
Toba Batak people
Group of the Batak people in Indonesia / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Toba Batak people?
Summarize this article for a 10 years old
Toba people (Surat Batak: ᯅᯖᯂ᯲ ᯖᯬᯅ) also referred to as Batak Toba people are the largest sub-group of the Batak people of North Sumatra, Indonesia. The common phrase of ‘Batak’ usually refers to the Batak Toba people. This mistake is caused by the Toba people being the largest sub-group of the Batak ethnic and their differing social habit has been to self-identify as merely Batak instead of ‘Toba’ or ‘Batak Toba’, contrary to the habit of the Karo, Mandailing, Simalungun, Pakpak communities who commonly self-identify with their respective sub-groups.
![]() Toba Batak traditional clothes | |
Total population | |
---|---|
+ 4,100,000 (2020) | |
Regions with significant populations | |
![]() North Sumatra: Toba Samosir Regency, Samosir Regency, Humbang Hasundutan Regency, Sibolga, Pematang Siantar, Medan, Dairi, Deli Serdang, and the surrounding areas = 3,000,000 Outside North Sumatera: Riau, Batam, Jakarta, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Papua, Bali, and around Indonesia = 1,100,000 [1] Outside Indonesia: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | |
Languages | |
Toba Batak language, Indonesian language | |
Religion | |
Christianity 97.8%, Sunni Islam 2%, Other 0.2% [2][3] | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Angkola people, Karo people, Mandailing people, Pakpak people, Simalungun people |

The Toba people are found in Toba Regency, Humbang Hasundutan Regency, Samosir Regency, North Tapanuli Regency, Central Tapanuli Regency (with Sibolga and its surrounding regions), and part of Dairi Regency.[4] The Batak Toba people speak in the Toba Batak language and are centered on Lake Toba and Samosir Island within the lake. Batak Toba people frequently build in traditional Batak architecture styles which are common on Samosir. Cultural demonstrations, performances and festivities such as Sigale Gale are often held for tourists.
Paleontological research done in Humbang region of the west side of Toba Lake suggests that human activity had existed 6,500 years ago. The genetic test of the Toba Batak people shown that the Toba Batak are the descendants of different people with distinct genetic components. The ancestors of the Toba Batak are the people migrated from Formosa thousands years ago.[5]