Ethnic Groups

Java's inhabitants include three major ethnic groups, the dominant Javanese, the Sundanese, and the Madurese, and by two smaller groups, the Tenggerese and the Badui. The Javanese constitute approximately 70 percent of Java's population and live primarily in the central and eastern portions of the island. The Sundanese live mainly in the west, while the Madurese live in the east and on Madura Island. All three groups speak Malay languages, and most are Muslims.

Java is one of the world's most densely populated areas. The island averages some 2,600 persons per square mile (1,000 per square km) and has the majority of Indonesia's population on only 7 percent of the total land area of the republic. Java's rate of population growth has been and remains quite high; from an estimated 5 million people in 1815, the population had grown to more than 125 million in the early 21st century. Most of Java's population remains rural, but its cities have nevertheless grown at a rapid rate. The chief cities are Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya, Surakarta, and Yogyakarta. The rural population density is highest in the south-central plains and the northern plain.