City status in Indonesia

In Indonesian law, the term "city" (kota) is generally defined as the second-level administrative subdivision of the Republic of Indonesia, an equivalent to regency (kabupaten). The difference between a city and a regency is that a city has non-agricultural economic activities and a dense urban population, while a regency comprises predominantly rural areas and is larger in area than a city. However, Indonesia historically had several classifications of cities.

According to Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, the official dictionary of the Indonesian language, a city (kota) is "a densely populated area with high density and modern facilities and most of the population works outside of agriculture."

Cities are divided into districts (Kecamatan, Distrik in Papua region, or Kemantren in Yogyakarta).

Gemeente/municipality
During the Dutch East Indies period, a city was governed as gemeente, or municipality, since the decentralisation law in 1903. The gemeente was a third-level subdivision, below residentie (residency) and gouvernement (governorate) or provincie (province).

Kota besar and kota kecil
The terms kota besar (big city), and kota kecil (small city or town), were used since the implementation of the Act Number 22 of 1948. Kota Besar was an urban equivalent of kabupaten (regency), which was the country's second level subdivision, just below province. Kota kecil, used for a small urban area, was the third-level division below regency and province.

Kotaraya, kotamadya, and kotapraja
According to the Act Number 18 of 1965, cities in Indonesia were classified into three: kotaraya (great city, first-level subdivision), kotamadya (medium city, second-level subdivision), and kotapraja (small city or town, third-level subdivision). Kotaraya is an equivalent of a province, kotamadya is an equivalent of a regency, while kotapraja is an equivalent of kecamatan (districts). Jakarta was the only city granted the kotaraya status, due to its function as the capital of Indonesia.

The terms kotaraya and kotapraja had been abolished since 1974, and kotamadya was used for most of urban areas in Indonesia up to 1999. Jakarta continued to become the only urban area with a province status.

Kota administratif
The term kota administratif (administrative city, not to be confused with kota administrasi) was used after the implementation of Act Number 5 of 1974. Kota administratif status was granted to a town inside the territory of a regency (kabupaten) that were deemed necessary in accordance with the town's growth and development. Kota administratif does not have autonomy and its own legislature, and was responsible to its parent regency. The term kota administratif was abolished with the implementation of Act Number 22 of 1999, and all kota administratif were either granted full kota (city) status or dissolved and merged with its parent regency.

Kota
The term kota (city) has been implemented to substitute kotamadya since the post-Suharto era in Indonesia. Kota is headed by a mayor (walikota), who is directly elected via elections to serve for a five-year term, which can be renewed for one further five-year term. Each kota is divided further into districts, more commonly known as kecamatan.

Jakarta as a city
Jakarta, then known as Batavia, was the first city in the archipelago to be developed by the Dutch Empire. On the 4 March 1621, the first city government (stad) was created in Batavia, and on 1 April 1905, it became the very first municipality (gemeente) of the Dutch East Indies. Upon Indonesian independence, it remains as the city within the province of West Java. With the release of the Act Number 1 of 1957, Jakarta became the first provincial-level city in Indonesia. Although Jakarta is now written as a 'province' in Indonesian law products, it is still widely referred to as a city. The United Nations (UN) classifies Jakarta as a 'city' on its statistical database.

The Special Region of Jakarta consists of five 'administrative cities' and one 'administrative regency'. Unlike other actual cities in Indonesia, administrative cities in Jakarta are not self-governing, and were only created for bureaucracy purposes. The administrative cities do not have city councils, and their mayors were exclusively selected by the Governor of Jakarta without any public election. Ryas Rasyid, an Indonesian regional government expert, stated that Jakarta is a "province with a city management". Anies Baswedan, the 17th Governor of Jakarta, asserted that "Jakarta has only an area of 600 square kilometres. It is a city with the province status." Unlike other 37 Indonesian provinces whose governors work in a 'governor office' (Kantor Gubernur), the governor of Jakarta works in a city hall (Balai Kota DKI Jakarta).

List of cities by date of incorporation

 * Notes
 * undefined Incorporated as Batavia
 * undefined Incorporated as Buitenzorg
 * undefined Incorporated as Fort de Kock
 * undefined Incorporated as Kutaraja
 * undefined Incorporated as Tanjungkarang–Telukbetung