City status in Indonesia

This article is part of a series on
Subdivisions of Indonesia
Level 1
(GDP; GDP per capita; HDI; poverty rate); Island population)
Level 2
(full list; cities by GDP; regencies by GDP; cities by population; regencies by population)
Level 3
(kecamatan, distrik, kapanewon, or kemantren)
Level 4
(desa or kelurahan)
Others

In Indonesian law, the term "city" (kota) is generally defined as the second-level administrative subdivision of the Republic of Indonesia, an equivalent to regency (kabupaten). 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.[1] However, Indonesia historically had several classifications of cities.

According to Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, 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."[2]

Cities are divided into districts (Kecamatan, Distrik in Papua region,[3][4] or Kemantren in Yogyakarta).

  1. ^ "Profil Daerah (regional profiles) >> Kabupaten". Kemendagri.go.id (in Indonesian). Pusdatin - Indonesian Ministry of Interior. Archived from the original on 23 July 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  2. ^ "kota". Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (in Indonesian). Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  3. ^ Undang-Undang Republik Indonesia Nomor 21 Tahun 2001 tentang Otonomi Khusus Bagi Provinsi Papua (Law 21, Article 1.k) (in Indonesian). 2001.
  4. ^ Undang-Undang Republik Indonesia Nomor 23 Tahun 2014 tentang Pemerintah Daerah (Law 23, Article 1.24) (in Indonesian). 2014.