Overview of the Cities & Towns in Java

For centuries, Java has been the cultural, political, and economic center of Indonesia. Known as Jawa in Bahasa, Java is situated between Sumatra and Bali and is the fifth largest island of Indonesia. The population is predominantly Muslim, and includes people of Javanese, Sundanese, and Madurese origin, with differing languages.

Even though it constitutes only one seventh of the country's total area, it contains two thirds of the country's population (2,100 people per square mile). Making it the most densely populated island of Indonesia. It is also the most industrialized island in Indonesia.  

The island is divided into four provinces Jawa Tengah (Central Java), Jawa Timur (East Java), & Jawa Barat (West Java).

• Jakarta is where the republic's capital and largest city is.
  
  Tanjungpriok is the chief port of Jakarta.
• Bandung is the third largest city in Java
• Bogor
• Banten

• Surabaya is the second largest city in Java
• Blitar
• Malang

• Surakata
• Semarang
• Yogyakarta
• Surakarta are the cultural backbone of Java

Half of Java is under cultivation while the rest are thickly forested. Mountains and sea breezes keep the temperature down, but humidity is high, with heavy rainfall from December to March.

An east-west mountain range reaching 10,000 feet (2,500m) high extends across Java. These mountains contain many volcanoes, some active, some asleep. Of these mountains, 110 are volcanic with 35 being active. The highest mountain, Semeru (3,670 m/12,000 ft), is in the east.

The weathering of volcanic ash has given rise to fertile soils which has helped to produce a very productive agriculture. This explains why the island is covered with thousands of small farm villages. Java is the third largest producer of coffee in the world.

Java was a home of early humans; in 1891 the fossilized remains of the so-called Java man, Pithecanthropus erectus, was found.

Here we look at the different cities & town in Java: