It makes up a re-established regency (kabupaten), created on 4 October 1999 by splitting the existing Banggai Regency into this smaller Banggai Regency situated on the mainland of Sulawesi (capital, Luwuk) and a new Banggai Islands Regency comprising the offshore islands to the southeast (capital, Banggai town) which are separated from mainland Sulawesi by the Peleng Straits (Selat Peleng).

The residual Banggai Regency covers an area of 9,672.70 km2 and had a population of 323,626 at the 2010 census[2] and 362,275 at the 2020 census;[3] the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 373,693 (comprising 190,430 males and 183,260 females).

[1] At the 2010 census, the Banggai regency was divided into eighteen districts (kecamatan).

The twenty-three districts are tabulated below with their areas and their 2010[2] and 2020[3] Census populations, together with the official estimates as at mid-2023 (rounded to the nearest 100 persons).

[1] The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of villages in each district (291 rural desa and 46 urban kelurahan in total), and its post code.