| Official Name: | Poso Regency |
| Native Name: | Kabupaten Poso |
| Native Name Lang: | id |
| Type: | Regency |
| Shield Alt: | The official seal of Poso Regency |
| Motto: | Sintuwu Maroso (Strong Brotherly Ties) |
| Pushpin Map: | Indonesia_Sulawesi#Indonesia |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Sulawesi and Indonesia |
| Pushpin Label Position: | right |
| Coordinates: | -1.3831°N 120.7486°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Indonesia |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Central Sulawesi |
| Seat Type: | Capital |
| Seat: | Poso |
| Leader Title: | Regent |
| Leader Name: | Verna Gladies Merry Inkiriwang |
| Leader Title1: | Vice Regent |
| Leader Name1: | Yasin Mangun |
| Area Total Km2: | 7438.55 |
| Population As Of: | mid 2023 estimate |
| Population Total: | 251654 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone1: | ICST |
| Utc Offset1: | +8 |
| Area Code Type: | Area code |
| Area Code: | (+62) 452 |
Poso Regency is a regency of Central Sulawesi Province of Indonesia. It covers an area of 7,438.55 km2, and had a population of 209,228 at the 2010 Census[1] and 244,875 at the 2020 Census;[2] the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 251,654 (129,720 males and 121,940 females).[3] The principal town lies at Poso.
The regency as created in 1959 covered a much larger area to the east. However on 4 October 1999 the regency's south-eastern districts were split off to form a separate Morowali Regency, and on 18 December 2003 the regency's north-eastern districts were likewise split off to form a separate Tojo Una-Una Regency. In 2007 there were calls to divide the remaining Poso Regency into two regencies to overcome religious-based conflicts; one new regency in the southeastern and western sectors would by named Tentena Regency (comprising the first twelve kecamatan listed below), while the residual Poso Regency in the northeast sector (bordering the Gulf of Tomini) would consist of the last seven kecamatan listed below;[4] however, this proposal was not enacted.
Poso Regency is located within the folds of various mountain ranges, namely the Fennema and Toneba Mountains in the west, the Takolekaju Mountains in the southwest, the Verbeek Mountains in the southeast, and the Pompangeo and Lumut Mountains in the northeast.
At the time of the 2010 Census, the Poso Regency was divided at 2010 into eighteen districts (kecamatan), but an additional 19th district (Pamona Pusalemba) was subsequently added by splitting off the western and southern villages of Pamona Utara District.[5] The districts are tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census[6] and the 2020 Census,[7] together with the official estimates as at mid 2023. The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the numbers of villages in each district (totalling 142 rural desa and 28 urban kelurahan), and its postal code.
| Kode Wilayah | Name of District (kecamatan) | Area in km2 | Pop'n Census 2010 | Pop'n Census 2020 | Pop'n estimate mid 2023 | Admin centre | No. of villages | Post code | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72.02.06 | Pamona Selatan (South Pamona) | 474.65 | 18,372 | 20,977 | 21,388 | Pendolo | 12 | 94664 | |
| 72.02.20 | Pamona Barat (West Pamona) | 174.91 | 9,344 | 10,214 | 10,283 | Meko | 6 | 94662 | |
| 72.02.26 | Pamona Tenggara (Southeast Pamona) | 227.17 | 6,487 | 7,888 | 8,191 | Korobono | 9 | 94665 | |
| 72.02.27 | Pamona Utara (North Pamona) | 422.04 | 30,191 | 14,628 | 12,955 | Sulewana | 10 (a) | 94667 | |
| 72.02.04 | Pamona Pusalemba | 367.54 | (a) | 19,357 | 19,404 | Tentena | 11 (b) | 94663 | |
| 72.02.05 | Pamona Timur (East Pamona) | 549.38 | 9,531 | 12,271 | 15,121 | Taripa | 13 | 94666 | |
| Southeast Sector | 2,215.69 | 73,925 | 85,335 | 87,342 | 61 | ||||
| 72.02.09 | Lore Selatan (South Lore) | 771.59 | 5,631 | 6,774 | 7,012 | Gintu | 8 | 94655 | |
| 72.02.23 | Lore Barat (West Lore) | 331.36 | 2,821 | 3,188 | 3,241 | Lengkeka | 6 | 94654 | |
| 72.02.07 | Lore Utara (North Lore) | 466.75 | 11,902 | 15,659 | 16,636 | Wuasa | 7 | 94658 | |
| 72.02.08 | Lore Tengah (Central Lore) | 657.06 | 4,033 | 4,971 | 5,182 | Doda | 8 | 94656 | |
| 72.02.24 | Lore Timur (East Lore) | 112.40 | 4,877 | 6,690 | 7,194 | Maholo | 5 | 94657 | |
| 72.02.25 | Lore Peore | 525.20 | 2,944 | 4,015 | 4,310 | Watutau | 5 | 94653 | |
| Western Sector | 2,864.36 | 32,208 | 41,297 | 43,575 | 39 | ||||
| 72.02.02 | Poso Pesisir (Coastal Poso) | 307.66 | 20,098 | 22,285 | 22,529 | Mapane | 16 (c) | 94652 | |
| 72.02.19 | Poso Pesisir Selatan (South Coastal Poso) | 609.39 | 8,842 | 9,910 | 10,050 | Tangkura | 9 | 94650 | |
| 72.02.18 | Poso Pesisir Utara (North Coastal Poso) | 558.34 | 15,681 | 17,427 | 17,630 | Tambarana | 10 | 94651 | |
| 72.02.01 | Poso Kota (Poso Town) | 11.29 | 20,250 | 24,145 | 24,931 | Gebangrejo | 7 (d) | 94617 - 94619 | |
| 72.02.21 | Poso Kota Selatan (South Poso Town) | 25.06 | 8,992 | 10,402 | 13,275 | Kawua | 5 (d) | 94613 - 94619 | |
| 72.02.22 | Poso Kota Utara (North Poso Town) | 20.22 | 11,058 | 12,930 | 10,646 | Lawanga | 7 (d) | 94611 - 94616 | |
| 72.02.03 | Lage | 498.24 | 18,174 | 21,144 | 21,676 | Tagolu | 16 | 94661 | |
| Northeast Sector | 2,030.20 | 103,095 | 118,243 | 120,737 | 70 |
Notes: (a) including 3 urban kelurahan (Petirodongi, Sawidago and Tendeadongi). (b) including 3 urban kelurahan (Pamona, Sangele and Tentena). (c) including 3 urban kelurahan (Mapane, Kasiguncu and Tabalu).
(d) all 19 classed as urban kelurahan, comprising 7 in Poso Town (Gebangrejo, Kayamanya, Moengko Baru, Moengko Lama, Gebangrejo Barat, Gebangrejo Timur and Kayamanya Sentral), 5 in South Poso Town (Bukit Bambu, Kawua, Lembomawo, Ranononcu and Sayo) and 7 in North Poso Town (Bonesompe, Kasintuwu, Lawanga, Lawanga Tawongan, Lombogia, Madale and Tegalrejo).
The population of Poso district consists of various ethnic groups, so it is considered a multicultural regency in Indonesia. The population is also quite diverse in religion. Data from the Ministry of Religion in 2020, around 60.80% (151,261 people) embraced Christianity.[8] Regency's Religious Office noted that the majority of the population in Poso in 2020 was Protestant, with the number of adherents stated to be as many as 147,899 inhabitants (59% of the population). This was followed by 83,597 Muslims (33.6%), 13,937 Hindus (5.6%), 3.362 Roman Catholics (1.35%)[9] and 4 Buddhists, respectively., the number of places of worship in Poso consisted of 280 mosques, 690 Protestant churches, 26 Catholic churches and 102 Hindu temples.
Prior to colonial rule, the inhabitants of Poso followed a traditional belief system known as Lamoa. Islam became the first prominent religion in Poso during the early 19th century when it was brought by the Mandarese people who settled in the To Kadombuku area (present-day Tomasa River region), although the exact means of their arrival remain unknown. The spread of Christianity in Poso began in the late 19th century with the arrival of Albert Christian Kruyt, a Dutch Calvinist missionary sent by the Netherlands Missionary Society (NZG) to initiate a mission. Following seventeen years of work, their efforts bore fruit when hundreds of To Pebato residents were baptized on Christmas Eve, December 25, 1909. Central Sulawesi Christian Church (GKST) is a church organization that was established on 18 October 1947 in Tentena.[10] GKST serves Central, West and South Sulawesi. In 2006, 188 thousand people registered to become members, and there are 376 congregations served by 625 priests.[11]
Tambing Lake is located in Lore Lindu National Park, 3 hours drive from Palu and 100 meters away from Palu-Napu Road. In 2014, there are 3,000 foreign tourists visited Tambing Lake which is known as Endemic Bird Paradise with 30 percent of 270 kinds of birds are endemic.[12]
Sulawesi black Ebony, also known as diospyros celebica, naturally can be found in Central Sulawesi (Parigi, Poso, Donggala), South Sulawesi (Maros), West Sulawesi (Mamuju) and Maluku. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has issued their red list in 2000 and D. celebica belong to the category of vulnerable species, which means that ebony is at the limit of high risk for extinction in the wild (vulnerable to exploitation).[13]
Most of the endemic fauna in Poso is located in the area of cultural and natural heritage, such as Lake Poso and Lore Lindu National Park. Whitten (1987), Maurice Kottelat, and L.R. Parenti states that there are several species of endemic biota that is only found in Lake Poso, such as Xenopoecilus poptae (Adrianichthys poptae); Adrianichthys kruyti, Weberogobius amadi and Nomorhamphus celebensis. Other endemic fish is Anguilla celebensis, Xenopoecilus sarasinorum, Xenopoecilus oophorus (adrianichthys oophorus), Adrianichthys roseni; gastropods such as Miratesta celebensis; and some small shrimp (Caridina sp).