a city in Indonesia, the largest city on Sumatra, and the administrative center of North Sumatra Province. Population, 598,000 (1970). Situated on the Strait of Malacca, Medan has a harbor, Belawan, 25 km north of the city. It is a railroad and highway junction. Offices of North Sumatra’s state-owned plantations are located here, as well as branches of national and international banks. The principal commodities are food and condiments, textiles, rubber, and metal and wood products. On the outskirts are enterprises for the production of palm oil and for the processing of rubber and other agricultural exports. Medan is the site of the University of North Sumatra, founded in 1952, and other educational institutions.