Batam

Batam, officially the City of Batam (Indonesian: Kota Batam, not to be confused with Batam Kota, a district within this city), is the largest city in the Indonesian province of Riau Islands. The city administrative area covers three main islands of Batam, Rempang and Galang (collectively called Barelang), as well as Bulang to the west and several smaller islands. Batam Island is the core urban and industrial zone, while both Rempang Island and Galang Island maintain their rural character and low-density population; they are connected to Batam Island by short bridges. Bulang Island and the islands to its north forming Belakang Padang District lie to the west of Batam Island but are also administratively within the city. Batam is an industrial boomtown, an emerging transport hub and part of a free trade zone in the Indonesia–Malaysia–Singapore Growth Triangle, located 20 km (12 mi) off Singapore's south coast. According to Statistics Indonesia's 2020 census, Batam had a municipal population of 1,196,396, making it the third largest city in the region of Sumatra, after Medan and Palembang. It is the closest part of Indonesia to Singapore, at a minimum distance of 5.8 km across the Singapore Strait. Batam was the fastest-growing municipality in Indonesia during the decade prior to 2010, with a population growth rate of 11% per year; however, there were setbacks during the subsequent decade. In 2017, the island suffered severe job losses; some 300,000 workers were laid off. The official estimated population as of mid-2024 was 1,276,930.