ABSTRACT
Although Java (the Indonesian spelling is Jawa) is the fifth largest island of Indonesia, only constituting 7% of the total national land area, it contains almost three-fifths of the country’s population. Java (including Madura and smaller outlying islands) is one of the most densely populated regions in the world, at an officially estimated average of around 1,016 per sq km in 2007 (by comparison, Papua and the Maluku Islands together comprise 26% of the total area of the country, but are inhabited by only 2% of the total Indonesian population). Java has been the cultural, political and economic centre of the area for centuries. On Java are the republic’s capital and largest city, Jakarta (constituting its own Special Capital District), and the second and third largest cities, Surabaya (in East Java) and Bandung (West Java). The largest port is Tanjung Priok (Jakarta), while the main cultural centres are the old capitals of Yogyakarta (itself a Special District, with provincial status) and of Surakarta (known as Solo, in Central Java).
