Bandar Lampung
Capital and largest city of Lampung, Indonesia
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The city proper, together with South Lampung Regency (which borders the city on its northern and eastern sides) and Pesawaran Regency (which borders it on its western side), are major transmigration recipients. The city's area is about 183.77 km2. It had a census population of 881,801 in 2010 and 1,166,066 in 2020; the official estimate as of mid 2025 was 1,088,200 (comprising 548,900 males and 539,300 females).
History
Bandar Lampung is the capital city of Lampung Province. Before this city was named as Bandar Lampung, the city was named Tanjung Karang–Teluk Betung. It was a combination of the two twin cities of Tanjung Karang and Teluk Betung; the two twin cities were previously part of South Lampung Regency. This naming is because the city of Bandar Lampung consisted of the city of Tanjung Karang and the city of Teluk Betung. In 1982, there was an expansion of the territory with the inclusion of three new districts.
Early history
A report by the Banten regent William Craft to Governor-General Cornelis Speelman states that, on the basis of a description provided by Pangeran Aria Dipati Ningrat on 17 June 1682, "Lampung-Telokbetong at the edge of the sea is the seat of power of a Dipati Temenggung Nata Negara, with power over three thousand people". This date would later be adopted by the city administration as its official founding date.
Dutch East Indies
Under the Dutch colonial administration, 1912 Staatsblad 462 codified the city as being part and parcel of the Onderafdeling Telokbetong, composed of present-day Teluk Betung and its environs. The Onderafdeling's capital was Tanjung Karang, while Teluk Betung itself served as the seat of government for the Karesidenan Lampung.
Under Japanese occupation
In adition, during the Japanese colonial era, present-day Bandar Lampung was administered as a city, led by a Japanese mayor, who was assisted by an Indonesian deputy mayor (副市長, fuku-shicho).
Post-independence
After Indonesian independence in 1945, Tanjung Karang and Teluk Betung initially fell under the jurisdiction of South Lampung Regency, until a 1948 law consolidated the two and elevated them to independent city status.
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Geography
Bandar Lampung, formerly Tanjungkarang-Telukbetung, the capital of Lampung Province, Indonesia, lies at the head of Lampung Bay on the south coast of the island of Sumatra. Bandar Lampung was created in the 1980s from the amalgamation of the former provincial capital, Tanjungkarang, with the port of Telukbetung. The city's cottage industries include metalworking, hand-weaving, and pottery and tile making. With air, road, and rail connections. Bandar Lampung is the chief port and transportation center for the surrounding agricultural area, which produces rubber, tea, coffee, and pepper for export.
Administrative districts
At the time of the 2010 census, the city of Bandar Lampung was divided into thirteen administrative districts (Indonesian: kecamatan), but subsequently seven additional districts were created by the splitting of existing districts, bringing the total to twenty districts. The new districts are Bumi Waras, Enggal, Kedamaian, Labuhan Ratu, Langkapura, Teluk Betung Timur (East Teluk Betung) and Way Halim.
The twenty districts are tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 census and the 2020 census; together with the official estimates as of mid 2025. The table also includes the location of the district administrative centres, the number of administrative villages (all classed as urban kelurahan) in each district and its postal codes.
Note: (a) the 2010 population of this new district is included in the figures for the district(s) from which it was separated.
Demographics
Bandar Lampung is the fifth-largest city in the region of Sumatra, after Medan, Palembang, Batam and Pekanbaru. The city's population of 790,057 in 2005; 881,801 in 2010, 977,686 in 2015 and 1,166,066 in 2020; the official estimate as of mid 2025 was 1,088,200, giving a drop of nearly 78,000 from the figure at the 2020 Census as the urban area has outgrown the city boundaries.
The dominant ethnic groups in Bandar Lampung are Javanese, primarily composed of the descendants of people transported from Java in the early 20th century by the Dutch and the transmigration program of the New Order regime. The Lampungese are natives of the city, having lived as peddlers and fishermen in the outskirts of the city. The other major ethnic groups are Sundanese and Bantenese who originate from across the strait. This city is the largest population of Sundanese and Bantenese outside of West Java who have lived since the Banten Sultanate era. Chinese and Minangkabau who each amount to around 3.3% of the city's population are mostly concentrated around the city center and near the markets.
Climate
Bandar Lampung has a tropical rainforest climate (Af) with heavy rainfall year-round. Rain gets noticeably heavier from November to April.
Economy
Plaza Lotus was a former shopping centre on Jalan Raden Intan in Bandar Lampung. The mall closed and demolition of the complex began in 2023.
Transportation
Air
Bandar Lampung is served by Radin Inten II Airport (TKG), in the neighbouring county of South Lampung. The airport can be accessed by public transportation, such as bus and mini bus.
Road transport
Bandar Lampung has several road transportation alternatives. The most popular is a minibus called angkot, an abbreviation from Angkutan Kota (literally translated as 'City Transportation'). They serve routes throughout the city, operated privately and cheaply. Usually, an angkot covers some area between Tanjung Karang (the heart of Bandar Lampung) and an urban area. Currently, routes covered are Tanjung Karang – Garuntang, Tanjung Karang – Teluk Betung, Tanjung Karang – Rajabasa, Tanjung Karang – Sukarame, Tanjung Karang – Langkapura and more.
Bandarlampung Transportation Office has announced that in October 2011 it will serve two of the seven routes planned by bus rapid transit—the Rajabasa-Sukaraja and Sukaraja-Korpri housing complexes in Sukarame.
Rail transport
Tanjung Karang Station in Bandar Lampung is the terminus of the railway service from Palembang, although the railway track continues all the way until Panjang harbor and Tarahan coal offloading point. There are many express trains connecting Bandar Lampung and Palembang, including the Limex Sriwijaya and Rajabasa Express.
Media
The oldest newspaper in the Lampung region is Lampung Post, part of Media Group. Several other newspapers, such as Tribun Lampung and Radar Lampung are also available.
The privately owned Radar Lampung TV and Tegar TV are the local TV stations based in Bandar Lampung. The public TVRI Lampung also covers the city.
Education
In 2009, Bandar Lampung had a literacy rate of 94.3%, slightly increased from 2005, which was 93.5%. However, the high school participation rate kept decreasing, from 69.2% (2007) to 61.4% (2009). On the other hand, the high school participation rate in Indonesia rose from 54.6% in 2007 to 55.8% in 2010.
There are some notable high schools and universities in Bandar Lampung, such as SMP Negeri 2 Bandar Lampung (public), SMP Negeri 1 Bandar Lampung (public), SMA Negeri 2 Bandar Lampung (public, known as Smanda), SMA Negeri 9 Bandar Lampung (public, known as Smalan), SMA Negeri 1 Bandar Lampung (public, known as Smansa), SMA Al-Kautsar Bandar Lampung (private), SMA Fransiskus Bandar Lampung (private), SMP Xaverius 4 (private Catholic junior high school, locally known as Xaveway), SMA Xaverius Pahoman (a Catholic private school teaching students from middle school to high school, locally known as Xavepa), Lampung University (public, locally known as Unila), Bandar Lampung University (private, locally known as UBL: Universitas Bandar Lampung), Muhammadiyah University of Lampung (known as UML: Universitas Muhammadiyah Lampung and Malahayati University (private). In March 2011, Unila already had 70,866 alumni.
Sister cities
Bandar Lampung is twinned with: