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List of metropolitan areas in Indonesia

Adapted from Wikipedia ยท Adventurer experience

A scenic view of Jakarta's skyline from an apartment

Indonesia has many big cities where lots of people live and work close together. These places are called metropolitan areas. The government of Indonesia says a metropolitan area is an urban agglomeration that is very important for the whole country. Because of this, these areas have special planning to help them grow in a good way. This planning follows rules set by the president.

Right now, Indonesia has 10 official metropolitan areas. They are centered around big cities like Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, Semarang, Medan, Makassar, Palembang, Denpasar, Banjarmasin, and Manado. These cities are important hubs for business, culture, and transportation.

Even though there are only 10 official metropolitan areas, some other cities also have areas that spread beyond their city limits. Cities like Yogyakarta, Malang, Pekanbaru, Surakarta, Pontianak, and Cirebon have grown so much that their influence reaches outside the city boundaries. These places are also important for the country, even if they are not officially called metropolitan areas.

Official metropolitan areas

Indonesia has special urban areas called metropolitan areas. These areas are important for the country, and the government helps plan them well. There are 10 of these areas. They are centered around big cities like Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, Semarang, Medan, Makassar, Palembang, Denpasar, Banjarmasin, and Manado.

Metropolitan areaImageOfficial acronymRegencies and citiesArea
(km2)
Estimated
population
Jakarta metropolitan areaJabodetabekjur
City of Bogor (all 6 districts)
City of Depok (all 11 districts)
City of Tangerang (all 13 districts)
Bekasi Regency (all 23 districts)
Bogor Regency (all 40 districts)
Cianjur Regency (only 4 districts)
Tangerang Regency (all 29 districts)
7,062.4733,430,285
Surabaya metropolitan areaGerbangkertosusila
City of Mojokerto (all 2 districts)
Bangkalan Regency (all 18 districts)
Gresik Regency (only 16 districts, excluding Bawean)
Lamongan Regency (all 27 districts)
Mojokerto Regency (all 18 districts)
Sidoarjo Regency (all 18 districts)
5,925.849,570,870
Bandung metropolitan areaBandung Basin
City of Cimahi (all 3 districts)
Bandung Regency (all 31 districts)
Sumedang Regency (only 5 districts)
West Bandung Regency (all 15 districts)
3,411.358,357,393
Semarang metropolitan areaKedungsepur
City of Salatiga (all 4 districts)
Demak Regency (all 14 districts)
Grobogan Regency (only 12 districts)
Kendal Regency (all 20 districts)
Semarang Regency (all 19 districts)
4,298.435,689,149
Medan metropolitan areaMebidangro
City of Binjai (all 5 districts)
Deli Serdang Regency (all 22 districts)
Karo Regency (only 4 districts)
3,189.254,848,885
Makassar metropolitan areaMamminasata
Gowa Regency (only 11 districts)
Maros Regency (only 12 districts)
Takalar Regency (all 9 districts)
2,6672,621,168
Palembang metropolitan areaPatungraya Agung
Banyuasin Regency (only 11 districts)
Ogan Ilir Regency (only 7 districts)
Ogan Komering Ilir Regency (only 4 districts)
7,585.962,570,981
Denpasar metropolitan areaSarbagita
Badung Regency (only 5 districts)
Gianyar Regency (only 4 districts)
Tabanan Regency (only 2 districts)
732.672,388,680
Banjarmasin metropolitan areaBanjarbakula
City of Banjarbaru (all 5 districts)
Banjar Regency (only 14 districts)
Barito Kuala Regency (only 12 districts)
Tanah Laut Regency (only 10 districts)
8,136.361,939,347
Manado metropolitan areaBimindo
City of Bitung (all 8 districts)
City of Tomohon (all 5 districts)
Minahasa Regency (only 3 districts)
North Minahasa Regency (only 6 districts)
1,379.26830,137

Built-up urban areas

These are Indonesia's big, connected cities with more than 500,000 people. The information is from a 2023 study called "World Urban Areas" by Demographia. Demographia studies areas where buildings are close together and people can live and work nearby, regardless of official city borders.

RankUrban areaBuilt-up
Area
(km2)
Estimated
population
2025
1Jakarta3,54634,386,000
2Bandung4877,203,000
3Surabaya9126,556,000
4Medan4794,027,000
5Semarang2592,319,000
6Nusantara3,7822,188,805
7Palembang2202,069,000
8Makassar1791,936,000
9Malang2121,620,000
10Yogyakarta2311,576,000
11Batam2431,403,000
12Denpasar1761,326,000
13Pontianak2,5171,202,232
14Cirebon1061,146,000
15Surakarta2071,097,000
16Pekanbaru2381,085,000

Related articles

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on List of metropolitan areas in Indonesia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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