Province

West Sulawesi

Overview Economy

West Sulawesi

Located in the western part of Sulawesi island, West Sulawesi is a province in Indonesia that covers an area of 16,594.75 square kilometers as of 2022. It is bordered by Central Sulawesi to the east, South Sulawesi to the south, and the Makassar Strait to the west. West Sulawesi’s administrative region consists of six regencies: Majene, Polewali Mandar, Mamasa, Mamuju, Pasangkayu, and Central Mamuju. The capital city of the province is Mamuju, serving as the economic and administrative center of West Sulawesi.

Demographically, West Sulawesi has a population primarily consisting of indigenous ethnic groups such as the Mandar, Toraja Mamasa, Pattae, and Kalumpang people. Although the Mandar people are considered the largest ethnic group in the province, the population of West Sulawesi also consists of other ethnic groups who relocated from various parts of Indonesia, such as the Bugis, Javanese, Balinese, Sasak, and East Nusa Tenggara people. As for religion, the majority of the population in the province are Muslims, followed by Christians, Catholics, Hindus, Buddhists, Konghucu, and adherents of indigenous beliefs.

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West Sulawesi’s economy

Based on data from the West Sulawesi Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the province recorded a Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) of Rp 35.4 billion in 2023. The province’s economy is known to be driven by the mining, agriculture, and fishing sectors. Consistent with this, the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sectors dominate contributions to the GRDP, totaling Rp 13.9 billion. This is mainly attributed to agriculture, livestock, hunting, and agriculture services, which collectively amount to Rp 10.2 billion.

The manufacturing sector made the second-largest contribution to West Sulawesi’s GRDP in 2023, achieving Rp 4.1 billion, mainly from the manufacture of food products and beverages, which accounted for Rp 3.7 billion.

The third most contributing sector to the province’s GRDP in 2023 is wholesale and retail trade, including the repair of motors, with Rp 3.4 billion. Out of this figure, the majority came from wholesale and retail trade, totaling Rp 2.8 billion.

Additionally, a national strategic project (PSN) is also being developed in the province, namely the Budong-Budong dam.

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Latest News

January 8, 2026

Statistics Indonesia (BPS) West Sulawesi Province General Section Head Chitra Dewi Said revealed during BPS West Sulawesi's Official Statistic News (BRS) press conference on Jan. 5, 2026, that exports from West Sulawesi soaring by 40.47 percent year-on-year (yoy) towards US$576.64 million during the January to November 2025 period.

"On a monthly basis, the export value of West Sulawesi Province in November 2025 was recorded at US$56.32 million, a 12.76 percent increase compared to November 2024," she added.

BPS recorded that animal and vegetable fats and oils remained the largest contributor to West Sulawesi's exports in the January to November 2025 period. The export value of this commodity category reached US$531.78 million, accounting for 92.22 percent of the province's total exports.

"In terms of destination countries, China is West Sulawesi's main trading partner for exports with a value reaching US$382.57 million, or 66.35 percent of the total export value from January to November 2025," explained Chitra.

BPS explained export data in Indonesia is sourced from Goods Export Notification (PEB) documents, while import data comes from Goods Import Notification (PIB) approved by the Finance Ministry Customs and Excise Directorate General's Customs and Excise Supervision and Service Offices. In compiling the data, commodity types are grouped based on the Harmonized System (HS) classification as outlined in the Indonesian Customs Tariff Book (BTKI). The data also includes information on trade transportation traffic at export loading and import unloading ports.

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