Sorong

This article is about the city. For the regency, see Sorong Regency.

Sorong
City
City of Sorong Kota Sorong
Coat of arms
Motto(s):  Setara – Bersahabat – Dinamis (Equal — Friendly — Dynamic)
Sorong Location in Bird's Head Peninsula, Western New Guinea and Indonesia Sorong Sorong (Western New Guinea) Sorong Sorong (Indonesia)
Coordinates: 0°52′S 131°15′E
Country	Indonesia
Province	West Papua
Government
• Mayor	Lambert Jitmau
• Vice Mayor	Pahimah Iskandar
Area
• City	1,105.0 km2 (426.6 sq mi)
Population  (2019)
• City	254,294
• Density	230/km2 (600/sq mi)
• Metro	345,342
Time zone	UTC+9 (Indonesia Eastern Time)
Postcodes	98414
Area code	(+62) 951
Website	sorongkota.go.id

Sorong is the largest city of the Indonesian province of West Papua. The city is located on the western tip of the island of New Guinea with its only land borders being with Sorong Regency. It is the gateway to Indonesia's Raja Ampat Islands, species rich coral reef islands in an area considered the heart of the world's coral reef biodiversity. It also is the logistics hub for Indonesia's thriving eastern oil and gas frontier. Sorong has experienced exponential growth since 2010, and further growth is anticipated as Sorong becomes linked by road to other frontier towns in Papua's Bird's Head Peninsula. The city had a population of 190,625 at the 2010 Census; the latest official estimate (as at mid 2019) is 254,294. It is served by Domine Eduard Osok Airport.

Etymology

The origin of Sorong's name comes from the word Soren, which means "deep and wavy ocean" in the Biak language. The name was first used by the Biak-Numfor people who sailed to different islands before they finally decided to settle down in Raja Ampat Islands. When the Biak-Numfor people came to the place called "Daratan Maladum", they decided to call it Soren. After centuries of contact with Chinese merchants, European missionaries, and people from Maluku and Sangihe-Talaud, the name underwent further change into Sorong.

Administrative Districts

At the 2010 Census, the city comprised six districts (distrik), but the number has subsequently been increased to ten by the splitting of existing districts. These are tabulated below with their populations at the 2010 Census, together with the latest estimates for mid-2019. The table also includes the number of administrative villages (desa and kelurahan, 41 in total) in each district and its post code.

Distrik	Area in km2 (2019)	Population 2010 Census	Population mid 2019 Estimate	Number of villages	Post code
Sorong Barat (West Sorong)	127.74	35,306	33,950	4	98412
Sorong Kepulauan (a) (Sorong Islands)	200.11	9,711	11,887	4	98413
Sorong Timur (East Sorong)	69.39	26,804	26,663	4	98418
Sorong Utara (North Sorong)	127.21	45,001	30,685	4	98410
Sorong (distrik)	48.81	31,264	21,246	4	98416
Sorong Manoi	135.97	42,539	56,375	5	98415
Maladu Mes	126.40	(b)	8,424	4	98411
Klaurung	88.83	(b)	9,724	4	98417
Malaimsimsa	102.50	(b)	33,002	4	98419
Sorong Kota (Sorong town)	78.04	(b)	22,338	4	98414
Totals	1,105.00	190,625	254,294	41

Note: (a) Sorong Kepulauan district includes 25 offshore islands within the city limits, including Doom, Soop, Raam and Umbre Islands.
(b) the populations as at 2010 of the four new districts established after 2010 are included in the figures for the districts from which they were split off.

Climate

Sorong experiences the tropical rainforest climate (Af), as there is no real dry season throughout the year. The wettest month is June, with a total precipitation of 373 millimetres (14.7 in), while the driest month is February, with a total precipitation of 180 millimetres (7.1 in). The excessive precipitation is caused by the monsoon. The temperature variation remains constant throughout the year. The temperature difference between the hottest month and the coolest month is 1.2 °C (2.2 °F). The hottest month is November, with an average temperature of 27.8 °C (82.0 °F), while the coolest month is July, with an average temperature of 26.6 °C (79.9 °F).

Climate data for Sorong, West Papua
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	30.6 (87.1)	30.5 (86.9)	30.5 (86.9)	30.7 (87.3)	30.6 (87.1)	30.0 (86.0)	29.4 (84.9)	29.5 (85.1)	29.9 (85.8)	30.7 (87.3)	31.0 (87.8)	30.8 (87.4)	30.4 (86.7)
Daily mean °C (°F)	27.5 (81.5)	27.4 (81.3)	27.5 (81.5)	27.6 (81.7)	27.5 (81.5)	27.1 (80.8)	26.6 (79.9)	26.7 (80.1)	26.9 (80.4)	27.5 (81.5)	27.8 (82.0)	27.6 (81.7)	27.3 (81.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	24.4 (75.9)	24.4 (75.9)	24.6 (76.3)	24.5 (76.1)	24.5 (76.1)	24.3 (75.7)	23.9 (75.0)	23.9 (75.0)	24.0 (75.2)	24.3 (75.7)	24.6 (76.3)	24.5 (76.1)	24.3 (75.7)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	194 (7.6)	180 (7.1)	198 (7.8)	243 (9.6)	368 (14.5)	373 (14.7)	321 (12.6)	277 (10.9)	234 (9.2)	207 (8.1)	186 (7.3)	188 (7.4)	2,969 (116.8)
Average relative humidity (%)	81	81	82	82	85	84	85	86	85	82	82	83	83
Source 1: Climate-Data.org (average temps & precipitation)
Source 2: Weatherbase (humidity)

Container port

A container port is to be built in Sorong with an annual container-handling capacity of 500,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) and cost Rp.800 billion (US$93.6 million). Construction began in early 2012 and was expected to be complete in mid-2013, but was delayed.