,173 at the 2010 Census and 87,623 at the 2020 Census. Siberut at is the largest of the islands. The other major islands are Sipura (or Sipora), North Pagai (Pagai Utara), and South Pagai (Pagai Selatan). The islands lie off the Sumatran coast, across the Mentawai Strait. The indigenous inhabitants of the islands are known as the Mentawai people. The Mentawai Islands have become a noted destination for surfing, with over 40 boats offering surf charters to international guests. The Mentawai Islands have been administered as a regency within the West Sumatra (Sumatera Barat) province since 1999. The regency seat is Tua Pejat, on the island of Sipora. Padang, the capital of the province, lies on the Sumatran mainland opposite Siberut. The regency is divided into ten districts (kecamatan), tabulated below from south to north with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census and the 2020 Census. The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of villages (rural desa and urban kelurahan) in each district, and its post code. Note: (a) Sikakap District covers the northern part of South Pagai Island and the southern part of North Pagai Island, plus some intervening small islands. Administrative villages (desa) listed for each district: Macaronis was first discovered in 1980 by pioneer surf discoverers Chris Goodnow, Scott Wakefield and Tony Fitzpatrick, who originally named the break ‘P-Land’ on their first visit (after Pasangan Bay / Pagai Islands). Amazingly, and considering the remote location, P-Land may in fact have been the first wave surfed in the Mentawai Islands. Lances Right was discovered a full 10 years later, while Chris, Scott, and Tony continued to keep their discovery a secret. They returned in 1981 with friend Tim Annand, and again on a boat trip in the 90’s.