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Bima City

Overview

01Overview

Bima is a coastal city on the east of the island of Sumbawa in Indonesia's province of West Nusa Tenggara. It is the largest city on the island of Sumbawa, with a population of 142,443 at the 2010 census and 155,140 at the 2020 census; the official estimate as at mid 2025 was 166,992 (comprising 83,288 males and 83,704 females). It is separate from (but surrounded on the landward side by) the adjoining Bima Regency which had a population of 545,571 according to the mid 2025 official estimates.

The people of Bima and the entire eastern side of Sumbawa speak the Bima language (Indonesia: Bahasa Bima; Bima: Nggahi Mbojo). From 1620 to 1958 it was the capital of the Bima Sultanate. In modern times, Bima city is the largest regional and economic hub of Eastern Sumbawa with transmigrants from other parts of Indonesia, especially Java, Bali, and Lombok. It has a central downtown commercial zone. It is home to the Sultan Salahuddin mosque and the Sultan Salahuddin Museum (former Bima Sultanate palace). It is connected by a provincial road to Dompu to the west and Sape to the east.

Culture

Not yet available in English; shown in Indonesian.

01Industri dan Kerajinan

Skala industri yang telah berkembang baik saat ini di Kota Bima meliputi industri Garam Rakyat (PD Budiono Madura), genteng pres, bata merah, batako, tenun tradisional, gerabah, meubel dan pembuatan tahu/tempe.

History

01History

In the Middle Ages, Bima was the easternmost extent of the expansion of Hinduism in Southeast Asia, as a result of heavy Indian influence on the region during the period.

Bima was once one of the four sultanates on the island of Sumbawa. From the 17th to 20th centuries, it was the capital of the Bima Sultanate and is home to an old palace of the city's rulers. In the early 17th century, the Islamization of Bima had fallen off the old Hindu kingdom on the east coast of the island of Sumbawa.

In 1792, Sultan Abdu'l Hamid Muhammad Shah signed a contract with the Dutch East India Company, through which Bima became the Protectorate of the Dutch.

Geography

01Geography

The city is located on the eastern shore of Bima Bay. Traditionally Bima was a port city that connected to other port cities in Eastern Indonesia such as Makassar and Ternate, as well as to ports in Lombok, Bali, and East Java.

02Climate

Bima has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) with moderate to little rainfall from April to November and heavy rainfall from December to March.