Central Java

Not to be confused with Central Sava.

Central Java
Jawa Tengah
Province
Province of Central Java
Provinsi Jawa Tengah
Official seal of Central Java
Seal
Motto(s): 
Prasetya Ulah Sakti Bhakti Praja (Javanese)
ꦥꦿꦱꦠꦾꦲꦸꦭꦃꦱꦏ꧀ꦠꦶꦧꦏ꧀ꦠꦶꦥꦿꦗ
"The Powerful Devotion for the Country"
   Central Java in    Indonesia
OpenStreetMap
Map
Coordinates: 7°30′S 110°00′E / 7.500°S 110.000°E / -7.500; 110.000
Established19 August 1945[1]
Capital
and largest city		Semarang
Government
 • BodyCentral Java Provincial Government
 • GovernorNana Sudjana (acting)
 • Vice GovernorVacant
Area
 • Total
33,750.37 km2 (13,031.09 sq mi)
 • Rank25th in Indonesia
Highest elevation
(Mount Slamet)
3,428 m (11,247 ft)
Population
 (mid 2023 estimate)[2]
 • Total
37,608,336
 • Rank3rd in Indonesia
 • Density1,100/km2 (2,900/sq mi)
Demographics
 • Ethnic groups97.9% Javanese
1.4% Sundanese
0.4% Chinese
0.3% other[3]
 • Religion97.30% Islam
2.50% Christianity
– 1.58% Protestantism
– 0.92% Catholicism
0.14% Buddhism
0.04% Hinduism
0.02% Kejawen
0.004% Confucianism[4]
 • LanguagesIndonesian (official)
Javanese (native)
Sundanese (minority)
Time zoneUTC+7 (Indonesia Western Time)
ISO 3166 codeID-JT
GDP (nominal)2022[5]
 - TotalRp 1,560.9 trillion (4th)
US$ 105.1 billion
Int$ 328.0 billion (PPP)
 - Per capitaRp 42.2 million (28th)
US$ 2,839
Int$ 8,858 (PPP)
 - GrowthIncrease 5.31%[6]
HDI (2024)Increase 0.739[7] (20th) – high
Websitejatengprov.go.id

Central Java (Indonesian: Jawa Tengah, Javanese: ꦗꦮꦶꦩꦢꦾ, romanized: Jawi Tengah) is a province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogyakarta in the south, East Java in the east, and the Java Sea in the north. It has a total area of 33,750.37 km2, with a population of 36,516,035 at the 2020 Census[8] making it the third-most populous province in both Java and Indonesia after West Java and East Java. The official population estimate in mid-2023 was 37,608,336[2] The province also includes a number of offshore islands, including the island of Nusakambangan in the south (close to the border of West Java), and the Karimun Jawa Islands in the Java Sea.

Central Java is also a cultural concept that includes the Yogyakarta Special Region, in turn including the city of Yogyakarta; however, administratively that city and its surrounding regencies have formed a separate special region (equivalent to a province) since the country's independence, and is administered separately. Although known as the "heart" of Javanese culture, there are several other non-Javanese ethnic groups, such as the Sundanese on the border with West Java. Chinese Indonesians, Arab Indonesians, and Indian Indonesians are also scattered throughout the province.

The province has been inhabited by humans since the prehistoric-era. Remains of a Homo erectus, known as "Java Man", were found along the banks of the Bengawan Solo, and date back to 1.7 million years ago.[9] What is present-day Central Java was once under the control of several Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms, Islamic sultanates, and the Dutch East Indies colonial government. Central Java was also the centre of the Indonesian independence movement. As the majority of modern-day Indonesians are of Javanese descent, both Central Java and East Java have a major impact on Indonesia's social, political, and economic life.

  1. ^ Museum Kepresidenan (12 September 2018). "Sejarah Wilayah Indonesia". Ministry of Education and Culture. Archived from the original on 29 January 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  2. ^ a b Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2024, Provinsi Jawa Tengah Dalam Angka 2024 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.33)
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference census2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "ArcGIS Web Application".
  5. ^ Badan Pusat Statistik (2023). "Produk Domestik Regional Bruto (Milyar Rupiah), 2020–2022" (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Badan Pusat Statistik.
  6. ^ Badan Pembangunan Nasional (2023). "Capaian Indikator Utama Pembangunan" (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Badan Pembangunan Nasional.
  7. ^ "Indeks Pembangunan Manusia 2024" (in Indonesian). Statistics Indonesia. 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  8. ^ Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021.
  9. ^ Cited in Whitten, T.; Soeriaatmadja, R.E.; Suraya, A.A. (1996). The Ecology of Java and Bali. Hong Kong: Periplus Editions Ltd. pp. 309–312:
    Pope, G. (1988). "Recent advances in far eastern paleoanthropology". Annual Review of Anthropology. 17: 43–77. doi:10.1146/annurev.an.17.100188.000355.
    Pope, G. (15 August 1983). "Evidence on the Age of the Asian Hominidae". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 80 (16): 4988–4992. Bibcode:1983PNAS...80.4988P. doi:10.1073/pnas.80.16.4988. PMC 384173. PMID 6410399.
    de Vos, J.P.; Sondaar, P.Y. (9 December 1994). "Dating hominid sites in Indonesia" (PDF). Science Magazine. 266 (16): 4988–4992. Bibcode:1994Sci...266.1726D. doi:10.1126/science.7992059. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 September 2009. Retrieved 14 March 2019.