Cirebon Regency

Cirebon Regency is a regency of West Java Province of Indonesia. The town of Sumber is its regency seat. It covers 1,076.76 km² and had a population of 2,068,116 at the 2010 census and 2,270,621 at the 2020 census; the official estimate as at mid 2024 was 2,387,961. These area and population figures exclude those of Cirebon City, which is a separate administration, although totally surrounded by the regency on its landward side.
The Cirebon region is renowned for the production of various types of mangoes. There are plans to support the expansion of mango production in the region both for export as well as for the domestic market. Mango production is currently concentrated in just a few parts of the regency. Local farmers and officials believe there is considerable potential to expand production to other nearby parts of the locality.

Etymology

Being on the border of Sundanese and Javanese cultural regions, many of Cirebon's residents speak a dialect that is a mix of Sundanese and Javanese, known as the Jawareh dialect, and it is thought that the word "Cirebon" derives from the Javanese word, caruban, meaning "mixed", a reference to the city's mix of Sundanese, Javanese, Chinese, and Arabic cultural elements. Alternatively, it could be derived from the Sundanese words of "Ci" and "Rebon"..

History

According to the manuscript Purwaka Caruban Nagari, in 15th century Cirebon started as a small fishing village named Muara Jati. At that time the port of Muara Jati already attracted foreign traders. The port master at that time is Ki Gedeng Alang-Alang whose appointed by the king of Galuh kingdom located inland in Kawali, Ciamis. He moved the port to Lemahwungkuk, 5 kilometres southward. As the new settlement leader, Ki Gedeng Alang-Alang was bestowed the title "Kuwu Cerbon".
A 15th century prince from Pajajaran, Prince Walangsungsang, converted to Islam, and was appointed as the Adipati of Cirebon with the title Cakrabumi. He established the new kingdom of Cirebon and declared independence from Sunda and Galuh. The establishment of Cirebon Sultanate marked the first Islamic rule in Western Java, that grew from modest fishing village of Muara Jati to a busy port of Java northern coast. Cirebon grew as one of the independent sultanates under the leadership of Sunan Gunungjati, in the early 16th century.
After the Sunda Kingdom collapsed, The Sultanates of Banten and Mataram fought control over Cirebon, which declared its allegiance to Sultan Agung of Mataram. But the latter's grandson Amangkurat II ceded the city to the Dutch in 1677. A treaty in 1705 saw the Cirebon area west of Cisanggarung River became a Dutch protectorate jointly administered by three sultans whose courts rivalled those of Central Java. The Dutch authorities later established the Cirebon Residence which composed of present-day Cirebon, Indramayu, and Kuningan.
During the time of the Dutch "Culture System" a flourishing trade in colonial cash crops attracted many Chinese entrepreneurs and the Chinese influence is still evident in the batik for which Cirebon is famous. Cirebon suffered a famine in 1844, apparently triggered by a combination of drought and the shift from subsistence agriculture to cash crops, particularly indigo and sugarcane.

Campaign for Cirebon Province

Some of the local political elite in Cirebon and surrounding regencies have campaigned for Cirebon city, together with the regencies of Cirebon, Indramayu, Kuningan and Majalengka to be established as a new province - in the same way as Banten Province was formed in 2000 by splitting it away from West Java. To be a new province it is required that it should be proposed by at least three regencies. Leaders from four of these administrations have given their consent, but Majalengka Regency has turned down the idea and indicated that it would prefer to stay part of West Java. However, the lack of support from the Majalengka area does not preclude Cirebon city and the other three regencies from continuing to promote the idea.
The potential size and population of this possible Province would be as follows:

Name	Capital	Area in km²	Pop'n 2010 census	Pop'n 2020 census	Pop'n mid 2024 estimate
Cirebon City	Cirebon
Cirebon Regency	Sumber
Indramayu Regency	Indramayu
Kuningan Regency	Kuningan
Majalengka Regency	Majalengka
Totals

Geography

Cirebon Regency is bordered by the Java Sea to the north-east, by Indramayu Regency to the north, Majalengka Regency to the west, Kuningan Regency to the south, and Brebes Regency to the southeast. A small landing site "Penggung" also serves the TNI-AU. The city lies on Jalur Pantura, a major road on the northern coast of Java that stretches from Anyer, passes through Jakarta, and ends at Surabaya.

Administrative divisions

Cirebon Regency is divided into forty districts, listed below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 census and the 2020 census, together with the official estimates as at mid 2024. The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of administrative villages in each district, and their post codes.

Kode Wilayah	Name of District	Area in km²	Pop'n 2010 census	Pop'n 2020 census	Pop'n mid 2024 estimate	Admin centre	No. of villages	Post code
32.09.01	Waled	30.76	52,659	56,013	58,129	Waled Kota	12	45180
32.09.32	Pasaleman	41.28	24,968	26,528	27,518	Pasaleman	7	45187
32.09.02	Ciledug	14.62	42,174	45,601	47,625	Ciledug Kulon	10	45188
32.09.33	Pabuaran	9.57	33,696	36,760	38,524	Pabuaran Lor	7	45194
32.09.03	Losari	45.32	54,101	62,351	66,746	Panggangsari	10	45192
32.09.04	Pabedilan	25.80	51,475	58,198	61,840	Pabedilan Kidul	13	45193
32.09.05	Babakan	22.16	62,312	71,288	76,096	Babakan Gebang	14	45191
32.09.30	Gebang	35.30	57,605	67,861	73,264	Gebang	13	45190
32.09.06	Karangsembung	18.80	34,450	36,491	37,808	Karangsuwung	8	45186
32.09.34	Karangwareng	27.17	26,563	28,547	29,744	Kubangdeleg	9	45184
32.09.07	Lemahabang	22.63	50,751	55,569	58,318	Lemahabang	13	45183
32.09.08	Susukan Lebak	18.03	37,010	41,147	43,438	Susukan Agung	13	45185
32.09.09	Sedong	34.39	39,429	42,302	44,046	Panongan	10	45189
32.09.10	Astanajapura	29.15	75,737	79,884	82,531	Buntet	11	45181
32.09.11	Pangenan	36.82	43,001	46,870	49,102	Pangenan	9	45182
32.09.12	Mundu	27.49	73,591	81,221	85,502	Luwung	12	45173
32.09.13	Beber	25.61	36,521	44,203	48,224	Halimpu	10	45172
32.09.38	Greged	32.19	51,073	56,812	59,988	Nanggela	10	45170
	Total South & East	499.67	847,116	937,646	988,443		191
32.09.14	Talun	19.53	62,819	71,464	76,118	Kecomberan	11	45171
32.09.15	Sumber	29.50	80,959	96,725	104,997	Sumber	14	45611 - 45613
32.09.16	Dukupuntang	37.39	60,356	64,980	67,750	Dukupuntang	13	45652
32.09.17	Palimanan	19.10	55,609	61,933	65,426	Palimanan Timur	12	45160
32.09.18	Plumbon	19.01	73,416	82,323	87,195	Plumbon	15	45158
32.09.31	Depok	16.36	57,071	66,246	71,112	Depok	12	45155
32.09.19	Weru	9.10	64,213	69,942	73,253	Setu Kulon	9	45159
32.09.36	Plered	13.22	51,092	55,102	57,490	Kaliwulu	10	45154
32.09.35	Tengahtani	9.75	40,381	45,435	48,188	Dawuan	8	45168
32.09.20	Kedawung	10.77	62,245	60,933	61,741	Kalikoa	8	45153
32.09.21	Gunungjati	22.61	77,918	82,442	83,380	Klayan	13	45151
32.09.22	Kapetakan	67.46	51,601	60,975	65,908	Kapetakan	9	45152
32.09.39	Suranenggala	25.92	41,386	46,081	48,675	Karangreja	11	45150
32.09.23	Klangenan	20.40	51,028	52,948	54,423	Jemaras Kidul	9	45157
32.09.40	Jamblang	16.57	35,240	38,236	39,986	Wangunharja	8	45156
32.09.24	Arjawinangun	24.26	62,813	70,730	75,038	Arjawinangun	11	45162
32.09.25	Panguragan	21.97	42,637	43,208	44,007	Panguragan Kulon	9	45163
32.09.26	Ciwaringin	19.01	38,107	38,381	38,998	Ciwaringin	8	45167
32.09.37	Gempol	30.69	43,266	46,230	48,060	Gempol	8	45161
32.09.27	Susukan	51.98	62,329	68,394	71,837	Bojong Kulon	12	45166
32.09.28	Gegesik	63.75	69,598	69,355	70,275	Gegesik Lor	14	45164
32.09.29	Kaliwedi	28.74	35,996	40,912	43,561	Kaliwedi Kidul	9	45165
	Total North & West	577.09	1,240,069	1,332,985	1,399,518		233

Note: comprises the 12 kelurahan and 2 desa.
The city of Cirebon virtually splits the Regency geographically into two parts, and proposals have been made to split the 18 south-eastern districts off as a separate regency. These eighteen districts in the first half of the table lie to the south and east of the city, and constitute the 'candidate' or planned separate regency of East Cirebon. The twenty-two districts in the second half of the table are situated to the north and west of the city, and constitute the 'core territory' or intended residual part of the regency.