Wikipedia
Riau ( Jawi: , ), is a province of Indonesia. It is located in the central eastern coast of Sumatra along the Strait of Malacca. Until 2004 the province included the offshore Riau Islands, a large group of small islands (of which the principal islands are Batam and Bintan) located east of Sumatra Island and south of Singapore, before these islands were split off as Riau Islands Province in July 2004. The provincial capital of Riau Province and its largest city is Pekanbaru. Other major cities include Dumai, Selat Panjang, Bagansiapiapi, Bengkalis, Bangkinang, Rengat and Siak Sri Indrapura.
Riau is currently one of the richest provinces in Indonesia and is rich in natural resources, particularly petroleum, natural gas, rubber, palm oil and fibre plantations. Extensive logging and plantation development in has led to a massive decline in forest cover Riau, and associated fires have contributed to haze across the larger region.
Since the 1970s, much of Indonesia has experienced a decline in population growth rates. Riau has been a significant exception, with increasing rates every decade since 1970 to a 4.35 percent annual rise for the 1990s; however, this rate slowed significantly during the subsequent decade. The provincial population was 5,538,367 at the 2010 census. and according to the estimate for January 2014 this had risen to 6,358,636.
Riau may refer to:
Locations in Indonesia:
- Riau Archipelago or Riau Islands, part of the Riau Islands Province
- Riau Province
- Riau Islands Province
Historically:
- Riau-Lingga Sultanate, a Malay Sultanate that once governed Riau-Lingga Archipelago
- Riau Residency, administrative unit of the Dutch East Indies
Other uses:
- Riau Airlines
- Riau University
- Miguel Ángel Riau