Buton

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Island in Indonesia

title: "Buton" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["islands-of-sulawesi", "landforms-of-southeast-sulawesi", "populated-places-in-indonesia"] description: "Island in Indonesia" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buton" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Island in Indonesia ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox islands"]

Field	Value
name	Buton
location	Southeast Asia
coordinates
area_km2	4727.07
highest_mount	Unnamed
elevation_m	1,100
country	Indonesia
country_admin_divisions_title	Province
country_admin_divisions	Southeast Sulawesi
country_largest_city	Baubau
country_largest_city_population	159,248
population	414,899
population_as_of	2020 Census
density_km2	87.8
timezone1	WITA
utc_offset1	+8
ethnic_groups	Butonese people
pushpin_map	Indonesia Sulawesi
::

Buton (also Butung, Boeton or Button) is an island in Indonesia located off the southeast peninsula of Sulawesi. It covers roughly 4,727 square kilometers in area, or about the size of Madura; it is the 129th largest island in the world and Indonesia's 19th largest in area.

History

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_Eerste_minister_van_Buton_Zuid-Celebes_TMnr_10001614.jpg" caption="First minister of Buton"] ::

In the precolonial era, the island, then usually known as Butung, was within the sphere of influence of Ternate. Especially in the sixteenth century, Buton served as an important secondary regional center within the Ternaten empire, controlling regional trade and collecting tribute to be sent to Ternate.

The Sultanate of Buton ruled over the island from the 14th until the 20th century.

Sultan Murhum, the first Islamic monarch on the island, is remembered in the name of the island's major harbor, Murhum Harbor, in Baubau.

Geography

Its largest town is Baubau, where the Wolio and Cia-Cia languages are spoken. Major nearby islands include Wawonii (to the north), Muna and Kabaena (to the west) and Siumpu (to the southwest). The Tukangbesi Islands lie just to the east where Tukang Besi is spoken, and is separated by the Gulf of Kolowana Watabo (Teluk Kolowana Watabo).

Batuatas Island is to the south. Also the Bouton Passage (as it was known in the pre-Independence era) was an important inter-island navigational location of the northern Flores Sea.

Ecology

The island is largely covered by rainforest and is known for its wildlife. It is one of only two habitats of the anoa, a type of buffalo. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Rainforest_on_Buton_Island.jpg" caption="Part of the rainforest on Buton"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/A_piece_of_farmland_on_Buton_Island.jpg" caption="Farmland on Buton"] ::

People

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_Portret_van_een_gezantschap_van_Buton_Sulawesi_TMnr_10020641.jpg" caption="Portrait of a delegation from Buton"] ::

The languages spoken on Buton include Wolio, Cia-Cia, various dialects of Muna, Tukang Besi, Kumbewaha, Lasalimu, Kamaru, Pancana, Busoa, Taloki, Kulisusu and Kioko. The Indonesian language, the national language of Indonesia, is also widely used and taught in schools.

In 2009, the Cia-Cia tribe in Baubau city began to use the Korean Hangul alphabet for their language, based on textbooks created by the Hunminjeongeum Society, a linguistic society in Seoul. While ties with the society were temporarily severed in 2011, efforts to preserve Cia-Cia using Hangul were not abandoned. The language continues to be taught using Hangul in schools, and a Cia-Cia dictionary using Hangul was published in 2021.

Economy

The island has a massive reserve of natural asphalt and several other minerals. Asphalt from Buton can be utilized as bitumen modifiers as well as a substitute for petroleum asphalt. As a result, natural asphalt can be used to reduce dependency on conventional fossil based resources.

Administration

Buton Island is administratively divided into five second level administrative divisions (Daerah Tingkat II): Baubau City, Buton Regency, (part of) South Buton Regency (which includes several smaller islands to the west and south of Buton), North Buton Regency and (part of) Muna Regency.

::data[format=table] | Kabupaten || Area in km2||Pop'n Census 2010 ||Pop'n Census 2020 || comprising | |---| | North Buton Regency | | Muna Regency (part) | | Buton Regency | | Baubau city | | South Buton Regency (part) | | Totals | ::

However, the eponymous archipelago is administered under an additional four regencies: the rest of Muna Regency and South Buton Regency, together with West Muna Regency, Wakatobi Regency, Central Buton Regency (which does not include any portion of Buton Island), and (part of) Bombana Regency.

Notes

References

Purwanto, Muhammad Roy. (October 2017). "SISTEM PEMERINTAHAN ISLAM DAN UNDANG-UNDANG KESULTANAN BUTON DI SULAWESI TENGGARA". Kecamatan Galang Dalam Angka.
Goodall, George (Editor)(1943) ''Philips' International Atlas'' London, George Philip and Son map 'East Indies' pp.91-92
van den Berg, Rene. (1991). "Excursies in Celebes".
"Ethnologue".
(7 August 2009). "Cia-Cia adopts Hangul to preserve spoken language".
[https://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/10/10/2011101001151.html "Adoption of Hangeul by Indonesian Tribe Hits Snag"], ''The chosunibo''
(2 April 2023). "[Hello Hangeul] Sharing the Korean alphabet with the world". [[The Korea Herald]].
"Buton Asphalt Indonesia".
Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011.
Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021.

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