West Sumatra
Matrilineal Minangkabau homeland whose diaspora tradition spread Padang restaurants across Indonesia; GRDP Rp 191T in 2023.
The Minangkabau highlands developed one of the world's few matrilineal societies, where property passes through women and men traditionally leave home to seek fortune elsewhere—a cultural pattern called 'merantau.' This diaspora instinct turned the Minangkabau into Indonesia's most entrepreneurial ethnic group; Padang restaurants now operate in every Indonesian city and across Southeast Asia. The cuisine became a franchise system centuries before the term existed.
West Sumatra's economy still runs on this outward orientation. GRDP reached Rp 191 trillion in 2023, with investment flowing in at Rp 7.2 trillion—128% above target. The Padang-Pekanbaru highway, part of the Trans-Sumatra Toll Road completed in 2024, finally gives the province fast access to eastern Sumatra's export markets. Artisanal gold mining in Solok adds resource extraction to the agricultural base, though the environmental impacts draw regulatory attention.
The merantau tradition means West Sumatra perpetually exports its most ambitious youth to Jakarta and beyond, creating a demographic challenge even as it spreads Minangkabau influence nationwide. By 2026, the new highway and airport railway will test whether improved connectivity reverses this brain drain or simply accelerates it.