Gorontalo (province)

Gorontalo (Gorontaloan: Hulontalo) is a province of Indonesia. It is on the island of Sulawesi. Gorontalo is part of the Minahasa Peninsula. Gorontalo was part of the province of North Sulawesi until it became a new, separate province on 5 December 2000. The provincial capital and largest city is Gorontalo City.

Religion
Like many Indonesian provinces, Islam is the majority religion. Islam came to Gorontalo in the 15th century from Ternate and Bone. Non-govermental Islamic organisations such as Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah have offices in Gorontalo.

Christians are the second-largest population in Gorontalo. Most Christians are immigrants from North Sulawesi and other parts of Indonesia. They are 2.19% of the population. There are several churches in Gorontalo.

Other religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism are mostly followed by immigrants from other parts of Indonesia.

Language
Indonesian is the official language of the province. Road signs and government documents are in Indonesian. However, Gorontaloan language is the most common spoken language in the province. There are several other languages that are similar and may be dialects of Gorontaloan. These include: Suwawa language, Atinggola language, Limboto language, Kwandang language, Tilamuta language and Sumawata language.

Gorontaloan is related to languages from North Sulawesi and the Philippines. Gorontaloan is written in the Latin alphabet. Gorontaloan is the language of everyday life. However, Indonesian language is used in schools, the media, and government.