Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta is the largest metropole in Southeast Asia and serves as the diplomatic capital of ASEAN.

Jakarta's business and employment opportunities, along with its ability to offer a potentially higher standard of living compared to other parts of the country, have attracted migrants from across the Indonesian archipelago, making it a melting pot of numerous cultures.

Jakarta's main challenges include rapid urban growth, ecological breakdown, air pollution, gridlocked traffic, congestion, and flooding due to subsidence and water extraction (sea level rise is relative, not absolute).

The strategic geographical position of coastal West Java, which corresponds to today modern Jakarta, is a commanding region that controls the Sunda Strait.

According to the Chinese source, Chu-fan-chi, written circa 1225, Chou Ju-kua reported in the early 13th century that Srivijaya still ruled Sumatra, the Malay peninsula, and western Java (Sunda).

[27] The Sunda Kingdom made an alliance treaty with the Portuguese by allowing them to build a port in 1522 to defend against the rising power of Demak Sultanate from central Java.

In 1602, an English East India Company (EIC) voyage led by Sir James Lancaster arrived in Aceh and sailed on to Banten, where they were allowed to build a trading post.

[39] Lieutenant General Ali Sadikin served as governor from 1966 to 1977; he rehabilitated roads and bridges, encouraged the arts, and built hospitals and a large number of schools.

Furthermore, the government's lack of strict regulation amplifies the issue as many recently built high-rise buildings, corporations, and factories around Jakarta opt for illegally extracting groundwater.

Moreover, increasing regulation through higher taxes or limiting groundwater pumping has proven to help cities like Shanghai, Tokyo, and San Jose relieve their subsidence issue.

Although many of the projects were completed after his presidency, Sukarno, who was an architect, is credited for planning Jakarta's monuments and landmarks, as he desired the city to be the beacon of a powerful new nation.

Additionally, this vortex causes a mainly meridional monsoon flow, where near-surface winds blow almost perfectly from north to south over West Java.

The impact of these predominant northerly winds hitting the rugged topography in southern West Java likely contributes to the increased convection that causes floods in Jakarta.

[39] The Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri) tabulates its own data, which has improved since ID cards were required in the last decade, lists Jakarta's population at 11,261,595 at yearend 2021.

As of 2010, 36.17% of the city's population were Javanese, 28.29% Betawi (locally established mixed race, cemented by diverse creole), 14.61% Sundanese, 6.62% Chinese, 3.42% Batak, 2.85% Minangkabau, 0.96% Malays, Indo and others 7.06%.

In 2024, Jakarta's religious composition was distributed over Islam (83.83%), Protestantism (8.6%), Catholicism (3.9%), Buddhism (3.46%), Hinduism (0.18%), Confucianism (0.017%), and about 0.013% of population claimed to follow folk religions.

[144] Most pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) in Jakarta are affiliated with the traditionalist Nahdlatul Ulama,[145] modernist organisations mostly catering to a socioeconomic class of educated urban elites and merchant traders.

Knight Frank, a global real estate consultancy based in London, reported in 2014 that Jakarta offered the highest return on high-end property investment in the world in 2013, citing a supply shortage and a sharply depreciated currency as reasons.

Traditional markets include Blok M, Mayestik, Tanah Abang, Senen, Pasar Baru, Glodok, Mangga Dua, Cempaka Mas, and Jatinegara.

[170] Though Jakarta has been named the most popular location as per tag stories,[171] and ranked eighth most-posted among the cities in the world in 2017 on image-sharing site Instagram,[172] it is not a top international tourist destination.

As the gateway of Indonesia, Jakarta often serves as a stop-over for foreign visitors on their way to other Indonesian tourist destinations such as Bali, Lombok, Komodo Island and Yogyakarta.

Flona Jakarta is a flora-and-fauna exhibition, held annually in August at Lapangan Banteng Park, featuring flowers, plant nurseries, and pets.

These include the Chinese Confucius Institute, the Dutch Erasmus Huis, the British Council, the French Alliance Française, the German Goethe-Institut, the Japan Foundation, and the Jawaharlal Nehru Indian Cultural Centre.

Jakarta cuisine can be found in modest street-side warung food stalls and Hawkers travelling vendors to high-end fine dining restaurants.

[190] Trendy restaurants, cafe and bars can be found at Menteng, Kemang,[191] Jalan Senopati,[192] Kuningan, Senayan, Pantai Indah Kapuk,[193] and Kelapa Gading.

[196] Global fast-food chains are present and usually found in Shopping malls, along with local brands like Sederhana, J'CO, Es Teler 77, Kebab Turki, CFC, and Japanese HokBen and Yoshinoya.

During the event, morning gymnastics, calisthenics and aerobic exercises, futsal games, jogging, bicycling, skateboarding, badminton, karate, on-street library and musical performances take over the roads and the main parks.

The old port Sunda Kelapa only accommodate pinisi, a traditional two-masted wooden sailing ship serving inter-island freight service in the archipelago.

Eighty per cent of the water distributed in Jakarta comes through the West Tarum Canal system from Jatiluhur reservoir on the Citarum River, 70 km (43 mi) southeast of the city.

[254] According to data by the Jakarta Water Supply Regulatory Body, access in the eastern half of the city served by PTJ increased from about 57% in 1998 to about 67% in 2004 but stagnated afterward.