Loa Kulu () is a district of the Kutai Kartanegara Regency, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. It covers a land area of 1,614.96 km<sup>2</sup>, and had a population of 39,938 at the 2010 Census and 51,639 at the 2020 Census' the official estimate as at mid 2024 was 58,169 inhabitants. Its district seat is Loh Sumber.
During the Dutch East Indies colonial rule, Loa Kulu was a fairly important coal producing area with the operation of a coal mining company called (OBM) in the late 19th century. Coal exploitation in Loa Kulu district ended in 1970, exactly 2 years after took over from OBM in 1968. Since then, Loa Kulu, which was once busy, has gradually become deserted, abandoned by thousands of mine workers.
Loa Kulu District is divided into the following 15 villages ():
The administrative villages of Sepakat, Sumber Sari, and Jongkang were all inaugurated on 28 December 2011, by respectively splitting them from Loa Kulu Kota, Loh Sumber, and Rempanga. Their exact areas are still uncalculated.
Loa Kulu is a multi-ethnic district. It is inhabited by various ethnic groups, including the indigenous Dayak, Kutai, and Paser peoples. There are also Javanese, Bugis, and Banjarese immigrants.
There were two separate southward migration waves of Dayak peoples into Loa Kulu, none of them are truly indigenous to the area. Its western part which includes Jonggon Desa (or Jonggon), particularly, has been inhabited by the Basap people since 18th to 19th centuries, following their migration from Manubar (Sandaran, East Kutai). Meanwhile, inhabitants of Lung Anai are mostly Kenyah people who migrated from Apo Kayan during the IndonesiaâÂÂMalaysia confrontation (similar to the history of Budaya Pampang).
The following are the majority ethnic groups per village in Loa Kulu district.
Based on their religion, the majority of Loa Kulu residents are Muslims, practiced mainly by the Kutai, Paser, Javanese, Banjarese, and Bugis peoples, besides that there is also Christianity which is mainly practiced by the Dayak people. Referring to data as of December 2024, the number of Muslims was 54,722, Protestants 2,565, Catholics 559, Buddhists 12, and Hindus 6.