Province

North Kalimantan

Overview Economy

North Kalimantan, diversity in numbers

Situated on the island of Borneo, North Kalimantan is a province formed in 2012 under Law No. 20/2012 on the Establishment of North Kalimantan Province to reduce development disparities from East Kalimantan. The capital of North Kalimantan is Tanjung Selor, located on the eastern coast of the province. Meanwhile, the largest city, Tarakan, serves as the financial center.

Covering 70,101 square kilometers, North Kalimantan consists of four regencies and one city. It was once dubbed as the least populous province in Indonesia, prior to the creation of South Papua in 2022. As of 2023, however, it is estimated that North Kalimantan had a population of 730,010 people, representing various ethnicities including indigenous Kalimantan people such as Dayak, Tidung, Malay, Kutai, and Banjar, as well as migrant groups such as Bugis, Javanese, Bajau, Manjar, Minahasa, Buton, and Gorontalo. Other ethnic groups such as the Madurese, Makassar, Toraja, Chinese, Bawean, Balinese, and Suluk/Tausug people also reside in the province.

Based on the 2023 Census, North Kalimantan is home to 73.36 percent of the Muslim population, followed by 26.02 percent of Christians, where 19.44 percent are Protestants and 6.58 percent are Catholics. Most of the Christian population in North Kalimantan resides in Malinau. The remaining religious groups in the province are 0.54 percent Buddhists, 0.05 percent Hindus, 0.02 percent Konghucu, and 0.01 percent indigenous faiths.

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North Kalimantan’s economy and leading sectors

North Kalimantan has seen a positive increase in the province’s economy. According to data from the North Kalimantan Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the province’s economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2023 experienced a growth of 4.94 percent, making it the second-highest economic growth on the island of Kalimantan. Furthermore, the province’s Regional Gross Domestic Product (GRDP) in 2022 amounted to Rp 66 trillion with contribution from the mining sector quoted as the largest at Rp 17 trillion.

The province’s geographical condition also benefits the province in developing its fisheries sector, utilizing its marine resources and abundant fish cultivation for both domestic consumption and overseas export. Consequently, this sector, which also includes forestry and agriculture, has contributed to North Kalimantan’s economic growth, with a contribution of Rp 11 trillion to the province’s 2022 GRDP.

Furthermore, North Kalimantan has recorded potential in its exports. In 2021, the province exported a total of 20.8 million tonnes valued at US$164 billion. The majority of this amount, accounting for 20.7 million tonnes, comprised mineral fuels, mineral oils, and their distillation products, bituminous substances, and mineral waxes, totaling US$163.8 billion. Tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes came next, totaling 16,275 tonnes worth US$134 million, followed by fisheries at 12,209 tonnes with a value of US$28.7 million.

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Latest News

June 5, 2025

GEM Co., Ltd., a battery raw material processing and recycling company, plans to invest US$8 billion to develop the Indonesia Green Industrial Park in North Kalimantan. The company also targets to fill key positions for production facilities in Indonesia with local Indonesian talent.

GEM President Commissioner and founder Xu Kaihua stated that GEM plans to continue investing in the downstream side of the Indonesian mineral industry. Currently, GEM operates a nickel processing plant in Morowali through a joint venture called QMB. The next investment is the development of a basic industrial area in the form of IGIP in North Kalimantan.

The initial investment is estimated to cost US$2 billion (Rp32.52 trillion), which would be increased to the full US$8 billion (Rp130 trillion) in subsequent stages.

Xu claims that GEM's production facility in Morowali will enable Indonesia to refine low-calorie nickel and recycle cobalt. The technology is also expected to allow the industry in Morowali to produce mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), which can then be processed into one of the main ingredients for producting batteries.

"Previously, nickel in Indonesia could only [be used to]produce stainless steel. Now there is a stainless steel and NPI (nickel pig iron) overcapacity, therefore it is important to have a new direction for nickel processing production," he said at Institut Teknologi Bandung Jatinangor Campus in Sumedang Regency, West Java Province on May 24, 2025.

However, Xu said that the operational activities of GEM's factory in Indonesia have so far tended to be expensive. The main problem is the lack of availability of local talent who can fill key positions in the production facility.

"The absence of local talent means we have to bring in talent from China. This is very expensive and unsustainable. Therefore, we have been trying to encourage local talent to continue their studies in China since 2019," he explained.

However, training programs through postgraduate and doctoral education at universities in China are not enough to fill GEM's workforce needs. Xu then took the initiative to build laboratory facilities on the ITB Jatinagor Campus worth US$ 270 million (Rp4.39 trillion) to increase the capacity and speed of local talent training.

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