Administrative divisions of Indonesia

Indonesia

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Republic of Indonesia is divided into provinces (Indonesian: Provinsi). Provinces are made up of regencies (Indonesian: Kabupaten) and cities (Indonesian: Kota). Province, regencies, and cities, have their own local governments and parliamentary bodies.

Since the enactment of Law Number 22 Year 1999 regarding Local Government [1] (the law was revised by Law Number 32 Year 2004 [2]), local governments now play a greater role in administering their areas. Foreign policy, defense (including armed forces and national police), system of law, and monetary policy, however, remain the domain of the national government. Since 2005, heads of local government (governors, regents, and mayors) have been directly elected by popular election.[3]

Contents

Province

A province (Indonesian: Provinsi) is headed by a governor. Each province has its own legislative body, called Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah (literally means "Regional People's Representatives Assembly"). Governors and representative members are elected by popular vote for 5-year term.

Indonesia is divided into 33 provinces.[4] Seven provinces were created since 2000. Five provinces have special status:

Each province is divided into regencies and cities.

Regency and City

[[Image:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM 'Leden van de 'Toradjasche Christelijke Jongelieden Vereeniging 'Boenga Lalan voor de pastorie te Malaboh Toraja Sulawesi.' TMnr 10001356.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Christian mission in Tana Toraja Regency, Netherlands colonial period.
picture credits : Tropenmuseum.]]

Regency (Indonesian: Kabupaten) and City (Indonesian: Kota) is a local level of government beneath that of province, however they enjoy greater decentralization affairs than province does, such as provide public schools and public health facilities.

Both regency and city are the same level, having their own local government and legislative body. The difference between a Regency and a City lies in differing demographics, size and economics. Generally the regency has larger area than city, and city has a non-agricultural economic activities. A regency is headed by a regent (Indonesian: Bupati), and a city is headed by a mayor (Indonesian: Walikota). Regent or mayor and member of representatives are elected by popular vote for a term of 5 years.

Each regency or city is divided into sub-districts.

Sub-district

Sub-district (Indonesian: Kecamatan) is an area within a regency or city. The head of a sub-district is known as a "Camat"'. Camats are civil servants, responsible to the regent (for regency) or to the mayor (for city).

In Papua Province and West Papua Province, a sub-district is called District (Indonesian: Distrik), and is headed by a "Head of District" (Indonesian: Kepala Distrik).

Each sub-district is divided into desa (village) or kelurahan.

In Aceh, Indonesia, a mukim is subdivision of a subdistrict. A mukim contains some villages (gampong).

Village: Desa and Kelurahan

The next level is that of the Desa or Kelurahan. Both Desa and Kelurahan are the area within sub-district, however Desa enjoys greater local matters than Kelurahan does.

Desa

In Indonesian, as in English, village (desa) has rural connotations, in the context of Indonesian Government Administration, a Desa can be defined as a body which has authority over the local people in accordance with acknowledged local traditions of the area. Desa is headed by "Head of Desa" (Indonesian: Kepala Desa), who is elected by popular vote.

Most Indonesian villages use the term "desa". In some places, however, there are many other terms used, i.e:

Kelurahan

Though Desa and Kelurahan are part of a sub-district, a Kelurahan has less power than a Desa. A Kelurahan is headed by a "Lurah". Lurahs are civil servants, directly responsible to their Camat. A Kelurahan is part of Regency/City government bureaucracy.

Statistics

Here is table showing number of current provinces, regencies, and cities of Indonesia.[13]

Type (Indonesian) Type (English) Head of administration (Indonesian) Head of administration (English) Number
provinsi or propinsi Province Gubernur Governor 33
Kabupaten Regency Bupati Regent 405
Kota City Wali Kota Mayor 97
Kecamatan, in Papua and West Papua: Distrik Subdistrict or District Camat, in Papua and West Papua: Kepala Distrik Head of Subdistrict 6,543
Desa and Kelurahan Village Lurah/Kepala Desa Head of Village 75,244

See also

Notes