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

February 11, 2025

The West Sulawesi Province Public Works and Spatial Planning Office held a meeting to prepare the initial draft of the 2026 Work Plan (Renja) at its office, which was attended by all representatives of the regional apparatus' field units and Regional Technical Implementation Units (UPTD). The meeting is also a follow-up to the West Sulawesi Province Regional Development, Research, and Innovation Planning Agency (Bapperida) Letter No. B.000.7.2/11/2025.

The meeting, led by West Sulawesi PUPR Office HEad Rachmad, discussed various priority programs, one of which was the construction of the strategic Tapalang-West Tapalang road section. Rachmad emphasized the importance of accelerating the project so that it benefits could be received immediately by the people.

"Our target is to complete priority construction which could directly benefit the people. The Tapalang-West Tapalang road section is a major concern. In addition, the Batuisi Bonehau-Kalumpang road has also been proposed to be funded through the state budget. We must consider changing the status of that road so it becomes under central government purview," said Rachmad.

He also highlighted the historical and strategic value of the Tapalang road, which has long been the main axis before the existence of the province's mountain route. The Tapalang route has great potential as an alternative for disaster mitigation, based on the experience of the 2021 disaster that is still in recent livin memory of the local community.

"The people of West Sulawesi hope for resilient infrastructure that could be a solution to deal with potential disasters in the future. The Tapalang road is a strategic route that could play an important role in disaster mitigation," Rachmad added.

Each sector and UPTD presented their respective work plans at the meeting to ensure that development planning for the projects would be in line with community needs and future challenges.

The West Sulawesi PUPR Office is optimistic that priority programs could be realized with solid coordination for the sake of infrastructure progress and the welfare of West Sulawesi's people.

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