Previously a small village, it has grown to a relatively sizeable town due to its political status as a regency seat.

The administrative location of the town is in the kelurahan (urban village) of Saumlaki, inside South Tanimbar District.

The urban settlement extends outside of the administrative boundaries to surrounding communities such as the villages of Olilit and Sifnana.

The town extends outside of the proper kelurahan to the neighbouring Olilit and Sifnana, with which it shares a peninsula in the east of Tanimbar Selatan District.

[3] The main economic sources of the town are agriculture and fishery, including cassava, water spinach, banana, coconut, and pineapple.

Further economic potential comes from natural gas exploration, especially Masela Bloc, located 300 km (190 mi) from the Saumlaki.

There have been some controversies surrounding the exploration, especially regarding the local government's participation interest that would be obliged to own minimum 10% of production's ownership.

[13] In 2021, the Indonesian Navy built a new naval base in the town which includes bigger port facilities capable of handling ships of to 12,000GT.