
Overview
01Overview
Parepare (or ) is a city in the Indonesian province of South Sulawesi, located on the southwest coast of Sulawesi, about north of the provincial capital of Makassar. A port town, it is one of the major population centers of the Bugis people. The city had a population of 129,542 people at the 2010 census and 151,454 at the 2020 census; its official estimate as of mid-2025 was 165,137 (comprising 82,179 males and 82,958 females). It is the birthplace of B. J. Habibie, the third president of Indonesia.
Culture
Not yet available in English; shown in Indonesian.
01Bahasa
Bahasa resmi instansi pemerintahan di Kota Parepare adalah bahasa Indonesia. Menurut Statistik Kebahasaan 2019 oleh Badan Bahasa, terdapat satu bahasa daerah di Kota Parepare, yaitu bahasa Bugis (khususnya dialek Parepare).
History
01History
In the early development of this plateau, there was just a thicket of bushes that had many holes on slightly sloping land, which grew wild irregularly, ranging from the northern (Cappa Edge) up to the route south from the city. As time goes by, those bushes have now become the city of Parepare.
At an early date, there were kingdoms located on Parepare - the kingdom of Suppa in the 14th century and the Bacukiki Kingdom in the 15th century.
The term "Parepare" originates from a sentence attributed to the King of Gowa, "Bajiki Ni Pare", which means "(Ports in this region) are good." Since then, the name "Parepare" has referred to the port city. Parepare was subsequently visited by Malay people who came to trade in the region of Suppa.
Seeing the strategic position of a harbour protected by a headland on the front side, the Dutch conquered this place at the first opportunity and made it an important city in the territory of the central part of South Sulawesi.
At the time of the Dutch East Indies, in Parepare, there was a Resident Assistant and a Controleur or Gezag Hebber as Head of Government (the Dutch East Indies), while the status of the region is named the "Afdeling Parepare" which included five "Onder Afdeling" for Barru, Sidenreng Rappang, Enrekang, Pinrang and Parepare.
In each region, an Onder Afdeling Controlur was domiciled or a Gezag Hebber. Besides the Dutch East Indies government officials, the structure of the Dutch East Indies Government was also assisted by government officials and Bugis kings, namely Arung Barru in Barru, Addatuang Sidenreng in Sidenreng Rappang, Sporting Enrekang in Enrekang, Addatung Sawitto in Pinrang, while at Parepare there was Arung Mallusetasi.
This governance structure, up to the outbreak of World War II, was when the Dutch East Indies Government was overtaken around the year 1942.
Geography
01Geography
Parepare lies along the east side of Parepare Bay, a large natural harbour on the west coast of the southern peninsula of Sulawesi. The north and west sides of the harbour are contained within the Suppa District of Pinrang Regency; the west side is a long peninsula protecting Parepare from the sea. The harbour contains several small islands, the largest of which is Pulau Kamerang and the others include Pulau Zhimaru and Pulau Daoim.
Three principal roads leave Parepare heading north towards Pinrang, east towards Sidenreng and south towards Palanro and continuing down the coast towards Makassar.
02Climate
Parepare has a tropical monsoon climate (Am) with moderate rainfall from June to October and heavy rainfall from November to May.