Aru Islands Regency
regency in Maluku Province, Indonesia
The Aru Islands Regency (Indonesian: Kabupaten Kepulauan Aru) is a group of about 95 low-lying islands in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia. It also forms a regency of Maluku Province, with a land area of 6,426.77 km2 (2,481.39 sq mi). At the 2011 Census the Regency had a population of 84,138; the 2020 Census produced a total of 102,237, and the official estimate as at mid 2024 was 112,531 (comprising 57,767 males and 54,764 females). Some sources regard the archipelago as part of Asia, while others regard it as part of Melanesia.
Geography
The Aru Islands are the easternmost archipelago in Maluku province, and are located in the Arafura Sea south of West Papua (province), New Guinea and north of Australia. The total area of the islands is 6,426.77 km2 (2,481.39 sq mi). The largest island is Tanahbesar (also called Wokam); Dobo, the chief port of the islands, is on Wamar, just off Tanahbesar. The other five main islands are Kola, Kobroor, Maikoor, Koba, and Trangan. Altogether there are some 676 islands, of which 28 are inhabited. The main islands rise to low hills, and are separated by meandering channels.
The public source identifies “Aru Islands Regency” as regency in Maluku Province, Indonesia. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Islands, Regency and regency.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Aru Islands Regency”, the useful work is to connect “regency in Maluku Province, Indonesia” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q16561. VIAF identifies the subject as 171131291. The Library of Congress control number is no2011068777. Authority coordinates are -6.200, 134.500. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2011, 2020 and 2024.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
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Three-step research path
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This entry incorporates text from “Aru Islands Regency” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.