Bangka Island is an island lying east of Sumatra, part of Indonesia. Population (1990) 626,955). Area: c.4,600 sq mi (11,910 km²).

Geography

Bangka lies just east of Sumatra, separated by the Bangka Strait ; to the north lies the South China Sea, to the east, across the Gaspar Strait , is the island of Belitung, and to the south is the Java Sea.

Pangkalpinang is the largest town and the capital of Bangka-Belitung, the city called LetKong was the second large city in Bangka island .There's one village called kampung Kim Hin lies in south of LetKong , this village Known for some kind of water called Arak,produces from decomposite rice. province; Muntok is the principal port.

Economy

Since c. 1710, Bangka has been one of the world's principal tin-producing centers. Tin production is an Indonesian government monopoly, and there is a smelter at Muntok. Pepper is also produced on the island.

Demographics

The majority of the inhabitants are Chinese, who are mostly employed as mine laborers.

History

Bangka was ceded to Britain by the sultan of Palembang in 1812, but in 1814 it was exchanged with the Dutch for Cochin in India. The island was occupied by the Japanese from 1942 to 1945. It became part of independent Indonesia in 1949. The island, together with neighboring Belitung, was formerly part of South Sumatra (Sumatera Selatan) province, but in 2000 the two islands became the new province of Bangka-Belitung.

See also

• Islands of Indonesia