Java (island)

Java (Indonesian: Jawa), area 132,000 square km, has 114 million inhabitants and is the most densely populated island in Indonesia, with 864 people per km². If it were a country it would be the second most densely populated country of the world, except for some very small countries (after Bangladesh).

Administration

Java is divided into 4 provinces, 1 special region* (daerah istimewa), and 1 special capital city district** (daerah khusus ibukota):

• Banten
• Jakarta**
• Jawa Barat (West Java)
• Jawa Tengah (Central Java)
• Jawa Timur (East Java)
• Yogyakarta*

Geography

Natural

Java is located in a chain of islands with Sumatra to the northwest and Bali to the east. It is the world's 13th largest island. To the northeast is Borneo. To the south is Christmas Island.

Java is almost entirely of volcanic origin, and contains no less than thirty-eight mountains of that conical form which indicates their having at one time or other been active volcanoes. See Volcanoes of Java.

Human

Java contains the capital of Indonesia, Jakarta. Popular tourist destinations include the city of Yogyakarta, a massive pyramid-like monument to Buddhism known as Borobudur, and Prambanan, the largest Hindu temple in Java.

Culture

• Javanese language, spoken in central and eastern Java
• Basa Sunda is the language of about 27,000,000 people from the western third of Java.
• Gamelan music
• Culture of Indonesia

Ethnic Groups

• Tenggerese
• Badui
• Osing
• Javanese
• Sundanese
• Indonesian Chinese