The region comprising the other 21 provinces in Sumatra, Java, and Kalimantan is known as Western Indonesia.[1][2]

Western Indonesia

Western Indonesia has a land border with East Malaysia to the North and Peninsular Malaysia to the West

History

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Military action by the Dutch launched on 20 July 1947 against areas controlled by the Indonesian republicans, Operation Product, resulted in the Dutch regaining control of West and East Java, the areas around Medan, Palembang and Padang in Sumatra. The United Nations called for a ceasefire, and negotiations between the two sides led to the Renville Agreement of January 1948, with a ceasefire along the "Van Mook Line", which connected the most advanced Dutch positions. The Dutch then established states in the areas they had reoccupied, including East Sumatra (December 1947), Madura and West Java (February 1948), South Sumatra (September 1948) and East Java (November 1948). The leaders of these regions then established the Federal Consultative Assembly.

A second Dutch military action, Operation Kraai, aimed at destroying the Republic, was launched on 18 December 1948. Despite recapturing the major cities of Java, including the republican capital of Yogyakarta, and all of Sumatra except Aceh in the far north, it triggered the protest resignation of the cabinets of the State of East Indonesia and Pasundan (West Java) and the Sultan of Yogyakarta from his position as regional head.

Geography

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Geology

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The tectonic plates & movements under Indonesia

The main islands of Sumatra, Java, Madura, and Kalimantan lie on the Sunda Plate. Indonesia has relatively high tectonic and volcanic activities. It lies on the convergence between the Eurasian, Indo-Australian, Pacific, and Philippine Sea Plate. The Sunda megathrust is a 5,500 km long fault located off southern coasts of Sumatra, Java and Lesser Sunda Islands, where the Indo-Australian Plate is thrusting northeastward towards the subducting Sunda Plate.Tectonic movement in this fault is responsible for the creation of the Sunda Trench, and mountain ranges across Sumatra, Java.[3] Mount Merapi, located in the Java portion of the megathrust, is the most active volcano in Indonesia and is designated as one of world's Decade Volcanoes due to the hazard it poses to the surrounding populated areas.[4]

 
A map of Indonesia's volcanoes.

Ecology

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Borneo is the third largest island in the world and the native vegetation was mostly Borneo lowland rain forests although much of this has been cleared with wildlife retreating to the Borneo montane rain forests inland. Kalimantan and Sumatra, experience only slight differences in rainfall and temperature between the seasons, whereas others, such as Nusa Tenggara, experience far more pronounced differences with droughts in the dry season, and floods in the wet. Rainfall in Indonesia is plentiful, particularly in West Sumatra, Northwest Kalimantan, West Java.

Economy

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Below are the top 13 provinces in Western Indonesia ranked by GDP in 2019:

Rank Province Region GDP
(in billion Rp)
GDP nominal GDP PPP
(in billion $) (in billion $)
-   Indonesia South East Asia 16,073,257 1,136.72 3,329.17
1   Jakarta Java 2,840,828 200.91 588.42
2   East Java Java 2,352,425 166.37 487.27
3   West Java Java 2,125,158 150.30 440.19
4   Central Java Java 1,362,457 96.35 282.18
5   North Sumatra Sumatra 801,733 56.70 166.06
6   Riau Sumatra 765,198 54.12 158.51
7   Banten Java 664,963 47.03 137.74
8   East Kalimantan Kalimantan 653,677 46.23 135.40
9   South Sumatra Sumatra 455,233 32.19 94.28
10   Lampung Sumatra 360,664 25.51 74,71
11   Riau Islands Sumatra 268,080 18.96 55.53
12   West Sumatra Sumatra 246,423 17.42 51.01
13   Jambi Sumatra 217,712 15.40 45.10

In 2012, the DMO was 24.72%. Starting from 2014, no low-grade coal exports are allowed, so the upgraded brown coal process that cranks up the calorie value of coal from 4,500 to 6,100 kcal/kg will be built in South Kalimantan and South Sumatra.[5][6][7] Major Japanese factories are concentrated east of Jakarta with high concentrations in Bekasi, Cikarang and Karawang, West Java.

Demographics

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Population

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Jakarta is the largest city and the only megacity in Indonesia, with a population of 10.70 million. As a primate city, Jakarta is nearly four times larger than the second largest city Surabaya. Jakarta's status is unique compared to other cities in Indonesia, since it is technically a province with a city management. It is subdividied into five administrative cities and an administrative regency, which are not self-governed (without municipal council nor government budget). All five of Jakarta's satellite cities also have passed one million mark in population, with the largest one being Bekasi.

The other largest cities by region include Medan (Sumatra, also the largest outside of Java), Samarinda (Kalimantan).

Below are the populations of each provinces which make up the total population of Western Indonesia:

Province Population
(2010 census)
Urban %
in 2010
Total
Fertility
Rate
Population
(2015 census)
Aceh 4,494,410 23.6 2.79 4,496,570
North Sumatra 12,982,204 42.4 3.01 13,923,262
West Sumatra 4,846,909 29.0 2.91 5,190,577
Riau 5,538,367 43.7 2.82 6,330,941
Jambi 3,092,265 28.3 2.51 3,397,164
South Sumatra 7,450,394 34.4 2.56 8,043,042
Bengkulu 1,715,518 29.4 2.51 1,872,136
Lampung 7,608,405 21.0 2.45 8,109,601
Bangka Belitung Islands 1,223,296 43.0 2.54 1,370,331
Riau Islands 1,679,163 67.4 2.38 1,968,313
Banten 10,632,166 52.2 2.35 11,934,373
Jakarta 9,607,787 100.0 1.82 10,154,134
West Java 43,053,732 50.3 2.43 46,668,214
Central Java 32,382,657 40.4 2.20 33,753,023
Yogyakarta 3,457,491 57.7 1.94 3,675,768
East Java 37,476,757 40.9 2.00 38,828,061

Languages

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The major ethno-linguistic groups within Indonesia

Indonesia recognizes only a single national language, and indigenous languages are recognized at the regional level, although policies vary from one region to another. For example, in the Special Region of Yogyakarta, the Javanese language is the region's official language along with Indonesian.[8] The next most widely spoken regional languages in the country are Sundanese, local Malay, and Minangkabau. There are hundreds of indigenous languages spoken in Indonesia. Most of them are locally used indigenous languages,[9] a category of languages referring to those spoken at the local, regional level, spoken by a small number of people, ranging from a few to a few thousands of people. These include small languages such as Benggoi, Mombum and Towei.[10][page needed] Other languages are spoken at the regional level to connect various ethnicities. For this reason, these languages are known as regional lingua francas (RLFs). According to Subhan Zein, there are at least 43 RLFs in Indonesia, categorized into two types: Malayic RLFs and Non-Malayic RLFs. The former refers to a group of regional lingua francas that are thought of as indigenised varieties of Malay or Indonesian. These include such languages like Banjar Malay among others. The latter refers to regional lingua francas that are not associated with Malay or Indonesian, like Iban.[11][10][page needed][a]

The population numbers given below are of native speakers, excepting the figure for Indonesian, which counts its total speakers.

Largest languages in Indonesia[12]
Language Number
(millions)
% of total
population
Branch Year surveyed Main areas where spoken
Indonesian 210 80.42 Malayic 2010 Throughout Indonesia
Javanese 84.3 32.28 Javanese 2000 (census) Throughout Java Island and several provinces in Sumatra and Kalimantan islands.
Sundanese 42.0 16.08 Sundanese 2016 West Java, Banten, Jakarta
Madurese 13.6 5.21 Madurese 2000 (census) Madura Island (East Java)
Minangkabau 5.5 2.11 Malayic 2007 West Sumatra, Riau, Jambi, Bengkulu, Jakarta
Palembang Malay[13] 3.9 1.49 Malayic 2000 (census) South Sumatra
Banjarese 3.5 1.34 Malayic 2000 (census) South Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan
Acehnese 3.5 1.34 Chamic 2000 (census) Aceh
Betawi 2.7 1.03 Malay-based creole 1993 Jakarta
Batak Toba 2.0 0.77 Northwest Sumatra–Barrier Islands 1991 North Sumatra, Riau, Riau Islands, Jakarta
Chinese-Min Nan 1.3 0.50 Sinitic (Min Nan) 2000 North Sumatra, Riau, Riau Islands, West Kalimantan
Batak Karo 0.6 0.23 Northwest Sumatra–Barrier Islands 1991 North Sumatra
Bangka Malay 0.3 0.11 Malayic 2000 (census) Bangka Island (Bangka Belitung)
Osing 0.3 0.11 Javanese 2000 (census) East Java
Gayo 0.3 0.11 Northwest Sumatra–Barrier Islands 2000 (census) Aceh
Chinese-Cantonese 0.3 0.11 Sinitic (Yue) 2000 North Sumatera, Riau Islands, Jakarta

Religion

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Religion was a census variable in the 1961, 1971, 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010 and in various intercensal surveys. Being deemed divisive, the 1961 census data regarding religion was not published. In 1971, three groups of Christians were recorded: Catholic, Protestant and other. The U.N. Demographic Yearbook 1979 only lists data collectively for all Christians. In the 2000 census, only Catholics and Protestants were available as categories.[14]

Religious composition by ethnic group[15]

Ethnic Group Muslims Christians Hindus Buddhists Confucians Others Total
Javanese 92,107,046 2,428,121 160,090 90,465 2,857 9,599 94,788,943
Sundanese 36,450,022 29,332 1,851 24,528 4,854 155,308 36,665,892
Malay 8,643,370 8,484 1,031 19,848 1,243 242 8,751,218
Batak 3,738,660 4,707,658 1,476 9,190 315 6,305 8,463,604
Madurese 7,157,518 7,695 368 435 32 43 7,166,091
Betawi 6,607,019 151,429 1,161 39,278 1,805 252 6,800,943
Minangkabau 6,441,071 1,822 179 1,255 49 44 6,459,420
Buginese 6,348,200 35,516 26,102 957 47 2,395 6,413,217
Bantenese 4,634,374 4,810 101 2,680 70 242 4,642,277
Banjarese 4,108,104 15,775 994 1,396 62 410 4,126,741
Balinese 127,274 49,385 3,736,993 10,378 142 473 3,924,645
Acehnese 3,398,818 403 70 1,028 7 4 3,403,961
Dayak 1,016,697 2,017,870 12,140 17,502 568 154,219 3,218,996
Sasak 3,153,671 5,540 4,555 10,682 7 439 3,174,894
Chinese 131,682 1,211,692 3,552 1,388,829 94,005 1,114 2,830,874

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Zein's definition of "Malayic" RLFs should not be confused with the genealogical Malayic subgroup of Malayo-Polynesian languages. The genealogical Malayic subgroup also includes languages that are listed by Zein as "non-Malayic" RLFs, such as Iban and Musi

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional Republik Indonesia (2021-03-19). "Sosialisasi dan Bimtek Indeks Daya Saing Daerah untuk Kawasan Barat Indonesia (Sumatera, Jawa dan Kalimantan) | Berita - Index Daya Saing Daerah (IDSD)". Indeks-inovasi.brin.go.id. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  2. ^ Paramitha, Pradna (December 29, 2021). "Western, central, and eastern Indonesia show diverse trends in online shopping behavior". Jakarta: The Jakarta Post. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  3. ^ Cummins, P. R.; Meilano, I. (2017-10-25). Geohazards in Indonesia: Earth Science for Disaster Risk Reduction. Geological Society of London. ISBN 9781862399662.
  4. ^ Fernandez, José (2004-06-25). Geodetic And Geophysical Effects Associated With Seismic And Volcanic Hazards. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9783764370442.
  5. ^ "Coal production may reach 370 million tons this year". 23 September 2011.
  6. ^ Sanderson, Henry (30 August 2019). "Nickel prices hit four-year high on Indonesia export ban". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  7. ^ "Indonesia emerges as world's second-largest cobalt producer". Financial Times. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  8. ^ Peraturan Daerah Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta Nomor 2 Tahun 2021 (in Indonesian) – via Wikisource bahasa Indonesia.
  9. ^ Zein 2020, pp. 39–40.
  10. ^ a b Simons & Fennig 2018.
  11. ^ Zein 2020, pp. 34–41.
  12. ^ "Indonesia". Ethnologue.
  13. ^ Muhadjir, ed. (2000). Bahasa Betawi: Sejarah dan Perkembangannya. Jakarta: Yayasan Obor Indonesia. p. 13.
  14. ^ Suryadinata, Leo; Arifin, Evi Nurvidya; Ananta, Aris (2003). Indonesia's population: ethnicity and religion in a changing political landscape. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 103–104. ISBN 978-981-230-218-2.
  15. ^ Aris Ananta, Evi Nurvidya Arifin, M Sairi Hasbullah, Nur Budi Handayani, Agus Pramono. Demography of Indonesia's Ethnicity. Singapore: ISEAS: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2015. p. 273.

Sources

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