West Java


West Java is an Indonesian province on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung and its largest city is Bekasi. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten and the country's capital region of Jakarta to the west, the Java Sea to the north, the province of Central Java to the east and the Indian Ocean to the south. With Banten, this province is the native homeland of the Sundanese people, the second-largest ethnic group in Indonesia.
West Java was one of the first eight provinces of Indonesia formed following the country's independence proclamation and was later legally re-established on 14 July 1950. In 1960, the city of Jakarta was split off from West Java as a 'special capital region', with a status equivalent to that of a province, while in 2000 the western parts of the province were in turn split away to form a separate Banten province.
Even following these split-offs, West Java is by far the most populous province of Indonesia with a population of 48,274,162 as of the 2020 Census, which grew to 50,345,189 at mid 2024 according to the official estimates; the population continues to grew and surpassed the 50 millions milestone during late 2023. The province's largest cities, Bekasi, Bandung and Depok, are the third, fourth and sixth most populous cities in Indonesia respectively. Bandung is also one of the most densely populated cities proper in the world.

History

Prehistory

The oldest human inhabitant archaeological findings in the region were unearthed in Anyer on the western coast of Java with evidence of bronze and iron metallurgical culture dating to the first millennium AD. The prehistoric Buni culture, near present-day Bekasi, developed clay pottery with evidence found in Anyer to Cirebon. Artefacts dated 400 BC — AD 100, such as food and drink containers, were found mostly as burial gifts. There is archaeological evidence in Batujaya Archaeological Site dating from the 2nd century and, according to Dr Tony Djubiantono, the head of Bandung Archaeology Agency, Jiwa Temple in Batujaya, Karawang, was also built around this time.

Hindu-Buddhist and Islamic era

One of the earliest known recorded histories in Indonesia is from the former Tarumanagara kingdom, where seven, fourth-century stones are inscribed in Wengi letters and in Sanskrit describing the kings of the kingdom of Tarumanagara. Records of Tarumanegara lasted until the sixth century, which coincides with the attack of Srivijaya, as stated in the Kota Kapur inscription.
The Sunda Kingdom subsequently became the ruling power of the region, as recorded on the Kebon Kopi II inscription. The Sunda Kingdom reached its peak during the reign of King Sri Baduga Maharaja, whose reign from 1482 to 1521 is traditionally remembered as an age of peace and prosperity among Sundanese people.
An Ulama, Sunan Gunung Jati, settled in Cirebon, intending to spread Islam in the town. Meanwhile, the Sultanate of Demak in Central Java grew to become a threat to the Sunda kingdom. To defend against the threat, Prabu Surawisesa Jayaperkosa signed the Luso-Sundanese Treaty with the Portuguese in 1512. In return, the Portuguese were granted access to build fortresses and warehouses in the area, as well as forming trading agreements with the kingdom. This first international treaty of Sunda Kingdom with the Europeans was commemorated by the placement of the Padrao stone monument at the bank of the Ciliwung River in 1522.
Although the treaty with the Portuguese had been established, it could not come to realisation. Sunda Kalapa harbour fell under the alliance of the Sultanates of Demak and Cirebon in 1524 after forces under Paletehan alias Fadillah Khan had conquered the city. In 1524–1525, troops under Sunan Gunung Jati also seized the port of Banten and established the Sultanate of Banten which was affiliated to the Demak Sultanate. The war between the Sunda kingdom and the Demak and Cirebon sultanates continued for five years until a peace treaty was made in 1531 between King Surawisesa and Sunan Gunung Jati. From 1567 to 1579, under the last king Raja Mulya, alias Prabu Surya Kencana, the Sunda kingdom declined, under pressure from Sultanate of Banten. After 1576, the kingdom could not maintain control over its capital at Pakuan Pajajaran, and gradually the Sultanate of Banten took over the former Sunda kingdom's territory. The Mataram Sultanate from Central Java also seized the Priangan region, the southeastern part of the kingdom.

European colonization and Contemporary era

In the 16th century, Dutch and British trading companies established trading ships in western Java after the fall of the Sultanate of Banten. For the next three hundred years, western Java fell under the Dutch East Indies' administration. West Java was officially declared as a province of Indonesia in 1950, referring to a statement from Staatblad number 378. On 17 October 2000, as part of nationwide political decentralization, Banten was separated from West Java and made into a new province. There have been recent proposals to rename the province Pasundan after the historical name for West Java.

Government and administrative divisions

Since the creation of West Java Province, the province of West Java was subdivided into four cities and sixteen regencies, excluding the four regencies which were separated off in 2000 to form the new Banten Province. Subsequently five new independent cities were created between 1996 and 2002 by separation from their surrounding regencies - Bekasi on 16 December 1996, Depok on 27 April 1999, Cimahi and Tasikmalaya on 21 June 2001, and Banjar on 11 December 2002. A 17th regency was formed on 2 January 2007 – West Bandung Regency – from the western half of Bandung Regency, and an 18th regency was formed in October 2012 – Pangandaran Regency – from the southern half of Ciamis Regency. On 25 October 2013, the People's Representative Council began reviewing draft laws on the establishment of 57 prospective new regencies, including a further three regencies in West Java – South Garut, North Sukabumi and West Bogor – but no action has followed in view of the moratorium adopted since 2013 by the Indonesian government on the creation of new provinces, regencies and cities, so none of these three prospective regencies are shown separately on the map below, nor in the following table.
These 9 cities and 18 regencies are listed below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census and 2020 Census, together with official estimates as at mid 2024. They are divided into 627 districts as at 2024, which comprise 663 urban villages and 5,294 rural villages.

    Cities
  1. Bekasi
  2. Depok
  3. Bogor
  4. Sukabumi
  5. Cimahi
  6. Bandung
  7. Tasikmalaya
  8. Banjar
  9. Cirebon

    Regencies
    • Bekasi Regency
    • Bogor Regency
    • Sukabumi Regency
    • Cianjur Regency
    • West Bandung Regency
    • Bandung Regency
    • Garut Regency
    • Tasikmalaya Regency
    • Pangandaran Regency
    • Ciamis Regency
    • Kuningan Regency
    • Cirebon Regency
    • Majalengka Regency
    • Sumedang Regency
    • Indramayu Regency
    • Subang Regency
    • Purwakarta Regency
    • Karawang Regency

Much of the population growth has been in the northwest corner of the province, in those areas bordering Jakarta and forming part of the Jakarta metropolitan area. These comprise Bekasi and Bogor Regencies, together with the separate cities of Bekasi, Bogor and Depok, and area collectively described as the Bodebek region ; in total they cover an area of 4,767.12 km2 and had a population estimated at 14,842,220 in mid 2024; and officially projected to be 14,924,650 in mid 2025.
The province comprises eleven of Indonesia's 84 national electoral districts to elect members to the People's Representative Council. The province's 91 elected members are comprised as follows:
  • The West Java I Electoral District consists of the cities of Bandung and Cimahi, and elects 7 members to the People's Representative Council.
  • The West Java II Electoral District consists of the regencies of Bandung and West Bandung, and elects 10 members to the People's Representative Council.
  • The West Java III Electoral District consists of the regency of Cianjur, together with the city of Bogor, and elects 9 members to the People's Representative Council.
  • The West Java IV Electoral District consists of the regency of Sukabumi and city of Sukabumi, and elects 6 members to the People's Representative Council.
  • The West Java V Electoral District consists solely of the regency of Bogor, and elects 9 members to the People's Representative Council.
  • The West Java VI Electoral District consists of the cities of Bekasi and Depok, and elects 6 members to the People's Representative Council.
  • The West Java VII Electoral District consists of the regencies of Bekasi, Karawang and Purwakarta, and elects 10 members to the People's Representative Council.
  • The West Java VIII Electoral District consists of the regencies of Cirebon and Indramayu, together with the city of Cirebon, and elects 9 members to the People's Representative Council.
  • The West Java IX Electoral District consists of the regencies of Subang, Sumedang and Majalenka, and elects 8 members to the People's Representative Council.
  • The West Java X Electoral District consists of the regencies of Ciamis, Kuningan and Pangandaran, together with the city of Banjar, and elects 7 members to the People's Representative Council.
  • The West Java XI Electoral District consists of the regencies of Garut and Tasikmalaya, together with the city of Tasikmalaya, and elects 10 members to the People's Representative Council.