Gresik Regency ( older spelling: Grissee, ) is a

regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

within

East Java East Java (, , ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the easternmost third of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean border its northern ...

Province of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. As well as a large part of the northern and western suburbs of the city of

Surabaya Surabaya is the capital city of East Java Provinces of Indonesia, province and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern corner of Java island, on the Madura Strai ...

, it includes the offshore Bawean Island, some 125 km to the north of Java and

Madura is an list of islands of Indonesia, Indonesian island off the northeastern coast of Java. The island comprises an area of approximately (administratively including various smaller islands to the east, southeast and north that are administratively ...

. Almost a third of the Gresik Regency's area is the coastal area; the Districts in this zone are Kebomas District, (part of) Gresik District, Manyar District, Bungah District, and Ujungpangkah District. The regency covers and an area of 1,191.26 km², and it had a population of 1,177,042 at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 1,311,215 at the 2020 Census;Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. the official estimate as at mid 2024 was 1,327,497 (comprising 667,540 males and 659,957 females).Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2025, ''Kabupaten Gresik Dalam Angka 2025'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.3525) The regency's administrative centre is the town of Gresik, about 25 km to the northwest of Surabaya. Gresik Regency (excluding Bawean Island) is also part of

Gerbangkertosusila The Surabaya metropolitan area or Greater Surabaya, known locally as Gerbangkertosusila (, from ''Gresik-Bangkalan-Mojokerto-Surabaya-Sidoarjo-Lamongan''), is a metropolitan area in East Java, Indonesia. It is the country's second-largest metropol ...

, the metropolitan region of

Etymology

Thomas Stamford Raffles in his book, The History of Java, reveals that the name of Gresik comes from the word ''Giri Gisik'', which means "mountain near the coast", referring to the hilly topography of the Gresik town center near the coast.

History

Since the 11th century, Gresik has become an international trade center visited by many nations such as, Chinese,

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

Champa Champa (Cham language, Cham: ꨌꩌꨛꨩ, چمڤا; ; 占城 or 占婆) was a collection of independent Chams, Cham Polity, polities that extended across the coast of what is present-day Central Vietnam, central and southern Vietnam from ...

and Gujaratis. Gresik Regency is also the first entry point for Islam in Java, which among others is marked by the existence of ancient Islamic tombs of Sheikh

Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malik Ibrahim (died 7 April 1419), also known as Sunan Gresik or Kakek Bantal, was the first of the Wali Songo, the nine men generally thought to have introduced Islam to Java. His habit of placing the Quran, Qu'ran on a pillow led to him rece ...

and Fatimah bint Maimun. Gresik has become one of the main ports and trade cities that are quite important since the 14th century, as well as being a haven for ships from Maluku to Sumatra and mainland Asia (including

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

). This continued until the VOC era. The port of Gresik-Djaratan has functioned as an important commercial center since the eleventh century, trading with merchants from as far away as

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, and

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

. Some of these traders helped spread Islam in the area. In 1487 Sunan Giri, also known as Sultan Ainul Yaqin, began to rule Gresik. In his 1515 book, ''Suma Oriental'', the Portuguese apothecary and traveller

Tomé Pires Tomé Pires (c. 1468 — c. 1524/1540) was a Portuguese apothecary, colonial administrator, and diplomat. In 1510 he was commissioned by the Portuguese court to serve as a " factor of drugs" in India, arriving at Cannanore in 1511. In 1512 he was ...

described Gresik as "the jewel of Java in trading ports". Sunan Giri's descendants ruled the area for the following two centuries. Initially the Gresik region was part of the Surabaya Regency. On 1 November 1974, the Central Government issued PP No. 38 of 1974. All government activities began to be gradually transferred to Gresik and the name was changed to Gresik Regency with a center of activity in Gresik town. Also in 1974 the Indonesian government made Gresik, now a suburb of

, part of Gerbangkertosusila Metropolitan Area, the official metropolitan region by the Government.

21st-century Gresik

The town of Gresik has a reputation for its many coffee shops, called ''warkop'' (from ''warung kopi''). In 2002, Petrokimia Putra (owned by PT Petrokimia Gresik), a soccer club from Gresik, has one national league title.

Administration

The Gresik Regency is divided into eighteen administrative

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

(''kecamatan''). The districts are tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 censusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and the 2020 census,Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. together with the official estimates as at mid 2024.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2025, ''Kabupaten Gresik Dalam Angka 2025'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.3525) The mid 2022 estimates were revised downwards from 1,332,664 to 1,291,538 ; this reduction was notably in the districts immediately adjoining Surabaya. However population growth continued and by mid 2024 the total had been returned to 1,327,497. The table also includes the number of

administrative village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban village ...

s in each district (totaling 329 rural ''desa'' and 27 urban ''kelurahan''), and its post code. Notes: (a) comprising 11 ''kelurahan'' (Gending, Gulomantung, Indro, Kawis Anyar, Kebomas, Ngargosari, Prambangan, Sidomoro, Sidomukti, Singosari and Tenggulunan) and 10 ''desa''.
(b) comprising 16 ''kelurahan'' (Bedilan, Karangpoh, Karangturi, Kebungson, Kemuteran, Kroman, Lumpur, Ngipik, Pekauman, Pekelingan, Sidokumpul, Sukodono, Sukorame, Tlogopatut, Tlogopojok and Trate) and 5 ''desa''.
(c) Sangkapura and Tambak districts together constitute the island of ''Pulau

Bawean Bawean () is an List of islands of Indonesia, island of Indonesia located approximately north of Surabaya in the Java Sea, off the coast of Java. It is administered by Gresik Regency of East Java province. It is approximately in diameter and ...

'', lying to the north of

but administratively a part of Gresik Regency.

Industry

A large number of industries have established themselves in Gresik, mainly supporting agriculture and agricultural machinery. A lot of home-based industry exists, making caps ( songkoks), bags, etc. Two of the largest factories in Gresik are Semen Gresik (Gresik Portland Cement) and

Petrokimia Gresik Petrokimia Gresik is a fertilizer company located in Gresik Regency, Gresik, East Java, Indonesia, which was initially established under the name 'Project of Petrokimia Surabaya'. The construction agreement was mutually signed on August 10, 1964 ...

. Semen Gresik, the largest cement factory in Indonesia, supplies 41% of the Indonesian market; while Petrokimia Gresik, the most complete fertilizer producer in Indonesia, supplies 50% of national subsidized fertilizers.

Climate

Gresik has a humidity varying between 44% and 88%. The maximum humidity is 88% and the average humidity is 58%. The wind velocity of Gresik is within the range of 0–18 km/hour. The maximum wind velocity is 18 km/hour and the average is 12.6 km/hour. The temperature of this city is within the range of 23 °C-35 °C with the average temperature is 28.5 °C.

References

External links

Official Information Center of Gresik Regency
{{Authority control Bengawan Solo basin