The Talaud Islands Regency () is a regency of North Sulawesi province, Indonesia. The Talaud Islands form an archipelago situated to the north-east of Sulawesi, with a land area of 1,251.02 km2. It had a population of 83,434 at the 2010 Census, increasing to 94,520 at the 2020 Census. The largest island is Karakelong, on which lies the regency seat in the town of Melonguane. To its south lie the islands of Salibabu and Kabaruan, while the Nanusa group lies to the northeast of Karakelong, and Miangas island is situated midway between Karakelong and the Philippines. It is one of the three regencies to the north of North Sulawesi that are located between Sulawesi and the Philippines, along with the Sitaro Islands Regency and Sangihe Islands Regency. The island of Miangas is the most northerly island in the regency and widely regarded as the northernmost point of Indonesia. As the result, it is often referenced to describe the territorial integrity of Indonesia in various patriotic statements and songs together with Sabang, Merauke, and Rote Island. History The islands were known as Maleon, Sinduane, Tamarongge, Batunampato, and Tinonda. Human settlements in the region have been present since prehistoric time, shown by several artifacts of hand axe and chopper from 6,000 BC. There were also remains of chinaware, suggesting there has been continuous trading activity between the natives of the islands and outside world. It was thought that inhabitants of the islands were originated from Southern Philippines especially Mindanao and also traders from Ternate. Governance Administrative districts The Regency is divided into nineteen districts (kecamatan), tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census and 2020 Census. Economy The regency's GRDP was valued at 2,266 billion rupiahs in 2020, an increase of 59 billion rupiahs from previous year. The regency's economy is still dominated by agriculture, fishing, and forestry-related industries. The agriculture sector alone made up 42.57% of the regency's GRDP. The second biggest sector in the regency was trade and retail, which made up 13.22% of the regency's GRDP in 2020. Other significant sectors are construction with contribution of 11.64%, administration and social security with 11.58%, and transportation with 4.50%. Overall economic growth of the regency was 4.69% on 2019 but then declined to 0.43% on 2020. The fastest growing sector in the regency in 2020 was electricity and gas with growth of 9.14%, followed by health sector