Contents - Previous - Next

This is the old United Nations University website. Visit the new site at http://unu.edu

Jabotabek, the Jakarta metropolitan area

The Special Capital Region of Jakarta (in Indonesian known as Daerah Khusus Ibukota (DKI) Jakarta) is Indonesia's largest and most important city. It has a status equal to a province. The city has been established for over 460 years, and in the past 40 years has grown at an explosive rate. After more than four centuries of limited population and spatial growth, Jakarta has expanded rapidly over the past four decades. The growth of Jakarta in this period has resulted in a significant shortfall of infrastructure in terms of public services and has highlighted the urgent need to consider means of coordinating the management of the city's development and growth with the surrounding regions, namely, the kabupatens of Bogor, Tangerang, and Bekasi (fig. 11.1).

In 1948 the population of Jakarta was about 2 million, with a builtup area of 20,000 ha, including Kebayoran Baru, a new town in the south. In 1965 the population of Jakarta was about 4 million, with a built-up area of 35,000 ha. By 1980, Jakarta occupied 65,400 ha with a population of 6.5 million, and it was by this time that the influence of the city on the region (rather than simply on its fringes) was clearly demonstrated. The 1990 Population Census showed that Jakarta had 8.2 million inhabitants.

The initial response to the accelerated growth of Jakarta was to expand the boundaries of Jakarta in order to accommodate the growth. The expansion took over some of the areas of the Bogor, Tangerang, and Bekasi regencies. Subsequently, as growth extended beyond the revised boundaries, the government adopted a different approach in the mid-1970s, and the concept of Jabotabek was introduced.

This metropolitan region comprises DKI Jakarta and the kabupatens of Bogor, Tangerang, and Bekasi. A joint development cooperation board was established with the responsibility of coordinating development activities in this region.

Fig. 11.1 The administrative boundaries of Jabotabek

Population growth

Jakarta is the national capital and seat of the central government and the main commercial and administrative centre of the country. Between 1961 and 1980, the population of DKI Jakarta doubled and by 1990 as much as 15 per cent (8.2 million) of Indonesia's urban population and 5 per cent of the total population lived and worked in the city. However, urbanization has outgrown the administrative boundaries of DKI Jakarta and, with the spread of industrial and residential development, the surrounding fringe areas now contain a further 2.3 million people.

By the year 2005, if present trends continue, there will be around 26 million people living in Jabotabek, with over 18 million of them living in the built-up area of DKI Jakarta and the urban areas of the surrounding kabupatens of West Java Province (Botabek). With a 2005 population estimate for DKI Jakarta of 13 million, this means that over 5 million people would be living in the urban area immediately adjacent to DKI Jakarta.

During the period 1980-1990, the region's population grew annually by 3.7 per cent, which is much higher than the national and West Java population growth rates of 1.97 per cent and 2.57 per cent, respectively. This growth has been largely due to the large number of in-coming migrants. During the past two decades, a gradual change in the migration pattern to and within the Jabotabek region has been perceived. Since 1975, permanent population movement from West Java (including Botabek) and other parts of the country to Jakarta has tended to decline and there has been a reverse trend towards the areas surrounding Jakarta, particularly the Botabek region.

Besides receiving migrants from DKI Jakarta, the Botabek region has increasingly been chosen as the preferred destination for migration. This is probably owing to lower land prices and living costs, followed recently by the increasing availability of employment, while accessibility to DKI Jakarta is still easy. This is reflected in the fact that the population growth rate in DKI Jakarta declined from 4 per cent during the period 1971-1980 to 2.41 per cent during the period 1980-1990, in contrast to the Bogor, Tangerang, and Bekasi regencies (table 11.3). Although the rate of out-migration from Jakarta to Botabek is increasing, it-will continue to be countered by continuous in-migration from other parts of Java and elsewhere, at least for the near future.

The 1990 Population Census shows that the destination region/province for migration gradually shifted from Java to outside Java. Yet, DKI Jakarta and West Java provinces (associated with the Botabek region) still remained the main destinations. The census results appear to imply that the decline in DKI Jakarta's growth rate was closely related to the out-migration of Jakarta's residents to the Botabek region, as indicated by its high population growth rates during the past decade. This is also evident from the new development of large-scale residential areas and new towns (e.g. Serpong and Tiga Raksa) in this area.

Apart from the vast in- and out-migration phenomena, there is also an element of temporary migration, which is largely unrecorded. It is obvious that there is much daily commuting between the urban fringe areas and DKI Jakarta. In 1986 it was estimated that more than 300,000 people commuted every day from the Botabek region to Jakarta for work, mainly by buses and intercity trains.

Table 11.3 Urban end rural population of Jabotabek region, 1980 and 1990

Source: Bureau of Population Statistics (BPS), Population Censuses 1980 and 1990.
a. Including their administrative cities of Tangerang and Bekasi.

Table 11.4 Population growth and dendsity of DKI Jakarta, 1961-1990

Source: BPS, Population Censuses.

DKI Jakarta is the smallest Indonesian province, with an area of 650.4 km². The population density of DKI Jakarta in 1990 (12,642 persons/km²), as shown in table 11.4, naturally exceeds that of all other provinces except the Special Region of Yogyakarta (12,887/km²).

During the early to mid-1980s, DKI Jakarta continued to grow at rates close to, if not higher than, those during the 1970s. Even with optimistic assumptions as to future trends in fertility, mortality, and migration, it now seems clear that Jakarta's total population will exceed the target before the end of 2005, and perhaps before the end of the twentieth century. The Review Report of the Jabotabek Metropolitan Development Plan (JMDP) suggests a 2005 figure of around 13.3-13.5 million, which might be more realistic.

The average population density in 1980 in DKI Jakarta was about 9,000 persons/km² and in 1990 it became more than 12,000 persons/km² (table 11.5). Based on the JMDP projection, this will more than double by 2005, to between 20,000 and 21,000 persons per km². Although, obviously, some areas will have higher densities than others, it should be clear that this will imply a fairly rapid infilling of what are now considered as "urban fringe" areas. The current expansion of densely settled urbanized areas is already spilling over the administrative boundaries of DKI Jakarta into surrounding areas. This trend is virtually certain to continue (and likely accelerate).

It is believed that in the future Botabek's share of the provincial population will continue to increase at the rate observed between 1980 and 1990. This implies that the Botabek region will increase its share of the West Java population from 19.7 per cent in 1980 and 25.1 per cent in 1990 to 27.2 per cent by 2005. This will give a population of 12.2 million for Botabek region in 2005. It is nevertheless considered that this projection is too low for two reasons. First, it ignores the fact that Botabek's share of the West Java population has increased faster since 1980. Second, there is a strong likelihood, as evidenced by the continuing rapid development of areas on the fringes of DKI Jakarta, that Botabek will continue to attract "overspill" population from DKI Jakarta. The high projection, which is considered more realistic, produced a figure of 13.3 million people in Botabek in 2005.

Table 11.5 Population density in Jabotabek region, 1980 and 1990

Source: Calculation based on BPS, Population Censuses.
a. Including their administrative cities of Tangerang and Bekasi.

The regional economy of Jakarta metropolitan area

DKI Jakarta, as the core of Jabotabek metropolitan area, has different economic features from the other 26 provinces in the country. This can be seen from its economic structure, and in some cases also its magnitude, which has been led by secondary and tertiary activities, at least since 1975 (table 11.6).

Structural change in the Jakarta economy has been less rapid than might have been expected in such a rapidly expanding region. During the period 1975-1989, the shares of manufacturing, financial services, and transport and communications rose substantially, while those of trade and services fell. Lately the construction sector has also exhibited a tendency to fall. This trend is puzzling given the extraordinary boom in modern construction and the strong growth of investment in the public sector for much of this period.

The share of Jakarta in the national economy (including oil and gas) between 1985 and 1989 shows a small increase from 11.4 per cent to 11.6 per cent (table 11.6). A different picture would emerge if oil and gas value-added were included; there would be a slight decrease. This contradictory situation happened because of the sharp increase in non-oil and gas commodities produced, particularly outside Jakarta, during the period following the non-oil and gas export campaign. Of the eight main economic sectors available in Jakarta, two had very significant shares, namely utilities and finance. Although both were showing a slight decline, this still demonstrated the dominance of Jakarta.

Table 11.6 Distribution and share of GDP by economic sector in DKI Jakarta, 1975-1989 (%)

Source: Calculated from BPS, Provincial Income in Indonesia, various issues.

Although Jakarta does not generate oil and gas value-added, it is widely realized that a great deal is going to (or passing through) Jakarta from the oiland gas-producing provinces. This happens because most of the companies' headquarters are located in DKI Jakarta, controlling all the companies' transactions and operations. It is widely known that most of these companies are owned by foreign enterprises that operate in an international business network.

In period 1975-1983, Jakarta grew much faster than the national growth rate (including or excluding the value-added from oil and gas), as shown in table 11.7. These high growth rates were associated with big increases in the manufacturing, utilities, transport, finance, and services sectors. All these sectors had to grow rapidly to support Jakarta's function as a metropolis of a growing nation. These sectors played a leading part in regional growth. In the following period, 1983-1989, most sectors' growth in DKI Jakarta had dramatically dropped below the national average, except for construction and transport, which were slightly higher (table 11.7). However, the total growth rate was still higher than the national rate if oil and gas are included.

Table 11.7 GDP average annual growth by sector in Jakarta and Indonesia, 1975-1989 (%)

Source: Calculated from BPS, Provincial Income in Indonesia, various issues.

Comparison of the economic structure of Botabek (Bogor, Tangerang, and Bekasi regencies) with Jakarta will show that generally the picture is similar except for agriculture (table 11.8). Manufacturing and trade held the key role in the economy of the region. Meanwhile agriculture still has an important role, but reveals a relative decline. This is not surprising since most of the investment in West Java Province took place in this region (Hill, 1989). According to BKPM data, around 50 per cent of local and foreign investment in West Java Province is located within Botabek region. This was amplified by Presidential Decree No. 53/1989, which allows private companies to own and manage industrial estates. However, Jakarta had set limitations or prohibited certain industries from locating in Jakarta. This in turn brought the spillover of industries to the Botabek region.

Table 11.8 Distribution, share, and growth of GDP in Botabek, 1985 and 1989 (%)

Sources: Kerja Sama Pembangunan (Development Cooperation) and Bappeda, PDRB Jawa Barat 1985-89.

In order to support industrial activities and to provide basic services in that growing region, it is reasonable that the region should be provided with adequate infrastructure such as electricity, potable water, and waste disposal. This resulted in a high growth rate of utilities between 1985 and 1989 in the Botabek area.

Between 1975 and 1989, Jakarta had a higher GDP per capita than the national level, with or without oil and gas. It was almost twice as much as the national GDP per capita, and in 1989 it was three times the national figure excluding oil/gas (table 11.9). In contrast, the GDP per capita of both the Botabek and Jabotabek regions was lower than the national and DKI Jakarta levels between 1985 and 1989. This again demonstrates the dominance of DKI Jakarta in the Jabotabek region as well as in the country.

Based on the regional accounts data, some changes took place between 1975 and 1983 in the GDP per capita ratio between Jakarta and the country, in which Jakarta showed an increasing tendency from about 2.7 times to more than three times the national level (excluding oil/gas). The Jabotabek region also had ratios during the period 1975-1983 that were nearly twice the national levels.

Table 11.9 GDP per capita in Jakarta, Jabotabek, and Indonesia, 1975-1989

Sources: BPS, Provincial Income in Indonesia, various issues (in current prices); Bappeda & KSP Jawa Barat, PDRB Propinsi Jawa Barat 1985-89; BPS, Population Censuses, 1971,1980, and 1990, interpolated.

a. The all Indonesia total GDP is the sum of the provinces and is not taken from the national income statistics.

Table 11.10 Average annual growth of GDP per capita, 1975-1989 (%)

Sources: BPS, Provincial Income in Indonesia, various issues; BPS, Population Censuses, 1971, 1980, and 1990, interpolated.

a. The all Indonesia total GDP is the sum of the provinces and is not taken from the national income statistics.

Continue

Contents - Previous - Next