In Indonesian law, the term "city" () is generally defined as the second-level administrative subdivision of the Republic of Indonesia, an equivalent to regency (). The difference between a city and a regency is that a city has non-agricultural economic activities and a dense urban population, while a regency comprises predominantly rural areas and is larger in area than a city. However, Indonesia historically had several classifications of cities.
According to , the official dictionary of the Indonesian language, a city (kota) is "a densely populated area with high density and modern facilities and most of the population works outside of agriculture."
Cities are divided into districts (Kecamatan, Distrik in Papua region, or Kemantren in Yogyakarta).
Historical classification
During the Dutch East Indies period, a city was governed as , or municipality, since the decentralisation law in 1903. The was a third-level subdivision, below (residency) and (governorate) or (province).
and The terms (big city), and (small city or town), were used since the implementation of the Act Number 22 of 1948. was an urban equivalent of (regency), which was the country's second level subdivision, just below province. , used for a small urban area, was the third-level division below regency and province.
, , and +City classification in Indonesiaduring 1965–1974City typeSubdivision levelEquivalenceFirst-levelProvinceSecond-levelRegencyThird-levelDistricts According to the Act Number 18 of 1965, cities in Indonesia were classified into three: (great city, first-level subdivision), (medium city, second-level subdivision), and (small city or town, third-level subdivision). is an equivalent of a province, is an equivalent of a regency, while is an equivalent of (districts). Jakarta was the only city granted the status, due to its function as the capital of Indonesia.
The terms and had been abolished since 1974, and was used for most of urban areas in Indonesia up to 1999. Jakarta continued to be the only urban area with a province status.
The term (city) has been implemented to substitute since the post-Suharto era in Indonesia. is headed by a mayor (), who is directly elected via elections to serve for a five-year term, which can be renewed for one further five-year term. Each is divided further into districts, more commonly known as .
Jakarta as a city
Jakarta, then known as Batavia, was the first city in the archipelago to be developed by the Dutch Empire. On the 4 March 1621, the first city government () was created in Batavia, and on 1 April 1905, it became the very first municipality () of the Dutch East Indies. Upon Indonesian independence, it remains as the city within the province of West Java. With the release of the Act Number 1 of 1957, Jakarta became the first provincial-level city in Indonesia. Although Jakarta is now written as a 'province' in Indonesian law products, it is still widely referred to as a city. The United Nations (UN) classifies Jakarta as a 'city' on its statistical database.
The Special Region of Jakarta consists of five 'administrative cities' and one 'administrative regency'. Unlike other actual cities in Indonesia, administrative cities in Jakarta are not self-governing, and were only created for bureaucracy purposes. The administrative cities do not have city councils, and their mayors were exclusively selected by the Governor of Jakarta without any public election. Ryas Rasyid, an Indonesian regional government expert, stated that Jakarta is a "province with a city management". Anies Baswedan, the 17th Governor of Jakarta, asserted that "Jakarta has only an area of 600 square kilometres. It is a city with the province status." Unlike the other 37 Indonesian provinces whose governors work in a 'governor office' (Kantor Gubernur), the governor of Jakarta works in a city hall ().
List of cities by date of incorporation CityDate incorporatedFirst city statusPresent-day provinceJakarta4 March 1621StadSpecial Region of JakartaBogor1 April 1905GemeenteWest JavaBandung1 April 1906GemeenteWest JavaBlitar1 April 1906GemeenteEast JavaCirebon1 April 1906GemeenteWest JavaKediri1 April 1906GemeenteEast JavaMakassar1 April 1906GemeenteSouth SulawesiMagelang1 April 1906GemeenteCentral JavaPadang1 April 1906GemeenteWest SumatraPalembang1 April 1906GemeenteSouth SumatraPekalongan1 April 1906GemeenteCentral JavaSemarang1 April 1906GemeenteCentral JavaSurabaya1 April 1906GemeenteEast JavaTegal1 April 1906GemeenteCentral JavaMedan1 April 1909GemeenteNorth SumatraMalang1 April 1914GemeenteEast JavaSukabumi1 April 1914GemeenteWest JavaBinjai1 July 1917GemeenteNorth SumatraPematang Siantar1 July 1917GemeenteNorth SumatraTanjung Balai1 July 1917GemeenteNorth SumatraTebing Tinggi1 July 1917GemeenteNorth SumatraSalatiga1 July 1917GemeenteCentral JavaMadiun20 June 1918GemeenteEast JavaMojokerto20 June 1918GemeenteEast JavaPasuruan20 June 1918GemeenteEast JavaBukittinggi1 July 1918GemeenteWest SumatraProbolinggo1 July 1918GemeenteEast JavaSawahlunto1 July 1918GemeenteWest SumatraBanjarmasin1 July 1919GemeenteSouth KalimantanManado1 July 1919GemeenteNorth SulawesiBanda Aceh17 May 1946Kota otonom BAcehBengkulu17 May 1946Kota otonom BBengkuluJambi17 May 1946Kota otonom BJambiPangkal Pinang17 May 1946Kota otonom BBangka Belitung IslandsPekanbaru17 May 1946Kota otonom BRiauSibolga17 May 1946Kota otonom BNorth SumatraBandar Lampung17 May 1946Kota otonom BLampungPontianak14 August 1946Landschaps-gemeenteWest KalimantanSurakarta5 June 1947 Haminte KotaCentral JavaYogyakarta8 June 1947 Haminte KotaSpecial Region of YogyakartaPadang Panjang23 March 1956 Kota KecilWest SumatraPayakumbuh23 March 1956Kota KecilWest SumatraSolok23 March 1956Kota KecilWest SumatraPalangka Raya 17 July 1957Kotapraja (2nd-level)Central KalimantanBalikpapan 26 June 1959Kotapraja (2nd-level)East KalimantanSamarinda 26 June 1959Kotapraja (2nd-level)East KalimantanGorontalo 4 July 1959Kotapraja (2nd-level)GorontaloAmbon 31 July 1958Kotapraja (2nd-level)MalukuParepare 4 July 1959Kotapraja (2nd-level)South SulawesiSabang 14 June 1965Kotapraja (2nd-level)AcehBatam7 December 1983KotamadyaRiau IslandsBitung15 August 1990 KotamadyaNorth SulawesiDenpasar15 January 1992KotamadyaBaliTangerang27 February 1993 KotamadyaBantenMataram26 July 1993 KotamadyaWest Nusa TenggaraJayapura2 August 1993 KotamadyaPapuaPalu22 July 1994 KotamadyaCentral SulawesiKendari3 August 1995 KotamadyaSoutheast SulawesiKupang11 April 1996 KotamadyaEast Nusa TenggaraBekasi16 December 1996 KotamadyaWest JavaTarakan8 October 1997 KotamadyaNorth KalimantanBanjarbaru20 April 1999 KotamadyaSouth KalimantanCilegon20 April 1999 KotamadyaBantenDepok20 April 1999KotamadyaWest JavaDumai20 April 1999 KotamadyaRiauMetro20 April 1999 KotamadyaLampungTernate20 April 1999 KotamadyaNorth MalukuBontang4 October 1999 KotaEast KalimantanSorong4 October 1999 KotaWest PapuaBatu21 June 2001 KotaEast JavaBaubau21 June 2001 KotaSoutheast SulawesiCimahi21 June 2001 KotaWest JavaLangsa21 June 2001 KotaAcehLhokseumawe21 June 2001 KotaAcehLubuklinggau21 June 2001 KotaSouth SumatraPadang Sidempuan21 June 2001 KotaNorth SumatraPagar Alam21 June 2001 KotaSouth SumatraPrabumulih21 June 2001 KotaSouth SumatraSingkawang21 June 2001 KotaWest KalimantanTanjung Pinang21 June 2001 KotaRiau IslandsTasikmalaya21 June 2001 KotaWest JavaBanjar11 December 2002 KotaWest JavaBima10 April 2002 KotaWest Nusa TenggaraPalopo10 April 2002 KotaSouth SulawesiPariaman10 April 2002 KotaWest SumatraTidore25 February 2003 KotaNorth MalukuTomohon25 February 2003 KotaNorth SulawesiKotamobagu2 January 2007 KotaNorth SulawesiSubulussalam2 January 2007 KotaAcehSerang10 August 2007 KotaBantenTual10 August 2007 KotaMalukuSungai Penuh21 July 2008 KotaJambiGunungsitoli26 November 2008 KotaNorth SumatraSouth Tangerang26 November 2008 KotaBanten Notes Incorporated as Batavia Incorporated as Buitenzorg Incorporated as Fort de Kock Incorporated as Kutaraja Incorporated as Tanjungkarang–Telukbetung
See also
City status List of Indonesian cities by population List of Indonesian cities by GDP Kreisfreie Stadt, a similar administrative division found in Germany
References