Bekasi (, ) is the

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

with the largest population in the province of

West Java West Java (, ) is an Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten and the country's capital region of Jakarta to t ...

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, ...

, located on the eastern border of

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

. It serves as a commuter city within the

Greater Jakarta The Jakarta metropolitan area or Greater Jakarta, known locally as ''Jabodetabekpunjur'' (an acronym of Jakarta– Bogor– Depok– Tangerang– Bekasi further extended to include Puncak region of Bogor Regency and portions of Cianjur Regenc ...

. According to the 2020 Census by

Statistics Indonesia Statistics Indonesia (), is a non-departmental government institute of Indonesia that is responsible for conducting statistical surveys. Its main customer is the government, but statistical data is also available to the public. Annual surveys c ...

(BPS), Bekasi had 2,543,676 inhabitants.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. The official estimate for mid 2024 was 2,644,058 (comprising 1,327,954 males and 1,316,104 females).Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2025, ''Kota Bekasi Dalam Angka 2025'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.3275) It lies within the largest metropolitan area in Indonesia (''

Jabodetabek The Jakarta metropolitan area or Greater Jakarta, known locally as ''Jabodetabekpunjur'' (an acronym of Jakarta–Bogor– Depok– Tangerang– Bekasi further extended to include Puncak region of Bogor Regency and portions of Cianjur Regency ...

''). The city is bordered by

Bekasi Regency Bekasi Regency () is a regency () of West Java Province, Indonesia. Its regency seat is in the district of Central Cikarang. It is bordered by Jakarta Special Region (the administrative cities of North Jakarta and East Jakarta) and by Bekasi ...

(from which the city was separated administratively on 16 December 1996) to the north and the east, Bogor Regency and Depok City to the south, and the city of

East Jakarta East Jakarta (; ), abbreviated as Jaktim, is the largest of the five administrative cities (''kota administrasi'') which form the Special Capital Region of Jakarta, Indonesia, with a land area of 188.03 km2 (72.6 sq.miles). It had a population ...

to the west. Bekasi is one of the oldest cities in Indonesia, and has a history of being the capital city of the Kingdom of Tarumanagara. At that time, the name of Bekasi was Dayeuh Sundasembawa or Jayagiri. The earliest evidence of its existence dates from the fifth century according to the Tugu inscription, which describes the name of two rivers that run through the city, i.e. Candrabhaga and Gomati and one of those rivers, i.e. Candrabhaga is the origin of the name Bekasi where the name Candrabhaga evolved into "Bhagasasi" - due to the Sanskrit word candra (which means moon) evolved into Old Sundanese word 'sasi' which also means moon - and then the name Bhagasasi was mis-spelt as "Bhagasi", and then the Dutch colonial government also mis-spelt the name Bhagasi as "Bacassie", and finally it became "Bekasi". During the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

period, Bekasi was a part of Batavia residency. As a dormitory city, many middle-upper class satellite areas have been developed in Bekasi, complete with their own shopping malls, schools, hospitals, club houses,

water park A water park (also waterpark, water world, or aquapark) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming ...

, and shuttle bus services to

central Jakarta Central Jakarta (, ), abbreviated as Jakpus, is one of the five Cities of Indonesia, administrative cities () and ''de facto'' Capital City of the Jakarta, Special Capital Region of Jakarta. It had 902,973 inhabitants according to the 2010 census ...

. The large number of

multinational companies A multinational corporation (MNC; also called a multinational enterprise (MNE), transnational enterprise (TNE), transnational corporation (TNC), international corporation, or stateless corporation, is a corporate organization that owns and cont ...

has apparently attracted many expatriates (mainly Japanese and Korean) to settle in Bekasi.

Economy

Bekasi has already grown to become one of the main centres of growth in Jabodetabek. The city accounts for 2.11% of total national GDP. Recently, many foreigners (mostly Korean, Japanese, and Chinese) have set up their business to take advantage of its dynamism and boost its economy. Bekasi's economy was mainly based on service and manufacturing. Some headquarters of big corporations are located here, such as PT Metropolitan Land Tbk and PT Kian Santang Muliatama Tbk.

Commerce

Bekasi is one of the most promising property markets in

, and several high-value developments have transformed its property market. Many of country's big property developers are building apartments, hotels, and shopping malls in the city. In recent years, some residences have developed along the Jatiwarna/Jatibening — East Bekasi toll highway, further to Cibatu in Bekasi Regency. These include Kota Harapan Indah, Summarecon Bekasi, Kemang Pratama and Grand Galaxy City. Prime business and commercial centres are situated in the western part of city. There are some financial centres, restaurants, and shopping centres along Jalan Ahmad Yani, Bekasi CBD, Jalan Sudirman, Jalan K.H. Noer Alie, and Harapan Indah Boulevard. The largest shopping centre is Grand Metropolitan with over of floor space. Other shopping centres include Metropolitan Mall, Pakuwon Mall Bekasi, Summarecon Mal Bekasi, Mal Ciputra Cibubur, Mega Bekasi Hypermall, Grand Galaxy Park, Grand Mall, Blu Plaza, BTC Mall, GP Mall, Bekasi Cyber Park, Plaza Pondok Gede, and Lagoon Avenue. Many hotels developed in Bekasi, such as Santika,

Fairfield by Marriott Fairfield by Marriott is a Franchising, franchised economy to midscale hotel brand of Marriott International. The properties target guests willing to accept fewer amenities for lower prices. Cost-saving measures included standardized building a ...

, Four Points by Sheraton, Tune Hotel, Horison, Harris, Aston Imperial, Amaris and Amaroossa.

Infrastructure

The development of large scale residential areas and industrial parks in Bekasi has been induced by infrastructure development, especially roads, highways and railways.

Road and highway

Bekasi is connected by the Trans-Java Toll Road, the main road across Java. There are three expressways connections from the

urban area: the Jakarta–Cikampek Toll Road, which has three exits in Bekasi; the Jakarta Outer Ring Road, which provides access to

Tangerang Tangerang (Sundanese script, Sundanese: , ) is the List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city with the largest population in the province of Banten, Indonesia. Located on the western border of Jakarta, it is the sixth largest city proper in ...

, Jakarta and

Bogor Bogor City (), or Bogor (, ), is a landlocked city in the West Java, Indonesia. Located around south of the national capital of Jakarta, Bogor is the 6th largest city in the Jakarta metropolitan area and the 14th overall nationwide.

; and the Bekasi-Cawang-Kampung Melayu Toll Road. In 2019, Jakarta-Cikampek elevated toll road will operate to ease traffic on the current toll road between Cikunir and West Karawang with a total length of 36.4 kilometres. Owing to its location as a satellite city of

, heavy

rush hour A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian English, Indian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice e ...

traffic jams have become common on the roads between East Jakarta and Bekasi.

Railway

A double track railway connecting Manggarai to Cikarang serves the city. Beside a double track railway, the government also built a 17.9 km

light rail transit Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

line connecting East Bekasi-Cawang-Dukuh Atas across Greater Jakarta.

Transport

At present, rapid transit in Bekasi across Greater Jakarta consists of rail

KRL Commuterline KRL Commuterline, commonly known as Greater Jakarta Commuter rail, Jakarta Commuter rail, and KRL Commuter Line Jabodetabek is a commuter rail system for Jabodetabek, Greater Jakarta in Indonesia. It was previously known as KRL Jabodetabek. It ...

, Jabodebek LRT, and a bus rapid transit

TransJakarta Transjakarta (stylised in all-lowercase, often erroneously called Busway, sometimes shortened as TJ and branded as TiJe) or Jakarta BRT is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Jakarta, Indonesia. The first BRT system in Southeast Asia, it commenc ...

. KRL Commuterline's Blue Line serves from either , or to Jakarta Kota (via Pasar Senen/ Manggarai) and Cikarang. Bekasi Station also serves intercity trains to cities across Java. Jabodebek LRT serving on Bekasi Line which serves trips from Dukuh Atas station to Jatimulya station. The distance traveled in this fully-elevated line is 29.54 km.

Transjakarta Transjakarta (stylised in all-lowercase, often erroneously called Busway, sometimes shortened as TJ and branded as TiJe) or Jakarta BRT is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Jakarta, Indonesia. The first BRT system in Southeast Asia, it commenc ...

and the Transjabodetabek premium serves commuters from Harapan Indah, Summarecon Bekasi, Bulak Kapal, Vida Bekasi, and Jatiwarna, as well as the feeder buses from Kemang Pratama and Grand Galaxy City to Jakarta city center. The TransPatriot operates a route within the city. DAMRI shuttle bus service is available from the

Soekarno–Hatta International Airport Soekarno–Hatta International Airport (; ), also sometimes abbreviated as SHIA or Soetta, formerly legally called Jakarta Cengkareng Airport (, hence the IATA designator "CGK"), is the primary airport serving the Jakarta metropolitan area o ...

to Kayuringin, Harapan Indah and Summarecon Bekasi. Taxis are widely available. The primary means of public transportation is by minibus, called '' angkot''. They serve certain routes throughout the city. The main bus terminal is Terminal Bekasi, located in East Bekasi. The other terminals are Pondok Gede, Harapan Indah and Kayuringin. Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport and Halim high-speed train station are located on the border of Bekasi and East Jakarta.

Hydrology

The City of Bekasi is traversed by the main river, the Kali Bekasi (Bekasi River), along with its tributaries. The Bekasi River originates from the confluence of the Cikeas and Cileungsi rivers, which have their sources in the mountains of Bogor Regency. Surface water in the Bekasi area includes the Bekasi River, several smaller rivers, and the Tarum Barat irrigation canals used for irrigating fields. This water serves as the raw water source for the drinking water needs of the Bekasi region (both the city and the regency) and the DKI Jakarta area. Currently, the surface water condition of the Bekasi River is polluted by industrial waste originating from the southern part of the City of Bekasi (industries located in Bogor Regency). The City of Bekasi is a part of the Bekasi river basin, located in the downstream area of the basin with slopes ranging from 0 to 2% and elevations between 11 meters to 81 meters above sea level. This topographical condition leads to frequent flooding in many areas of Bekasi, especially during the rainy season, such as in the districts of Jatiasih, East Bekasi, Rawalumbu, South Bekasi, Pondok Gede, and Pondok Melati.

Demographics

The 2020 Census of Bekasi's population was 2,543,676,Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. but according to the official estimates for mid 2024 the total had become 2,644,058, an increase of over 100,000.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2025, ''Kota Bekasi Dalam Angka 2025'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.3275) Bekasi is inhabited by many different ethnic groups, mostly Sundanese, Betawi and Javanese descent. Sundanese are the largest minority as well as other minorities include Minangkabau,

Batak Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian peoples, Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo people ( ...

s, and Chinese. The regional language used by the majority of the population is the Betawi Ora dialect. Then at the southern end,

Sundanese language Sundanese ( ; , Sundanese script: , ) is an Austronesian language spoken in Java, primarily by the Sundanese. It has approximately 32 million native speakers in the western third of Java; they represent about 15% of Indonesia's total pop ...

( Bekasi dialect) is also spoken, precisely in districts of Jatisampurna and Bantargebang. Most citizens in Bekasi adhere to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. Other religions include Christianity (

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

, and

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...

Sport

Bekasi was the home base of the football team PCB Persipasi, Bhayangkara F.C., and Bekasi City with Patriot Chandrabhaga Stadium as the home stadium of the three clubs.

Administrative Districts

Bekasi City is divided into twelve

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'), listed 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 for mid 2024.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2025, ''Kota Bekasi Dalam Angka 2025'' (Katalog-BPS 1102001.3275) The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of urban

villages 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 ...

(all classed as ''kelurahan'') within each district, and its postal codes.

Climate

Bekasi has a

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate subtype that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ' ...

(Am) according to

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

. The wettest month (highest precipitation) is January, with a precipitation total of , while the driest month (lowest precipitation) is August, with a precipitation total of . (as of 2020)

In popular culture

* Chairil Anwar's poem ''Karawang-Bekasi'' (1948). * Pramoedya Ananta Toer's novel '' Di Tepi Kali Bekasi'' (1951) is set mainly in Bekasi.

People from Bekasi

Notable people from Bekasi include: * Adixi Lenzivio: football player * ''Luitenant der Chinezen'' Khouw Tian Sek: landlord, patriarch of the Khouw family of Tamboen * Shella Devi Aulia: badminton player * S. K. Trimurti: government minister,

Independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

activist, writer and journalist * Tutty Alawiyah: government minister and women's rights advocate * Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja: badminton player * Rinov Rivaldy: badminton player * Zanadin Fariz: football player * Arapenta Poerba: football player * Althaf Indie: football player * Syahwal Ginting: football player

Sister cities/towns

* Mukim Mentiri, Brunei-Muara, Brunei Darussalam

References

External links

*
Bekasi local government website
{{Authority control States and territories established in 1996 Populated places in West Java Bekasi basin