Sulawesi is an island in the South East Asia which lies between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. It is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia. Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are the other islands named to be larger in territory. The estimated population as of 2005 is 16 million.

Sulawesi was formerly known as "Celebes", a name given by the Portuguese which means "hard to reach". The rough waters full of currents and streams surrounding the island was the basis for this nickname.

Celebes was later changed to "Sulawesi" in the modern times. This nickname is possibly derived from the word sula which means "Island" and besi "Iron" and maybe refered to the historical export of iron from the rich Lake Matano iron deposits.

Sulawesi is considered as the 11th largest island in the world. It is surrounded by Borneo to the west, the Philippines to the north, the Maluku to the east and the Flores and Timor to the south. It is subdivided into six provinces which are Gorontalo, West Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, and North Sulawesi with West Sulawesi as a brand new new province created in 2004 from part of South Sulawesi. There are two largest cities of the Sulawesi island which is the Makassar located on the southwestern coast of the island and the Manado on the northern tip.