Jakarta , officially the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Located on the northwest coast of Java, it has an area of 661 square kilometres (255 sq mi) and a 2010 census count population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre. It is the most populous city in Indonesia and in Southeast Asia, and is the twelfth-largest city in the world. The urban area, Jabodetabek, is the second largest in the world. Jakarta is listed as a global city in the 2008 Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network (GaWC) research. The city's name is derived from the Old Javanese word "Jayakarta" which translates as "victorious deed", "complete act", or "complete victory".

Established in the fourth century, the city became an important trading port for the Kingdom of Sunda. It grew as the capital of the colonial Dutch East Indies. It was made capital of Indonesia when the country became independent after World War II. It was formerly known as Sunda Kelapa (397–1527), JayakartaBatavia (1619–1942), and Djakarta (1942–1972). (1527–1619),

Landmarks include the National Monument and Istiqlal Mosque. The city is the seat of the ASEAN Secretariat. Jakarta is served by the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport, and Tanjung Priok Harbour; it is connected by several intercity and commuter railways, and served by several bus lines running on reserved busways.

Jakarta is located on the northwest coast of Java, at the mouth of the Ciliwung River on Jakarta Bay, which is an inlet of the Java Sea. Officially, the area of the Jakarta Special District is 662 km² of land area and 6,977 km² of sea area. Jakarta lies in a low, flat basin, averaging 7 metres (23 ft) above sea level; 40% of Jakarta, particularly the northern areas, is below sea level, while the southern parts are comparatively hilly. Rivers flow from the Puncak highlands to the south of the city, across the city northwards towards the Java Sea; the most important is the Ciliwung River, which divides the city into the western and eastern principalities. Other rivers include the Pesanggrahan, and Sunter.

These rivers, combined with Jakarta's low topography make it prone to flooding from swollen rivers in the wet season and high sea tides. Other contributing factors include clogged sewage pipes and waterways that service an increasing population, in addition to deforestation near rapidly urbanizing Bogor and Depok in Jakarta's hinterland. Furthermore, Jakarta is an urban area with complex socio-economic problems that indirectly contribute to triggering a flood event. Major floods occurred in 1996 when 5,000 hectares of land were flooded  and 2007. Losses from infrastructure damage and state revenue were at least 5.2 trillion rupiah (572 million US dollars) and at least 85 people were killed  and about 350,000 people forced from their homes. Approximately 70% of Jakarta's total area was flooded with water up to four meters deep in parts of the city.

The Thousand Islands, which are administratively a part of Jakarta, are located in Jakarta Bay north of the city.

Jakarta's economy depends heavily on financial service, trade, and manufacturing. Industry includes electronics, automotive, chemicals, mechanical engineering and biomedical sciences manufacturing. In 2009, 13% of the population had an income per capita in excess of US$ 10,000 (Rp 108,000,000).

The economic growth of Jakarta in 2007 was 6.44% up from 5.95% the previous year, with the growth in the transportation and communication (15.25%), construction (7.81%) and trade, hotel and restaurant sectors (6.88%). In 2007, GRP (Growth Regional Domestic Product) was Rp. 566.45 trillion. The largest contributions to GDRP was by finance, ownership and business services (28.7%); trade, hotel and restaurant sector (20.4%), and manufacturing industry sector (15.97%). In 2007, per capita GRDP of DKI Jakarta inhabitants was an 11.63% compared to previous year

Both GRDP by at current market price and GRDP by at 2000 constant price in 2007 for Municipality of Central Jakarta (Jakarta Pusat) is higher than other municipalities in DKI Jakarta, which is 145.81 million rupiahs and 80.78 million rupiahs.

A new law in 2007 forbids the giving of money to beggars, buskers and hawkers, bans squatter settlements on river banks and highways, and prohibits spitting and smoking on public transportation. Unauthorized people cleaning car windscreens and taking tips for directing traffic at intersections will also be penalized. Critics of the new legislation claim that such laws will be difficult to enforce and it tends to ignore the desperate poverty of many of the capital's inhabitants.

Surveys show that "less than a quarter of the population is fully served by improved water sources. The rest rely on a variety of sources, including rivers, lakes and private water vendors. Some 7.2 million people are without clean water."

In Kelurahan Penjaringan, one of Jakarta's largest slums, clean drinking water is in limited supply. Diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, cholera and acute respiratory infection are on the rise because of contaminated water.

Demography

The 2010 census counted some 9.58 million people, well above all government estimates. The area of DKI Jakarta is 662.33 km², suggesting a population density of 14,464 people/km². Inwards immigration tended to negate the effect of family planning programs. The population has risen from 1.2 million in 1960 to 8.8 million in 2004, counting only its legal residents. The population of greater Jakarta (Jabodetabek Region) is 27,067,133 (2010 Census). By 2025 the population of Jakarta may reach 24.9 million, not counting millions more in surrounding areas.

Jakarta is primarily a city of government and business. It is seldom viewed as a centre for tourism other than the old part of the city which is a popular tourist destination. However the Jakarta authority saw the opportunity to develop the city's reputation as a service and tourism city. There are many new tourism infrastructures, entertainment centers, and international-class hotels and restaurants being built in Jakarta. Jakarta also possesses many historical places and cultural heritage.

Night view of Jakarta, Indonesia.

The National Monument, stands at the center of Merdeka Square, the central park of the city. Near the national monument stands a Mahabharata themed Arjuna Wijaya chariot statue and fountain. Further south through Jalan Thamrin, the main avenue of Jakarta, the "Selamat Datang" (welcome) statue stands on the fountain in the center of Hotel Indonesia roundabout. Other landmarks include the Istiqlal Mosque, the Jakarta Cathedral, and the West Irian Liberation monument. The Wisma 46 building in Central Jakarta is currently the highest building in Jakarta and Indonesia. Tourist attractions include Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, Ragunan Zoo, Jakarta Old Town, and the Ancol Dreamland complex on Jakarta Bay, including Dunia Fantasi theme park, Sea World, Atlantis Water Adventure, and Gelanggang Samudra.

Most of the visitors attracted to Jakarta are domestic tourists from all over Indonesia, the majority of them from the neighboring provinces of West Java, Banten, Lampung, and Central Java. As the gateway of Indonesia, Jakarta often serves as the stop-over for foreign visitors on their way to Indonesian popular tourist destinations such as Bali and Yogyakarta. Most foreign visitors from the neighboring ASEAN countries; such as Malaysia and Singapore, visit Jakarta (to some extent also include Bandung) for shopping purposes, since the city is famous for its cheap but fair quality products, especially textiles, craft and fashion products.

Jakarta is sprawling with numerous malls, shopping centers, and traditional markets. Jakarta shopping malls with areas in excess of 100,000 metres square, include Grand Indonesia, Pacific Place Jakarta, Plaza Indonesia and Plaza e'X, Senayan City, Plaza Senayan, Pasaraya, Pondok Indah Mall, Mal Taman Anggrek, Mal Kelapa Gading, Mal Artha Gading, and Mall of Indonesia. Other smaller but popular malls are Sarinah Thamrin, Ratu Plaza, Atrium Senen, Mall Ambassador and Pasar Festival. Traditional markets include Blok M, Tanah Abang, Senen, Pasar Baru, Glodok, Mangga Dua, Cempaka Mas, and Jatinegara.

Taman Suropati is located in Menteng garden city subdistrict, Central Jakarta. The park is surrounded by several Dutch colonial buildings. Taman Suropati was known as Burgemeester Bishopplein during the Dutch colonial time. The park is circular shaped with a surface area of 16,322 m2. There are several modern statues in the park made by artists of the ASEAN countries, which contributes to the other nickname of the park "Taman persahabatan seniman ASEAN" ("Park of the ASEAN Still located in Menteng area are the parks Taman Menteng and Situ Lembang pond. The Taman Menteng was built on the former Persija soccer Stadium. artists friendship").

Taman Lapangan Banteng (Buffalo Field Park) is located in Central Jakarta near Istiqlal Mosque, Jakarta Cathedral, and Jakarta Central Post Office. It is about 4,5 hectares. Initially it was called Waterlooplein of Batavia and functioned as the ceremonial square during Netherlands Indies. Many of the colonial monuments and memorials erected on the square were demolished during Sukarno era which later built the present monument in the square. The most notable landmark inside the park is the Monumen Pembebasan Irian Barat (Monument of the Liberation of Irian Barat). During the 1980s, the park is used as a bus terminal. In 1993, the park turned into a public space again and has become a recreation place for people and occasionally also used as an exhibition place or other events. The Jakarta Flona (Flora dan Fauna), the flower and decoration plants also pet exhibition is held in this park around August annually.

Taman Monas (Monas Park) or Taman Medan Merdeka (Medan Merdeka Park) is the park where the symbol of Jakarta, Monas or Monumen Nasional (National Monument) is located. The large open space was created by Dutch Governor General Herman Willem Daendels (1810) and was originally named Koningsplein (Kings Square). On 10 January 1993, President Soeharto initiate the action toward the beautification of the park. Several features in the park is a deer park and 33 trees that represents the 33 provinces of Indonesia.

Transportation

Jakarta monthly Car Free Day, 2010.

Jakarta is strained by transportation problems. The city still suffers a lack of urban public transport services due to the long development of road networks that accommodate mostly private vehicles. Most trips, however, are undertaken by non-motorized transportation (particularly walking) and numerous modes of public or demand-responsive transportation services.

Long-distance railways and local tram services were first introduced during the Dutch colonial era. While the trams were replaced with buses in the post-colonial era, long-distance railways continued to connect the city to its neighboring regions as well as cities throughout Java. The surrounding cities of Jakarta are served by KRL Jabotabek, a mass rapid transit system which serves commuters both in and around Jakarta. The major rail stations are Gambir, Jakarta Kota, Jatinegara, Pasar Senen, Manggarai, and Tanah Abang. During rush hours, the number of passengers greatly exceeds the system's capacity, and crowding is common.

Two lines of the Jakarta Monorail are under construction: the green line serving Semanggi-Casablanca Road-Kuningan-Semanggi and the blue line serving Kampung Melayu-Casablanca Road-Tanah Abang-Roxy. There are plans for a two-line metro (MRT) system, with a north-south line between Kota and Lebak Bulus, with connections to both monorail lines; and an east-west line, which will connect to the north-south line at Sawah Besar Station.

Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK) is the main airport serving the greater Jakarta area. The airport is named after the first President of Indonesia, Soekarno, and the first vice-president, Mohammad Hatta. The airport is often called Cengkareng by Indonesians. The airport's IATA code, CGK, originates from the name of the Cengkareng locality, a district situated to the northwest of the city. It is Indonesia's busiest airport handling more than 30 million passengers annually. A second airport, Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport (HLP) serves mostly private and VIP/presidential flights. Other airports in the Jabotabek metropolitan area include Pondok Cabe Airport and an airfield on Pulau Panjang, part of the Thousand Island archipelago.

Waterway

On 6 June 2007, the city administration introduced the Waterway, a new river boat service along the Ciliwung River.

Sea

The main seaport for this transportation mode is the Tanjung Priok seaport.