Aceh, Indonesia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Aceh
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      From top left: Baiturrahman Grand Mosque, Lake Laut Tawar, Sabang, Gunung Leuser National Park, Seulawah Agam, Aceh Tsunami Museum
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| Country |  Indonesia |
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| Established | 7 December 1956 | ||
| Capital and largest city |
Banda Aceh | ||
Aceh is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the northern end of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Banda Aceh. It is close to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India and separated from them by the Andaman Sea.
Aceh is a religiously conservative territory and the only Indonesian province practicing Sharia law officially. There are ten indigenous ethnic groups in this region, the largest being the Acehnese people, accounting for approximately 80% to 90% of the region's population.
According to several archaeological findings, the first evidence of human habitation in Aceh is from a site near the Tamiang River where shell middens are present. Stone tools and faunal remains were also found on the site. Archaeologists believe the site was first occupied around 10,000 BC.
Aceh is the place where the spread of Islam in Indonesia began, and was a key factor of the spread of Islam in Southeast Asia. Islam reached Aceh (Kingdoms of Fansur and Lamuri) around 1250 AD. In the early seventeenth century the Sultanate of Aceh was the most wealthy, powerful and cultivated state in the Malacca Straits region. Aceh has a history of political independence and resistance to control by outsiders, including the former Dutch colonists and later the Indonesian government.
Aceh has substantial natural resources of oil and natural gas with some estimates that Aceh gas reserves are one of the largest in the world.
Aceh was the closest point of land to the epicenter of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, which devastated much of the western coast of the province. The western coastal areas of Aceh, including the cities of Banda Aceh, Calang, and Meulaboh, were among the areas hardest-hit by the tsunami resulting from the magnitude 9.2 Indian Ocean earthquake on 26 December 2004.
While estimates vary, over 170,000 people were killed by the tsunami in Aceh and about 500,000 were left homeless.
The tragedy of the tsunami was further worsened several months later, when the 2005 M8.6 Nias–Simeulue earthquake struck the sea bed between the islands of Simeulue Island in Aceh and Nias in North Sumatra. This second quake killed a further 1346 people on Nias and Simeulue, displaced tens of thousands more, and caused the tsunami response to be expanded to include Nias.
The World Health Organisation estimates a 100% increase in mild and moderate mental disorders in Aceh's general population after the tsunami.
The population of Aceh before the December 2004 tsunami was 4,271,000 (2004). The population as of 15 September 2005 was 4,031,589, and at January 2014 was 4,731,705. The latest official estimate (as at 1 July 2019) is 5,316,320,
Images for kids
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Mollusca piles in Aceh Tamiang Regency
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Head of Avalokiteshvara from Aceh.
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Map of Pasai, the first Islamic kingdom in South East Asia
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Map of Aceh Sultanate and its vassals at its greatest extent during the reign of Sultan Iskandar Muda
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Teungku Daud Beureu'eh, 3rd governor of Aceh and the regional leader of Darul Islam in Aceh
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Aftermath of the tsunami in Aceh
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Boats washed ashore near local businesses in down town Aceh, Sumatra following a massive tsunami that struck the area on 26 December 2004
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Martti Ahtisaari, facilitator in Aceh-Indonesia peace agreement
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Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in Banda Aceh. 98% of Aceh's population is Muslim
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Rumoh Aceh, traditional house of Aceh
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Ratoh Jaroe dance performance
See also
In Spanish: Provincia de Aceh para niños
