Merangin Regency

Merangin Regency is a regency (kabupaten) of Jambi Province on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. It was created on 4 October 1999 by the division of the former Sarolangun Bangko Regency into a new Sarolangun Regency in the east and this Merangin Regency in the west. The regency covers an area of 7,679.0 km2, and had a population of 333,206 at the 2010 census and 354,052 at the 2020 census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 368,389 - comprising 187,026 males and 181,363 females. The administrative capital is the town of Bangko.

Borders
Geographically, Merangin Regency lies between 101032’39” – 102038’35” east longitude, and 1039’23” – 2046’9” south longitude. Merangin borders on Bungo Regency on the north side, Tebo Regency to the northeast, Sarolangun Regency on the east side, Lebong Regency (in Bengkulu Province) on the south side and Kerinci Regency on the west side.

Administrative districts
Merangin Regency is divided into twenty-four districts (kecamatan), tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 census and the 2020 census, together with the official estimates as at mid 2023. The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of administrative villages in each district (totaling 205 rural desa and 10 urban kelurahan), and its post code.

Notes: (a) including one kelurahan - the town of Pamenang, with 7,376 inhabitants in mid 2022. (b) comprising 4 kelurahan (with populations in mid 2022) - Dusun Bangko (12,968), Pasar Bangko (2,338), Pasar Atas Bangko (5,884) and Pematang Kandis (16,624) - plus 4 desa. (c) comprising 5 kelurahan (with populatiuons in mid 2022) - Dusun Baru (7,320), Mampun (4,122), Kampung Baruh (3,901), Pasar Baru Rantau (2,572) and Pasar Rantau Panjang (4,511) - plus 6 desa.

However, the last-mentioned eight districts, comprising the northern 26% of Merangin Regency, are planned to be separated out to form a new Regency - Kabupaten Tabir Raya; these eight districts cover 2,000.07 km2 and had an estimated combined population of 113,841 at the 2020 census, rising to an estimated 117,760 in mid 2023. However, the implementation of this scheme is delayed due to the moratorium (since 2013) by the Indonesian Government on the creation of new regencies and cities.

Merangin Geopark
Merangin Geopark has been proposed to UNESCO to be a World's Heritage Merangin Geopark and a UNESCO team has visited Merangin Geopark. The Geopark has a Araucarioxylon fossil tree complete with the root of 300 million years, the oldest in Asia. Today the ancient Merangin River is usually used for white water sports.