Most populated island of Indonesia, situated between Sumatra and Bali; area (with the island of Madura) 132,000 sq km/51,000 sq mi; population (with Madura; 2000 est) 118,230,300. The capital is Jakarta (which is also the capital of Indonesia). The island is divided into three provinces: Jawa Tengah, Jawa Timur, and Jawa Barat, together with Jakarta Raya (the Jakarta metropolitan district). About half the island is under cultivation, the rest being thickly forested. Mountains and sea breezes keep the temperature down, but humidity is high, with heavy rainfall from December to March. Ports include Surabaya and Semarang.
Java is crossed from east to west by a chain of mountains rising to 2,750 m/9,000 ft. Of these mountains, 112 are volcanic and 35 are active. Eruptions of Mount Merapi (2,911 m/9,551 ft) killed 1,300 people in 1930 and 64 people in 1994. The highest mountain, Semeru (3,676 m/12,060 ft), is in the east. The weathering of volcanic ash has given rise to fertile soils which has helped to produce a very productive agriculture. About 40% of the cultivated land consists of rice terraces, while major commercial crops include rubber, coffee, tea, sugar, quinine, tobacco, cacao, and timber. Mineral wealth includes petroleum, coal, tin, gold, and silver. Industries on the island at centres such as Jakarta, Bandung, and Surabaya are largely based on the processing of these agricultural and mineral products, with the addition of timber processing, chemicals, shipbuilding, and motor vehicle assembly. The population is predominantly Muslim, and includes people of Javanese, Sundanese, and Madurese origin, with differing languages.
Java, the most populous island of Indonesia. It is bordered on the north by the Java Sea and on the south by the Indian Ocean. Straits separate it from Madura to the northeast, Bali to the east, and Sumatra to the west. Java is about 650 miles (1,050 km) long (east-west) and up to 130 miles (210 km) wide. Its area is 48,842 square miles (126,500 km2).
A great mountain range with many active volcanoes runs along Java's length. Semeru, the highest peak, is 12,060 feet (3,676 m) above sea level. The weather is hot and damp in the lowlands, with no seasonal variation; the highlands are cooler. Java has several important seaports, and major cities are linked by road, rail, and air. Every piece of land fit for cultivation is intensively farmed; rice is grown on terraced hillsides. Other agricultural products are sugar, coffee, tea, rubber, cocoa, corn, cassava, soybeans, and yams. Teak is an important lumber product. Petroleum is the leading mineral resource.
The total population of Java and neighboring Madura in 2000 was 121,352,608. With a population density of nearly 2,485 persons per square mile (960 per km2), Java is perhaps the most crowded area of its size on earth.
Java's largest cities are Jakarta, the national capital (9,373,900); Surabaya (2,801,300); and Bandung (5,919,400).
Java Man, an early form of human, lived on Java more than 600,000 years ago. Hindu traders came to Java after the first century A.D.and established powerful kingdoms. By about 1500 the islanders had been converted to Islam. In 1619 the Dutch founded Batavia (now Jakarta) and gradually spread their rule over the island. The British ruled Java briefly, 1811–16. Following Japanese occupation in World War II, nationalist groups demanded independence from the Netherlands. In 1949 Java became part of the Indonesian Republic, reorganized as the Republic of Indonesia in 1950.
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