A Review of Jakarta: The Indonesia's Primate City

Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced his plan to move the capital of Indonesia out of Jakarta after a cabinet meeting on Monday, April 29, 2019. One of the reasons of the plan is Jakarta is considered too crowded and congested. This post will review Jakarta as the Indonesia’s primate city. Primate city is defined as a city that dominates the urban system in the region. Jakarta as the Indonesia’s primate city is not merely the largest city in Indonesia; it is more than twice as large as the Indonesia’s second largest city.

The metropolitan region of Jakarta is home to more than 30 million. The metropolitan region called Jabodetabek includes the core (the capital city of Jakarta), the inner peripheries (City of Tangerang, City of South Tangerang, City of Depok, City of Bekasi), and the outer peripheries (City of Bogor, Tangerang Regency and Bekasi Regency) as shown in the map below.

Map of the Metropolitan Region of Jakarta

Table 1 below shows the population of the metropolitan region of Jakarta from 1980 to 2015. All data come from the population censuses, except data in 2015 from the intercensal survey of Indonesia (SUPAS).  The Jakarta metropolitan increased from 11.91 million in 1980, 17.14 million in 1990, 20.63 million in 2000 and 28.01 million in 2010 to 31.62 million in 2015. The Jakarta metropolitan in 2015 was 12.39 percent of Indonesia’s total population but this population resides in less than 0.3 percent of Indonesia’s total area. The proportions of Jabodetabek’s population to the total population of Indonesia have steadily increased from 8.07%, 9.56%, 10.0% to 11.79% (in 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010 respectively). I predict the number will continue to increase as Jakarta will stay as the Indonesia's primate city.   

Table 1

Population of the Metropolitan Region of Jakarta in 1980-2015

(in millions)

Area	1980	1990	2000	2010	2015
Core	6.5	8.26	8.39	9.6	10.17
Jakarta	6.5	8.26	8.39	9.6	10.17
Inner peripheries	n.a	n.a	4.93	7.22	8.36
City of Tangerang	n.a	n.a	1.33	1.8	2.04
City of South Tangerang	n.a	n.a	0.8	1.29	1.53
City of Depok	n.a	n.a	1.14	1.75	2.09
City of Bekasi	n.a	n.a	1.66	2.38	2.7
Outer peripheries	5.41	8.88	7.31	11.2	13.09
City of Bogor	0.25	0.27	0.75	0.95	1.04
Tangerang Regency	1.53	2.77	2.02	2.84	3.36
Bekasi Regency	1.14	2.1	1.62	2.63	3.23
Bogor Regency	2.49	3.74	2.92	4.78	5.46
Metropolitan region of Jakarta	11.91	17.14	20.63	28.02	31.62

Source: Rukmana, et al (2018), SUPAS 2015

The following section analyzes the urban primacy in Indonesia. Urban primacy indicates the ratio of the primate city to the second largest city in the country. This post will also extend the urban primacy to the third largest city. The second largest Indonesian city is Surabaya. The metropolitan region of Surabaya popularly known as Gerbangkertosusila has retained as Indonesia’s second largest city to Jakarta for more than four decades. Table 2 below shows the population of the metropolitan region of Surabaya from 1980 to 2015. The Surabaya metropolitan region includes the core (City of Surabaya), the inner peripheries (Sidoarjo Regency and Gresik Regency), and the outer peripheries (Mojokerto Regency, Lamongan Regency, Bangkalan Regency, and City of Mojokerto).

The Gerbangkertosusila’s population increased from 6.107 million in 1980, 7.233 million in 1990, 8.168 million in 2000 and 9.137 million in 2010 to 9.551 million in 2015. The areas experienced the highest population growth in the past ten years is the inner peripheries. The population of inner peripheries surpassed the City of Surabaya’s population in 2010 and surpassed the population of outer peripheries in 2015.

Table 2

Population of the Metropolitan Region of Surabaya in 1980-2015

(in millions)

Area	1980	1990	2000	2010	2015
Core	2.017	2.473	2.599	2.771	2.843
City of Surabaya	2.017	2.473	2.599	2.771	2.843
Inner peripheries	1.581	2.025	2.568	3.129	3.368
Sidoarjo Regency	0.853	1.167	1.563	1.949	2.114
Gresik Regency	0.728	0.858	1.005	1.180	1.254
Outer peripheries	2.509	2.735	3.001	3.237	3.340
Mojokerto Regency	0.705	0.788	0.908	1.028	1.078
Lamongan Regency	1.049	1.100	1.181	1.180	1.185
Bangkalan Regency	0.687	0.751	0.804	0.909	0.952
City of Mojokerto	0.068	0.096	0.108	0.120	0.125
Gerbangkertosusila	6.107	7.233	8.168	9.137	9.551
Source: BPS 2010, SUPAS 2015 The third largest Indonesian city is Bandung. The metropolitan region of Bandung is popularly known as Bandung Raya. Table 3 below shows the population of the metropolitan region of Bandung from 1980 to 2015. The Bandung metropolitan region includes the core (the City of Bandung) and the peripheries (Bandung Regency, West Bandung Regency and the City of Cimahi). West Bandung Regency was founded in 2007 when it seceded from Bandung Regency. The Bandung Raya’s population increased from 4.13 million in 1980, 5.239 million in 1990, 6.293 million in 2000 and 7.623 million in 2010 to 8.22 million in 2015. The peripheries of the Bandung metropolitan area have experienced a higher population growth than the core since 2000.
Table 3 Population of the Metropolitan Region of Bandung in 1980-2015 (in millions)
Area 1980 1990 2000 2010 2015 City of Bandung 1.461 2.058 2.136 2.394 2.48 Bandung Regency 2.669 3.201 2.47 3.178 3.528 West Bandung Regency n.a n.a 1.245 1.51 1.627 City of Cimahi n.a n.a 0.442 0.541 0.585 Great Bandung region 4.130 5.259 6.293 7.623 8.220

  Source: BPS (2010), SUPAS 2015

Table 4 shows the ratios of the population of Jakarta (the core only and the core and peripheries) to the populations of Surabaya and Bandung from 1980 to 2015. The dominance of Jakarta to the second and third Indonesia’s largest cities has been increasing from 1980 to 2015. The ratio of Jakarta metropolitan areas (the core and peripheries) to Surabaya steadily increased from 2.0 in 1980 to 3.3 in 2015. Similarly, the ratio of Jakarta metropolitan areas (the core and peripheries) to Bandung gradually increased from 2.9 in 1980 to 3.8 in 2015.  

Table 4 Urban Primacy of Indonesia’s Three Largest Cities in 1980-2015 (in millions)
Area 1980 1990 2000 2010 2015 Core only   Jakarta to Surabaya 3.2 3.3 3.2 3.5 3.6   Jakarta to Bandung 4.4 4.0 3.9 4.0 4.1 Core and Peripheries   Jakarta to Surabaya 2.0 2.4 2.5 3.1 3.3   Jakarta to Bandung 2.9 3.3 3.3 3.7 3.8

The ratio of the population of Jakarta to the city of Surabaya’s population has increased from 3.2 in 1980 to 3.6 in 2015. There was a slightly ratio decrease from 3.3 in 1990 to 3.2 in 2000 due to the relocation of Jakarta residents from the city center to the peripheries during 1990s. In the meantime, the ratio of the population of Jakarta to the population of the city of Bandung decreased from 4.4 in 1980 to 3.9 in 2000 and it has increased again to 4.0 in 2010 and 4.1 in 2015.  

Conclusion

Jakarta remains as the Indonesia’s primate city. The dominance of Jakarta has been increasing since 1980. The ratio of the population of Jakarta metropolitan area to the total population of Indonesia has steadily increased from 8.07% (1980), 9.56% (1990), 10.0% (2000) to 11.79% (2010) and 12.39% in 2015. The dominance of Jakarta has also been increasing to the second and third Indonesia’s largest cities (Surabaya and Bandung) from 1980 to 2015. Jakarta’s dominance will continue to increase and the capital city will remain the Indonesia’s primate city for many years to come.

Reference:

1. BPS (2010). Sensus Penduduk Indonesia
2. BPS (2015). Survey Penduduk Antar Sensus
3. Rukmana, Deden, Fikri Zul Fahmi, and Tommy Firman. (2018). Suburbanization in Asia: A focus on Jakarta. The Routledge Companion to the Suburbs. Bernadette Hanlon and Thomas J. Vicino (Eds.) New York, NY: Routledge. pp. 110-120