Sambas Regency

Sambas Regency is the most northerly regency in West Kalimantan Province of Indonesia. The regency is one of the original regencies in West Kalimantan, but on 20 April 1999 the southern districts were removed from Sambas Regency to form a new Bengkayang Regency (then including the town of Singkawang). The residual regency now covers 6,394.70 km2, and had a population of 496,120 at the 2010 census and 629,905 at the 2020 census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 648,181 (comprising 330,813 males and 317,368 females). The administrative centre is at the town of Sambas.

History
The famous Sambas Treasure, a collection of 9th century Buddhist sculptures, was found near Sambas Town. It is now part of the British Museum's collection.

In the Sambas riots in 1999, Malays and Dayaks joined to massacre the Madurese during the conflict. Madurese were mutilated, raped, and killed by the Malays and Dayaks; 3,000 of them died in the massacres, with the Indonesian government doing little to stop the violence.

Population
At the 2010 census, Sambas Regency had a population of 496,120. According to the 2020 census had grown to 629,905 people. By mid 2022, the population was estimated at 648,181 (consisting of 330,813 males and 317,368 females), with an average density of 101.36 people per km2.

Watershed
Sambas has three watersheds (total: 516,200 ha): the Sambas watershed (258,700 ha), the Paloh watershed (64,375 ha), and the Sebangkau watershed (193,125 ha).

Administrative Districts
Sambas Regency consists of nineteen districts (kecamatan), tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 census and the 2020 census, and 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 (all classed as rural desa), and its post code.