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

Contents

1 History 2 Geographic and Demographic 3 Government 4 Natural Resources 5 Tourism 6 External links

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, Banten was separated from Jawa Barat and made into a new province.

Geographic and Demographic

West Java (after Banten separation) has the population of 35.500.611 (2000 estimate) and area of 34736 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 has their capitals in coastal area, West Java's capital Bandung is located in highly mountaneous area and completely surrounded by mountains.

In addition to the official language Bahasa Indonesia, the other popular language spoken is Sundanese. In some areas near the southern borders to Central Java, Javanese is spoken. The ethnic language spoken in Cirebon and nearby areas (Majalengka , Indramayu , Sumber ) is Cirebonese which is a mix between Sundanese and Javanese. In some remote areas, Bahasa Indonesia is not well understood.

Government

List of West Java's kabupaten (municipals) and their respective capitals:

• 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 cities that has the status of level two district (daerah tingkat dua) in West Java:

• Bogor
• Sukabumi
• Bandung
• Cirebon
• Bekasi
• Depok
• Cimahi
• Tasikmalaya
• Banjar

Natural Resources

Raw natural resources:

• Chalk (Padalarang )
• Several offshore oilfields in Java Sea
• Lumber

Plantation areas:

• Subang
• Puncak

Several dams built mostly for generating electrical power.

• Jatiluhur
• Saguling
• Cirata

Tourism

• Ciater resort near Subang
• Maribaya in Lembang
• Gunung Tangkuban Perahu
• Puncak pass
• Jatiluhur dam
• Taman Safari in Cipanas
• Kebun Raya Bogor in Bogor
• Beaches of Pangandaran
• Selabintana resort in Sukabumi

External links

• West Java Government http://www.jabar.go.id