[11] It is a semi-enclave that is surrounded by on the landward side by Central Java Province to the west, north, and east, but has a long coastline on the Indian Ocean to the south.

Co-ruled by the Yogyakarta Sultanate and the Duchy of Pakualaman, the region is the only officially recognized diarchy within the government of Indonesia.

The Yogyakarta Sultanate was established in 1755 and provided unwavering support for Indonesia's independence during the Indonesian National Revolution (1945–1949).

In August 1945 Indonesia's first president, Sukarno proclaimed the independence of the Indonesian Republic, and by September of that year, Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX and Duke Sri Paku Alam VIII had sent letters to Sukarno expressing their support for the newly born nation of Indonesia, in which they acknowledged the Yogyakarta Sultanate as part of the Indonesian Republic.

The city of Yogyakarta became the capital of the Indonesian Republic from January 1946 to December 1948 after the fall of Jakarta to the Dutch.

Later, the Dutch also invaded Yogyakarta causing the Indonesian Republic's capital to be transferred again to Bukittinggi in West Sumatra on 19 December 1948.

The most unusual one is pillow lava in Berbah (Sleman) which is a big, rough black rock that lies on the bank of the narrow Dengkeng River.

3 of 1950 on the formation of DIY), the Head and Vice Head of the Special Region are appointed by the president from the descendants of the ruling family in the region before Indonesian independence with the conditions of "skill, honesty, and loyalty, and keeping in mind the customs of the area."

[20] The Special Region of Yogyakarta (provincial level) is subdivided into four regencies (kabupaten) and one city (kota), and divided further into districts (kapanewon or kemantren in the city of Yogyakarta) and villages (rural kalurahan or urban kelurahan, doublet); these are listed below, with their areas and their population at the 2000, 2010[15] and 2020[16] Censuses, with their present estimates, as of mid-2023.

The Special Region forms one of Indonesia's 84 national electoral districts to elect members to the People's Representative Council.

Electoral District consists of all of the 4 regencies in the province, together with the city of Yogyakarta, and elects 8 members to the People's Representative Council.

Yogyakarta is considered one of the major hubs that link the west–east main railway route in Java island.

Yogyakarta Special Region has signed a sister province relationship or friendly ties agreement with the region/state: