ABSTRACT
The Province of South Sulawesi (Sulawesi Selatan) occupies most of the large, south-western peninsula of the island of Celebes (Sulawesi). Until October 2004 what is now West Sulawesi (Sulawesi Barat) province was part of South Sulawesi, occupying the western part of the northern base of the southward-jutting peninsula. In the north-east South Sulawesi spreads around the head of the Gulf of Bone, so that it has a short southern border with South-East Sulawesi (Sulawesi Tenggara), which comprises the other southern peninsula of the island. To the north is Central Sulawesi (Sulawesi Tengah). The Gulf of Bone, which defines the east side of the South Sulawesi peninsula, opens into the Flores Sea to the south, while to the west the Makassar Strait opens into the Java Sea. The province is therefore strategically located in Indonesia. Included in South Sulawesi are 117 islands, mainly spreading out to the south bringing the maritime provincial borders closer to the Lesser Sunda provinces of Bali and West Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Barat) and to East Java (Jawa Timur). Around 90 of the islands are inhabited.
