Java (Indonesian: Jawa, Indonesian pronunciation: [ˈdʒawa]; Javanese: ꦗꦮ; Sundanese: ᮏᮝ) is one of the

Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to
the north. With a population of 151.8 million, including the inhabitants of its surrounding islands,
principally Madura, Java constitutes 56.1 percent of the Indonesian population. 147.7 million people live
on Java itself, making it the world's most populous island.[1]

Indonesia's capital city, Jakarta, is on Java's northwestern coast. Much of the well-known part of
Indonesian history took place on Java. It was the centre of powerful Hindu-Buddhist empires, the Islamic
sultanates, and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies. Java was also the center of the Indonesian
struggle for independence during the 1930s and 1940s. Java dominates Indonesia politically,
economically and culturally. Four of Indonesia's eight UNESCO world heritage sites are located in Java:
Ujung Kulon National Park, Borobudur Temple, Prambanan Temple, and Sangiran Early Man Site.

Formed by volcanic eruptions due to geologic subduction of the Australian Plate under the Sunda Plate,
Java is the 13th largest island in the world and the fifth largest in Indonesia by landmass at about
138,800 square kilometres (53,600 sq mi). A chain of volcanic mountains is the east–west spine of the
island.

Four main languages are spoken on the island: Javanese, Sundanese, Madurese, and Betawi, where
Javanese and Sundanese are the most spoken.[2] Only two ethnic groups are native to the island—the
Javanese in the central and eastern parts and Sundanese in the western parts. The Madurese in the
Eastern salient of Java are migrants from Madura Island, while the Betawi in the capital city of Jakarta
are hybrids from various ethnic groups in Indonesia. Most residents are bilingual, speaking Indonesian
(the official language of Indonesia) as their first or second language. While the majority of the people of
Java are Muslim, Java's population comprises people of diverse religious beliefs, ethnicities, and
cultures.[3]

Java is divided into four administrative provinces: Banten, West Java, Central Java, and East Java, and
two special regions, Jakarta and Yogyakarta.

Contents

1 Etymology

2 Geography

3 Natural environment

4 History
4.1 Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms era

4.2 Spread of Islam and rise of Islamic sultanates

4.3 Colonial periods

4.4 Independence

5 Administration

6 Demography

6.1 Demographic profile

6.2 Population development

6.3 Ethnicity and culture

6.4 Languages

6.5 Religion

7 Economy

8 See also

9 References

10 Sources

11 Further reading

12 External links

Etymology

The origins of the name "Java" are not clear. One possibility is that the island was named after the jáwa-
wut plant, which was said to be common in the island during the time, and that prior to Indianization
the island had different names.[4] There are other possible sources: the word jaú and its variations
mean "beyond" or "distant".[5] And, in Sanskrit yava means barley, a plant for which the island was
famous.[5] "Yavadvipa" is mentioned in India's earliest epic, the Ramayana. Sugriva, the chief of Rama's
army, dispatched his men to Yavadvipa, the island of Java, in search of Sita.[6] It was hence referred to
in India by the Sanskrit name "yāvaka dvīpa" (dvīpa = island). Java is mentioned in the ancient Tamil text
Manimekalai by Chithalai Chathanar which states that Java had a kingdom with a capital called
Nagapuram.[7][8][9] Another source states that the word "Java" is derived from a Proto-Austronesian
root word, meaning "home".[10] The great island of Iabadiu or Jabadiu was mentioned in Ptolemy's
Geographia composed around 150 CE in the Roman Empire. Iabadiu is said to mean "barley island", to
be rich in gold, and have a silver town called Argyra at the west end. The name indicates Java[11] and
seems to be derived from the Sanskrit name Java-dvipa (Yavadvipa).

See also: Zabag kingdom and al-Wakwak

The annual news of Songshu and Liangshu referred to Java as She-po (5th century CE), He-ling (640–
818), then called it She-po again until the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), where they began mentioning
Zhao-Wa (爪哇).[12] According to Ma Huan's book (the Yingya Shenlan), the Chinese called Java as
Chao-Wa, and the island was called 阇婆 (She-pó or She-bó) in the past.[13] Sulaiman al-Tajir al-Sirafi
mentioned two notable island which separated Arab and China: One is 800 farsakh long Al-Rami, which
is identified as Sumatra, and the other is Zabaj (Arabic: ‫الزابج‬, Indonesian: Sabak), 400 farsakh in length,
identified as Java.[14]: 30–31  When John of Marignolli returned from China to Avignon, he stayed at the
Kingdom of Saba for a few months, which he said had many elephants and was led by a queen; Saba
may be his interpretation of She-bó.[15] Afanasij Nikitin, a merchant from Tver (in Russia), travelled to
India in 1466 and described the land of java, which he call шабайте (shabait/šabajte).[16][17]