North Sumatra in the context of "East Java"

Riau (Jawi: رياو‎) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the central eastern coast of the island of Sumatra, and extends from the eastern slopes of the Barisan Mountains to the Malacca Strait, including several large islands situated within the Strait. The province shares land borders with North Sumatra to the northwest, West Sumatra to the west, and Jambi to the south, and a maritime border with the Riau Islands and the country of Malaysia to the east. It is the second-largest province in the island of Sumatra after South Sumatra with a total land area of 93,356.32 km², and an estimated population of 7,007,353 in 2024. The province comprises ten regencies and two cities, with Pekanbaru serving as the capital and largest city.

Historically, Riau has been a part of various monarchies before the arrival of European colonial powers. Muara Takus, a Buddhist temple complex believed to be a remnant of the Buddhist empire of Srivijaya c. 11th-12th century, is situated in Kampar Regency in Riau province. Following the spread of Islam in the 14th century, the region was then under control of Malay sultanates of Siak Sri Indrapura, Indragiri, and Johor. The sultanates later became protectorate of the Dutch and were reduced to puppet states of the Dutch East Indies. After the establishment of Indonesia in 1945, Riau belonged to the republic's provinces of Sumatra (1945–1948) and Central Sumatra (1948–1957). On 10 August 1957, the province of Riau was inaugurated and it included the Riau Islands until 2004.

Aceh (/ˈɑːtʃeɪ/ AH-chay, Indonesian: [ˈatʃɛh] ; Acehnese: Acèh, Acehnese pronunciation: [atʃɛh]; Jawoë: اچيه; Old Spelling: Atjeh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northern end of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west, Strait of Malacca to the northeast, as well bordering the province of North Sumatra to the east, its sole land border, and shares maritime borders with Malaysia and Thailand to the east, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India to the north. Granted a special autonomous status, Aceh is a religiously conservative territory, with the majority of the population being Muslim and the only Indonesian province practicing Islamic Sharia law officially. There are ten indigenous ethnic groups in this region, the largest being the Acehnese people, accounting for approximately 70% of the region's population of about 5.55 million people in mid-2024. Its land area of 56,839.09 km is comparable to Croatia, Togo, the U.S. state of West Virginia, or Russia's Pskov Oblast.

Aceh is a provincial region that constitutes a unified legal community with a special status and is granted special authorities to regulate and manage its own governmental affairs and local interests in accordance with laws and regulations within the system and principles of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, based on the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, and is led by a Governor.

Indian Indonesians are Indonesians whose ancestors originally came from the Indian subcontinent. Therefore, this term can be regarded as a blanket term for not only Indonesian Indians but also Indonesians with other South Asian ancestries (e.g. Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, etc.). According to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, there were about 120,000 people of Indian origin as well as 9,000 Indian nationals living and working in Indonesia as of January 2012. Most of them were concentrated in the province of North Sumatra and urban areas such as Banda Aceh, Surabaya, Medan, and Jakarta. However, it is quite impossible to get correct statistical figures on the Indian Indonesian population, because some of them have merged and assimilated with the indigenous population to become indistinguishable from native Indonesians.

Minangkabau (/ˌmēnäŋkəˈbau̇/ MEE-nahng-kah-bow; Baso Minangkabau, Jawi: بهاس منڠكربو‎, IPA: [ˈbaso mi.naŋˈka.bau]), simply known as Minang, is an Austronesian language spoken by the Minangkabau of West Sumatra, the western part of Riau, the southern and western coast of Aceh, the northern part of Bengkulu and Jambi, also in several cities throughout Indonesia by migrated Minangkabau. The language is also a lingua franca along the western coastal region of the province of North Sumatra, and is even used in parts of Aceh, where it is known as the Aneuk Jamee dialect.

Minangkabau is similar to Malay. The relationship between the languages is characterized in different ways. Some see Minangkabau as an early variety of Malay, while others think of Minangkabau as a distinct (Malayic) language.

Banjarese (/ˈbændʒəˌriːz/ BAN-juh-reez; Basa Banjar, Jaku Banjar, Jawi script: باس بنجر‎ IPA: [basa bandʒar], [dʒaku bandʒar]) or simply Banjar, is an Austronesian language of the Malayic branch predominantly spoken by the Banjarese—an indigenous ethnic group native to Banjar regions— in the southeastern Kalimantan of Indonesia. The Banjarese language is the de facto lingua franca for various indigenous community especially in South Kalimantan, as well as Central Kalimantan (notably in Seruyan Regency and Sukamara Regency) and East Kalimantan in general.

Banjarese also has significant population in other provinces in Indonesia, especially in Sumatra (Riau and North Sumatra) even some regencies in Riau has a Banjarese majority population like in Indragiri Hilir Regency.

South Tapanuli (Tapanuli Selatan in Indonesian Language, abbreviated Tapsel) is a regency in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Its seat is the town of Sipirok. This regency was originally very large and contained hundreds of towns and villages, including the city of Padang Sidempuan. The areas that have separated from South Tapanuli Regency are the new regencies of Mandailing Natal (created on 23 November 1998), Padang Lawas Utara, and Padang Lawas (both created on 17 July 2007), all lying to the south-east of the residual South Tapanuli Regency, plus the city (kota) of Padang Sidempuan (created on 21 June 2001). After the division, the regency seat moved from Padang Sidempuan to Sipirok.

The regency covers an area of 4,355.35 square kilometres and had a population of 264,108 at the 2010 census and 300,911 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid-2024 was 316,486 (comprising 159,420 males and 157,066 females). These figures exclude the city of Padang Sidempuan, which is virtually surrounded by South Tananuli territory but is independently administered.

West Sumatra (Indonesian: Sumatera Barat) is a province of Indonesia. It is on the west coast of the island of Sumatra and includes the Mentawai Islands off that coast. West Sumatra borders the Indian Ocean to the west, as well as the provinces of North Sumatra to the north, Riau to the northeast, Jambi to the southeast, and Bengkulu to the south. The province has an area of 42,119.54 km (16,262.45 sq mi), or about the same size as Switzerland or Penza Oblast, with a population of 5,534,472 at the 2020 census. The official estimate at mid 2024 was 5,836,160 (comprising 2,940,270 males and 2,895,880 females). The province is subdivided into twelve regencies and seven cities. It has relatively more cities than other provinces outside Java, although several of them are relatively low in population compared with cities elsewhere in Indonesia. Padang is the province's capital and largest city.

West Sumatra is home to the Minangkabau people, although the traditional Minangkabau region is actually wider than the province's boundaries, covering up to the western coast of North Sumatra, the southwestern coast of Aceh, the western region of Riau, the western region of Jambi, the northern region of Bengkulu, and Negeri Sembilan in Malaysia. Another native ethnic group is the Mentawai people, who inhabit the western islands of the same name. Islam is a predominant religion in the province, with about 97.4% of the total population.

Medan Hokkien is a local variety of Hokkien spoken amongst Chinese Indonesians in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia. It is the lingua franca in Medan as well as the surrounding cities in the state of North Sumatra. It is also spoken in some Medan Chinese migrant communities such as in Jakarta. Medan Hokkien is a subdialect of the Zhangzhou (漳州) Hokkien, particularly of Haicheng (海澄) subdialect. It borrows heavily from Teochew, Deli Malay and Indonesian.

It is predominantly a spoken dialect: Vernacular Hokkien, including Medan Hokkien, is traditionally passed down orally and is rarely transcribed in written Hokkien. Moreover, Indonesia's New Order Era imposed martial laws to suppress and ban display of Chinese characters and Chinese tradition in public. However, with the rise of social media, Medan Hokkien is often transcribed in EYD, ignoring tone markings altogether.