Nias : an island off the western coast of Sumatra
Nias Nias is an island off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Nias (Kepulauan Nias ) is also the name of the archipelago, including the small Hinako Islands. Nias is the largest of the islands off Sumatra that are part of North Sumatra province. This archipelago consists of 131 islands, of which Nias Island is the biggest. The population in this area was 756,762 inhabitants at the 2010 Census. Until 2003 Nias was an administrative regency covering the entire island, part of the province of North Sumatra. In 2003 it was split into two regencies, Nias and Nias Selatan (Southern Nias ). Subsequently the island was divided further, with the creation of two further regencies from parts of the former Nias Regency â€" Nias Barat (West Nias ) and Nias Utara (North Nias ) â€" and the designation of Gunungsitoli as an autonomous city independent of the four regencies. Gunungsitoli remains the capital city of Nias regency and it is the center of administration and bus...