Bawean () is an island of Indonesia located approximately north of Surabaya in the Java Sea, off the coast of Java. It is administered by Gresik Regency of East Java province. It is approximately in diameter and is circumnavigated by a single narrow road. Bawean is dominated by an extinct volcano at its center that rises to above sea level. Its population as of the 2010 Census was about 70,000 people, but more than 26,000 of the total (that is about 70% of the male population) were temporarily living outside, working in other parts of Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. while the official estimate as at mid 2024 was 85,320.

The island territory is divided into two administrative districts, Sangkapura and Tambak. About 63.65% of the population (about 54,311 in 2024) live in the district of Sangkapura, centred on the town of that name located on the southern coast of the island. and populations at the 2010 Census and the 2020 Census, together with the official estimates as at mid 2024, were as follows:

{| class="sortable wikitable"

|-

! Name of<br>District<br>(kecamatan) ||Area<br>in <br>km<sup>2</sup>|| Pop'n<br>Census<br>2010|| Pop'n<br>Census<br>2020|| Pop'n<br>Estimate<br>mid 2024

|-

| Sangkapura ||align="right"|118.72||align="right"|45,755||align="right"|50,612||align="right"|54,311

|-

| Tambak ||align="right"|78.70||align="right"|24,475||align="right"|29,677||align="right"|31,009

|-

| Totals ||align="right"|197.42||align="right"|70,230||align="right"|80,289||align="right"|85,320

|-

|}

The two districts include 12 small offshore islands.

Economy and social activities

thumb|The ball game [[sepak takraw is popular in the Bawean]]

The main source of income for the majority of the Bawean population is money earned by relatives working abroad. As the local authority was not ready to operate the airport, they handed control of the airport over to the central government. It was predicted to operate in May 2015; however, operations at the Harun Thohir Airport were officially begun in January 2016.

Demographics

thumb|Javanese constitute a small minority in Bawean

The high migration hinders accurate count of the number of people living on the island. In 2009, the number of residents was 74,319, of which at least 26,000 were living abroad – in Malaysia, Singapore and, to a lesser extent, in Java and other areas in Indonesia.

Most people inhabiting the island in the 15–16th centuries were from Madura and, to a lesser extent, from Java islands. They were gradually mixed with traders, fishermen and pirates of Bugis and Malayan ethnicities coming from other parts of the Malay Archipelago.

Further reading

  • Bawean Island – Tourism and Map
  • UNESCO – Migration report on Malaysia
  • Experience Asia Through the Eyes of a Traveler – Indonesia's Bawean Island: The Magic of Faith