North Sumatra (Sumatra Utara) is a province of Indonesia located on the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan. North Sumatra is Indonesia's fourth most populous province after West Java, East Java and Central Java, and also the most populous in the island of Sumatra. It covers an area of 72,981 km2. According to the 2020 census, the province's population in that year was 14,799,361. The mid-2021 official estimate is 14,936,148.
North Sumatra is a multi-ethnic province. The Malay people are regarded as the natives of the east coast of the province, while the west coast of the province is mainly inhabited by the Batak (Pakpak, Angkola and Mandailing groups). The central highlands region around Lake Toba is predominantly inhabited by another Batak groups (Toba, Simalungun and Karo). The Nias people are natives to Nias Island and its surrounding islets. With the opening of tobacco plantations in East Sumatra during the colonial era, the colonial government employed many contract labourers for plantations, they were mainly Chinese, Javanese and Indian migrants, who were majority does not returned after end contract and decided to stay in the province. The recent rapid urbanisation also attract neighbouring people from Aceh, Riau and West Sumatera, which is the Acehnese and Minangkabau people presents, all these ethnic groups, with different background, tradition, and religion live together in harmony.
During the Dutch rule, North Sumatra was a government called the Gouvernement van Sumatra with an area covering the entire island of Sumatra, led by a governor based in the city of Medan. After independence, in the first session of the Regional National Committee (KND), Sumatra Province was then divided into three sub-provinces. With the issuance of the Law of the Republic of Indonesia (R.I.) No. 10 of 1948 on April 15, 1948, it was stipulated that Sumatra was divided into three provinces, each of which had the right to regulate and manage its own household, namely: North Sumatra Province, Central Sumatra Province, and South Sumatra Province. April 15, 1948 was later designated as the anniversary of the Province of North Sumatra.
