Bawean (Indonesian: Pulau Bawean) is an island of Indonesia located approximately 150 km north of Surabaya in the Java Sea, off the coast of Java. It is administered by Gresik Regency of East Java province. It is approximately 15 km in diameter and is circumnavigated by a single narrow road. Bawean is dominated by an extinct volcano at its center that rises to 655 m above sea level. Its population as of 2009 is about 75,000 people, but more than 26,000 of them (that is about 70% of the male population) were temporarily living outside, working in other parts of Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia). As a result, females constituted about 77% of the actual population of the island, which is thus often referred to as the island of women (Indonesian: Pulau Putri).
The island territory is divided into two regions, Sangkapura and Tambak. More than half the population (about 48,000) lives in the city of Sangkapura located on the southern coast of the island. The island has rich nature with many endemic species, such as Bawean Deer which is only found on the island and is included to the IUCN Red List. There are several large underwater petroleum and gas fields around the island.
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