South Sumatra has been settled by humans since the Palaeolithic era.

Most are concentrated in urban areas and are largely immigrants from other parts of Indonesia. Other ethnic groups include the Javanese, Sundanese, Minangkabau and Chinese. Most speak the Palembang language, which is mutually intelligible to both Indonesian and local Palembang Malay. The province is inhabited by many different ethnic groups, with Palembangese being largest ethnic group. The province is rich in natural resources, such as petroleum, natural gas and coal. The Bangka Strait in the east separates South Sumatra and the island of Bangka, which is part of the Bangka Belitung Islands province. The province borders the provinces of Jambi to the north, Bengkulu to the west and Lampung to the south. The capital of the province is the city of Palembang. South Sumatra ( Indonesian: Sumatra Selatan) is a province of Indonesia, located on the southeast of the island of Sumatra, The province is 91,592.43 km 2 (35,364 sq mi) and has a population of 8,467,432 at the 2020 Census the official estimate as at mid 2022 was 8,657,008.

South sumatra indonesia