Medan

Seaport and capital of North Sumatra province on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, on the River Deli; population (2000) 1,703,900. The largest city on the island, its industries include tobacco and tea processing, motor vehicle assembly, and the manufacture of machinery, rope, ceramics, bricks, tiles, and soap. Some of its products are rubber, tobacco, and palm oil.

Medan became a city in 1886, and is the home of the University of North Sumatra and the Islamic University of North Sumatra, both founded in 1952. The 19th-century palace of the sultan of Deli is a notable landmark.