Jakarta

Jakarta

Jakarta /dʒəˈkɑrtə/,[note 1] officially known as the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (Indonesian: Daerah Khusus Ibu Kota Jakarta), is the capital and largest city of Indonesia, and one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world.

Located on the northwest coast of Java, Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre, and with a population of 9,761,407 as of December 2012, it is the most populous city in Indonesia and in Southeast Asia. The official metropolitan area, known as Jabodetabek (a name formed by combining the initial syllables of Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi), is the second largest in the world, yet the metropolis's suburbs still continue beyond it.

Established in the fourth century, the city became an important trading port for the Kingdom of Sunda. It was the de facto capital of the Dutch East Indies (known as Batavia at that time). Today, the city has continued as the capital of Indonesia since the country's independence was declared in 1945. The city is currently the seat of the ASEAN Secretariat.

Jakarta is listed as a global city in the 2008 Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network (GaWC) research. Based on survey by Brooking Institute, in 2011 economic growth in Jakarta ranked 17th among the world's 200 largest cities, a jump from its 2007 ranking of 171. Jakarta has grown more rapidly than Kuala Lumpur, Beijing and Bangkok.

In 2014 global consultant A.T. Kearney released the Emerging Cities Outlook 2014 which ranked Jakarta first among 35 emerging world cities in terms of potential to improve their global standing in the next few decades.