Jakarta officially known as
the Special Capital Region of Jakarta, is the capital and largest
city of Indonesia. Located on the northwest coast of Java,
Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre,
and with a population of 10,187,595 as of November 2011, it is
the most populous city in Indonesia and in Southeast Asia, and is
the thirteenth most populated city in the world. The official
metropolitan area, known as Jabodetabek, is the second largest in
the world, yet the metropolis's suburbs still continue beyond it.
Jakarta is listed as a global city in the 2008 Globalization and
World Cities Study Group and Network research, and has an area of
661 square kilometres. This area has population of well over 28
million, making it one of the world's largest conurbations in
terms of number of inhabitants. Established in the fourth
century, the city became an important trading port for the
Kingdom of Sunda. It was the de facto capital of the Dutch East
Indies and has continued as the capital of Indonesia since the
country's independence was declared in 1945.
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