Jakarta

About Jakarta

Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia, with administrative status equivalent to a province. It lies on the northwestern coast of Java, borders the provinces of West Java and Banten, and faces the Java Sea to the north. Jakarta itself covers about 662 square kilometres, while the wider Jakarta metropolitan area, known as Jabodetabek, is among the largest urban agglomerations in the world by area and population, with over 40 million people. Jakarta is Indonesia's political, economic, and cultural centre and contains many national institutions, corporate headquarters, and the secretariat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The area has been inhabited since at least the early centuries of the Common Era and was long associated with Sunda Kelapa, the port of the Sunda Kingdom. In 1527, the settlement was renamed Jayakarta after being captured by forces of the Demak Sultanate. The Dutch East India Company seized the city in 1619 and rebuilt it as Batavia, which served as the centre of Dutch colonial rule for more than three centuries. After the Japanese occupation during World War II and Indonesia's declaration of independence in 1945, the city took the name Jakarta and became the capital of the new republic. Today, Jakarta is classified as an alpha world city and is Indonesia's main financial and commercial centre, with an economy concentrated in finance, trade, business services, media, and international diplomacy. The city has no ethnic majority, with large communities of Javanese, Betawi, Sundanese, and other groups.

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