It covers a land area of 8,779.32 km2, and at the 2010 Census it had a population of 198,911 people,[2] while the 2020 Census showed that this had risen to 248,395[3] and the official estimate in mid 2023 was 255,384[1] The capital lies at the town of Labuha on Bacan Island.

(b) formally called Kepulauan Batanglomang; situated between Bacan and Mandioli Islands.

(g) includes the Widi Islands off the east coast of the Gane Peninsula.

South Halmahera has been designated by provincial governor Abdul Ghani Kasuba as a region for tourism development.

[36] Kasuba also successfully negotiated for the China-based Jinchun Group to build a nine-trillion rupiah nickel smelter in the Obi Islands.