Southwest Maluku

Southwest Maluku Regency is a regency of Maluku Province, Indonesia. Geographically it forms the most eastern portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, although it has never been administratively included with them, and politically has always comprised a part of the Maluku Province. It comprises a number of islands and island groups in the south of the province, including (running from west to east) Lirang Island, Wetar Island (with almost half of the total land area of the regency), Kisar Island, Romang Island, the Letti Islands, the Damer Islands, Mdona Hyera (formerly called the Sermata Islands) and the Babar Islands. The total land area is 8,633.15 km2, and the population was 70,714 at the 2010 Census and 81,928 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2022 was 82,560. The administrative centre lies at Tiakur on Moa Island (in the Letti Islands), but the largest town is Wonreli (on Kisar Island). These islands were originally part of Maluku Tenggara Regency within Maluku, and then from 4 October 1999 part of Maluku Tenggara Barat Regency when that was created, but from 24 June 2008 became a separate regency within Maluku. Administrative Districts As at 2010 the Southwest Maluku Regency was administratively composed of eight districts (kecamatan). But by 2015 the number of districts had increased to seventeen by the splitting of existing districts; Pulau Pulau Wetar (the Wetar Islands) has been divided into four districts - Wetar, Wetar Barat (West Wetar), Wetar Timur (East Wetar) and Wetar Utara (North Wetar); the other six newly created districts are Dawelor Dawera and Pulau Masela (Masela Island) formed from parts of Babar Timur District, Kepulauan Romang (Romang Islands) and Kisar Utara (North Kisar) formed from parts of Pulau Pulau Terselatan District, Pulau Lakor (Lakor Island) formed from part of Moa Lakor District, and Pulau Wetang (Wetang Island) formed from part of Pulau Pulau Babar District.