West Java

West Java (Jawa Barat) is a province of Indonesia, located on the island of Java. The capital is Bandung.

History

History shows that Jawa Barat is the first province in Indonesia, referring to a statement from Staatblad number 378. In 1950, West Java province officially became a province of Indonesia.

On October 17, 2000, as part of nationwide political decentralization, Banten was separated from West Java and made into a new province.

Geographic and Demographic

According to the 2005 Socio-Economic Survey, West Java's population is 39,960,869, making it the most populous province in Indonesia. It has an area of 34,736 km²; aside from the province of Jakarta, it is the most densely populated province in the country with an average of 1,150 people per km².

West Java borders Jakarta and Banten province to the west, and Central Java to the east. To the north is Java Sea. To the south is the Indian Ocean. Unlike most other provinces in Indonesia which have their capitals in coastal area, the provincial capital Bandung is located in a mountainous area.

In addition to Indonesian, the official national language , the other widely-spoken language in the province is Sundanese. In some areas near the southern borders with Central Java, Javanese is also spoken. The ethnic language spoken in Cirebon and nearby areas (Majalengka, Indramayu, Sumber) is Cirebonese which is a mix between Sundanese and Javanese. Indonesian is widely spoken as a second language, except in some remote rural areas.

Government

West Java is further subdivided into regencies (kabupaten), each with a local capital:

Kabupaten Bogor, Cibinong
Kabupaten Sukabumi, Sukabumi
Kabupaten Cianjur, Cianjur
Kabupaten Bandung, Soreang
Kabupaten Garut, Garut
Kabupaten Tasikmalaya, Tasikmalaya
Kabupaten Ciamis, Ciamis
Kabupaten Kuningan, Kuningan
Kabupaten Cirebon, Sumber
Kabupaten Majalengka, Majalengka
Kabupaten Sumedang, Sumedang
Kabupaten Indramayu, Indramayu
Kabupaten Subang, Subang
Kabupaten Purwakarta, Purwakarta
Kabupaten Karawang, Karawang
Kabupaten Bekasi, Bekasi

List of municipalities ("kotamadya") in West Java :

Natural resource

Raw natural resources include chalk, several offshore oilfields in the Java Sea, and lumber. Most of the province is very fertile, with a mix of small farms and larger plantations. There are several hydropower dams, including Jatiluhur, Saguling, and Cirata.

Tourism

Recent 7/17 '06 Earthquake

Recently, the region was shocked by 7.2 on Richter-scale earthquake that followed by small-scale tsunami. The earthquake was followed by 2 big aftershocks with both measured up to 5.9 and 6.1 on Richter scale respectively. No accurate number of casualties known yet.

External links

Official site

Provinces of Indonesia