Mendanau Island in the context of "Bangka Island"

The Bangka Belitung Islands (Indonesian: Kepulauan Bangka Belitung) is a province of Indonesia. Situated off the southeastern coast of Sumatra, the province comprises two main land masses — the islands of Bangka and Belitung — and numerous smaller islands. Bangka Belitung is bordered by the Bangka Strait to the west, the Natuna Sea to the north, the Java Sea is to the south and the Karimata Strait to the east; the two principal islands are separated by the Gaspar Strait, within which lie lesser islands such as Lepar, Pongok (or Liak) and Mendanau.

The province's capital and largest city is Pangkalpinang. The province shares maritime borders with South Sumatra to the west, Riau Islands to the north, Banten, the Special Capital Region of Jakarta, West Java, and Central Java to the south, and West Kalimantan to the east. Bangka Belitung covers a land area of 16,690.13 km (6,444.10 sq mi) and had a population of 1,455,678 according to the 2020 census; the official estimate as at mid 2024 was 1,531,530 (comprising 786,010 males and 745,520 females).

Belitung (Belitung Malay: Belitong, formerly Billiton) is an island on the east coast of Sumatra, Indonesia in the Java Sea. It covers 4,859 km (1,876.1 sq mi) (including offshore islands such as Mendanau Island), and had a population of 309,097 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 320,500. Administratively, it forms two regencies (Belitung Regency and East Belitung Regency) within the province of Bangka-Belitung Islands. The island is known for its pepper and for its tin. It was in the possession of the United Kingdom from 1812 until Britain ceded control of the island to the Netherlands in the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824. Its main town is Tanjung Pandan. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has declared 17 tourist attractions in the Belitung Geopark as world geoparks.

Pongok (Indonesian: Pulau Pongok; pronounced [ˌpulau̯ ˈpɔŋɔʔ]), also known as Liat, is an Indonesian island which is part of the Pongok Islands District of the South Bangka Regency, Bangka Belitung Province. It comprises over 95% of the district's area and most of its population, with an area of 48.3 square km. It is the 5th largest island in the province, being far smaller than Bangka and Belitung in addition to the islands of Lepar and Mendanau.

The smaller island of Celagen, off the western coast of the island, holds the remaining population of the district. Before its division in 2012, the island was part of the Lepar Pongok District.