Sumba vs Bali vs Lombok
Sumba is about twice the size of Bali but has around a fifth of Bali's people and a small fraction of its air traffic. Foreigners also face a lower minimum house price there.
- Size: Sumba covers 10,909.55 km2, Bali 5,582.83 km2 and Lombok 4,566.54 km2 (Wikipedia).
- Population: Sumba had 779,049 people in the 2020 census and an estimated 852,832 in mid-2025. Bali had 4,317,404 in 2020 and Lombok 3,758,631 (Wikipedia, citing BPS).
- Foreign tourists: Bali received 6,333,360 foreign visitors in 2024, according to BPS (JPNN, February 2025). East Sumba recorded 41,812 visitors of all kinds in 2024 (Disparbud Sumba Timur via Kumparan, 2026).
- Air traffic in 2024: Lombok International Airport handled 2,367,545 passengers (detik, January 2025). Sumba's two airports handled 165,416 (Tambolaka) and 58,819 (Waingapu) (Wikipedia).
- Minimum price for a foreigner buying a landed house (2022 decree): IDR 5 billion in Bali, IDR 3 billion in NTB (Lombok's province) and IDR 1 billion for 'other provinces', which appears to include NTT and Sumba (Hukumonline, 2023).
- Development level: poverty on Sumba was about 30% in 2021 and electrification 85.84%, according to the 2022 government master plan for the island (Bappenas, 2022).
- Bali's regulators are tightening rules on foreign-run businesses and illegal villas (The Jakarta Post, 2025). We found no comparable figures on land prices across the three islands from an official source, so we do not compare them here.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org, jpnn.com, kumparan.com, detik.com, en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org, hukumonline.com, komens.bappenas.go.id, thejakartapost.com
Checked 2026-11-08. Not legal or financial advice.
More guides
Visas and residence permits
Indonesia has several long-stay permits for foreigners who want to live on Sumba. They differ in who qualifies, how much money you must show and whether you may work.
Opening a bank account
A personal account is much easier to open once you hold a KITAS. A company account for a PT PMA needs the company's full set of papers and, in most banks, the director in person.
Sending money to buy property
Large payments for property usually go by bank transfer and are paid in rupiah inside Indonesia. Banks report cross-border transfers, and cash over IDR 100 million must be declared at the border.
Annual property tax and running costs
The yearly land and building tax (PBB-P2) is set and collected by each regency, within a national cap of 0.5%. A foreign-owned company also has recurring reporting duties.
Building permits: PBG and SLF
Before you build you need a zoning approval and a building approval (PBG), and before anyone moves in or rents the building you need a certificate of fitness (SLF).
Solar, water and internet
Sumba has long, dry seasons and patchy grid power and mobile data. Many owners plan for their own solar, water storage and satellite internet.