Flores Island (Indonesia)

Flores ( FLOR-ess) is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Administratively, it forms the largest island in the East Nusa Tenggara Province. The area is 14,250 km2 (5,500 sq mi), similar to Shikoku or Jamaica. Including Komodo and Rinca islands off its west coast (but excluding the Solor Archipelago to the east of Flores), the population was 1,878,875 in the 2020 Census (including various offshore islands); the official estimate as of mid-2024 was 2,014,110. The largest towns are Ende and Maumere. The name Flores is of Portuguese origin, meaning "Flowers". Flores is located east of Sumbawa and the Komodo Islands, and west of the Solor Islands and the Alor Archipelago. To the southeast is Timor. To the south, across the Sumba Strait, is Sumba Island, and to the north, beyond the Flores Sea, is Sulawesi. Among all islands containing Indonesian territory, Flores is the 10th most populous after Java, Sumatra, Borneo (Kalimantan), Sulawesi, New Guinea, Bali, Madura, Lombok, and Timor, and also the 10th biggest island of Indonesia. Flores is among the 40 most populous islands in the world, with a population similar to Manhattan or Xiamen (Amoy). Until the arrival of modern humans, Flores was inhabited by Homo floresiensis, a small archaic human.