Province

Jakarta

DKI Jakarta

Officially named the Special Capital Region of Jakarta, Indonesia’s largest metropolis serves as the economic, cultural, and political hub of the country as well as the nation’s capital city. With a total area of 662,33 square kilometers, Jakarta is divided into five administrative regions: Central Jakarta, North Jakarta, West Jakarta, South Jakarta, East Jakarta, and the administrative regency of Thousand Islands. The province also has a metropolitan area that includes the satellite cities of Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi, Puncak, and Cianjur (Jabodetabekpunjur).

Despite being the capital, Jakarta is undergoing legislative changes through the Jakarta Special Region (DKJ) bill, aligning with the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) Law for relocating the capital to Nusantara, East Kalimantan. Through this bill, Jakarta aims to be redefined as a global business and economic hub, akin to New York or Melbourne, while expanding its metropolitan area to include Cianjur regency in West Java and the South Tangerang municipality in Banten.

As of 2022, Jakarta’s population stands at 10.6 million people, making it the province with the highest population density in Indonesia, with 16,158 people per square kilometer. It is home to various ethnic groups, predominantly Javanese, alongside Betawi, Sundanese, Batak, Minang, and Malay. In terms of religion, the majority of Jakarta’s population are Muslims, totaling 9.4 million people, followed by Christians with 437,967 people, Hindus with 20,262 people, Buddhists with 393,919 people, Konghuchu with 1,739 people, and adherents of indigenous beliefs 417 people.

On its way to becoming a Smart City 4.0, the Jakarta Provincial Government established Jakarta Smart City (JSC). Operating under the authority of the Jakarta Provincial Government and the Jakarta Provincial Communication, Informatics, and Statistics Office (Diskominfotik), JSC aims to optimize technology in government affairs and public services for the benefit of all Jakarta residents.

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Jakarta’s Economy

As the largest metropolis in Southeast Asia, the DKI Jakarta Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded Jakarta’s Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) at constant prices in 2023 reaching Rp 2.050 trillion, indicating an economic growth of 4.96 percent from 2022. Based on this GRDP, the top three leading sectors that drive Jakarta’s economic growth are wholesale and retail trade, which reached Rp 321 trillion in GRDP, followed by information and communications at Rp 281 trillion, and the manufacturing industry at Rp 232 trillion.

Moreover, from an expenditure standpoint, Jakarta’s largest proportion came from the exports of goods and services at 66.29 percent, followed by household consumption (HCE) at 62.15 percent, and gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) at 34.24 percent.

In addition, data from the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) shows that the cumulative realization of foreign and direct investment in Jakarta until 2022 reaches Rp 53.8 trillion, constituting about 8.2 percent of the total national realization. This makes Jakarta the reigning top investment destination province in Indonesia, with popular sectors encompassing construction, tourism, technology and information, and trade. As for domestic investment, the construction sector dominated in 2022 with a value of Rp 28.8 trillion, while the realization of foreign investments was dominated by the transportation, warehouse, and telecommunications sector, reaching Rp 20 trillion.

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Latest News

August 11, 2025

As the 80th anniversary of Indonesian independence approaches, a surprising symbol of nationalist pride has emerged. Instead of displaying the historic Red and White flag, a nationwide grassroots movement has citizens waving the flag of a fictional pirate group from the famous Japanese manga and anime series One Piece.

The movement began with a viral video of truck drivers flying the flag and has since gained momentum, with more and more people buying the flag and joining in. Houses that would typically be decorated with the national flag are now displaying the flag of the Straw Hat Pirates.

For context, Eiichiro Oda’s best-selling series One Piece follows the adventures of a young pirate named Monkey D. Luffy, who is seeking freedom and his ultimate goal to become the Pirate King. His main adversary is the World Government, a corrupt totalitarian regime. The show centers on the inherent tension between Luffy’s Straw Hat Pirates and the World Government, and the villains are often portrayed as evil state agents serving the regime’s interests at the expense of innocent civilians.

The flag itself is a Jolly Roger wearing a straw hat, the protagonist’s iconic headgear. Much like in the series, the Straw Hat Pirates flag represents more than just a presence. It is a symbol of resistance against the draconian realities faced by those disenfranchised by the ruling elite. It is a sign of fatigue and weariness with the growing social inequalities people face every day.

Amid economic uncertainty, job insecurity, and the decay of civil liberties, Indonesians have taken a creative approach to express their discontent. While the sociopolitical undertones are clear, government officials have reinforced the repressive rhetoric that the flag bearers criticize.

As the movement went viral, Deputy House Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad denounced the phenomenon, saying that displaying the Straw Hat Pirates flag was a threat to national security and a systemic effort by third parties to endanger the country's sovereignty and unity. Calls for a nationwide crackdown ensued, and many officials from the national and to provincial levels moved to prohibit the flag’s use in the lead-up to Independence Day.

After realizing the legislature’s embarrassing overreach, State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi affirmed that President Prabowo Subianto had no issue with the flag being hoisted as a form of expression, if it did not intend to divide the country.

Regardless of the legality of displaying a fictional flag, the government’s fearmongering over concerns of sovereignty has begun to ring hollow, especially considering its recent actions on the global stage. In the same breath that officials have denounced the One Piece flags as foreign intrusion, the Prabowo administration has opened the country to external influence.

For all his iron-fisted rhetoric at home, President Prabowo has proven remarkably soft abroad. The recent trade framework deal with the United States, which reduced the country’s tariff hit from 32 to 19 percent, was publicly scrutinized over concerns that the President had given up too much in his efforts to find a resolution. The complete elimination of tariff and nontariff barriers now places vulnerable domestic industries at risk, while allowing the transfer of Indonesians’ personal data to US servers has raised urgent questions about digital sovereignty.

It’s not just foreign influence that exposes the hollowness of the government’s sovereignty rhetoric, but also the growing mockery of legal institutions at home. The recent amnesty President Prabowo granted to dismiss the bribery charges against Hasto Kristiyanto, the former secretary-general the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which has been seen as a move to make amends with the regime’s only de facto opposition party, is a testament to the state of judicial independence in the country.

The irony deepens with the fact that Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka was spotted wearing a Straw Hat Pirates pin during their 2024 election campaign. What the current administration now casts as subversive was once appropriated as a tool to gain an electoral boost.

As with the other movements that have cropped up in the past year, such as the #KaburAjaDulu (Just Flee First) and #IndonesiaGelap (Dark Indonesia), President Prabowo and his regime have also mocked the One Piece protesters for supposedly acting as foreign agents. But perhaps the threat to sovereignty is only real when the ruling elite feels threatened by their own people. The rest, it seems, can be negotiated away.

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