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A regency (; ), sometimes incorrectly referred to as a district and previously known as second-level region, is an
administrative division Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...
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, ...
, directly under a
province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
and on the same level with
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 ...
(''kota''). Regencies are divided into
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'', ''Distrik'' in
Papua region Southern Region (formerly Papua Region) is one of four regions of Papua New Guinea. The region includes the national capital Port Moresby. Subdivision The Region is administratively divided into six provinces: * Central *Gulf *Milne Bay * Oro (No ...
, or ''Kapanewon'' and ''Kemantren'' in the
Special Region of Yogyakarta The Special Region of Yogyakarta is a province-level special region of Indonesia in southern Java. It is a semi-enclave that is surrounded by on the landward side by Central Java Province to the west, north, and east, but has a long coastline ...
). The average area of Indonesian regencies is about , with an average population of 670,958 people. The English name "regency" comes from the Dutch colonial period, when regencies were ruled by (or
regent 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 ...
s) and were known as in
Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...
( in Javanese and subsequently Indonesian). had been regional lords under the precolonial monarchies of
Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
. When the Dutch abolished or curtailed those monarchies, the bupati were left as the most senior indigenous authority. They were not, strictly speaking, "native rulers" because the Dutch claimed full sovereignty over their territory, but in practice, they had many of the attributes of petty kings, including elaborate regalia and palaces and a high degree of impunity.


Etymology

The Indonesian title of is originally a loanword from
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
, a shortening of the Sanskrit title ''bhumi-pati'' (''bhumi'' भूमि '(of the) land' + ''pati'' पति 'lord', hence ''bhumi-pati'' 'lord of the land'). In Indonesia, was originally used as a Javanese title for regional rulers in precolonial kingdoms, its first recorded usage being in the
Telaga Batu inscription Telaga Batu inscription is a 7th-century Srivijayan inscription discovered in Sabokingking, 3 Ilir, Ilir Timur II, Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia, around the 1950s. The inscription is now displayed in the National Museum of Indonesia, Jaka ...
, which dates to the
Srivijaya Srivijaya (), also spelled Sri Vijaya, was a Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia) that influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important ...
period, in which ''bhupati'' is mentioned among the titles of local rulers who paid allegiance to Sriwijaya's kings. Related titles which were also used in precolonial Indonesia are ''adipati'' ('duke') and ''senapati'' ('lord of the army' or 'general'). Regencies as we know them today were first created January 28, 1892, when the Dutch East Indies government established the Landarchief. The first landarchivasis was confirmed the next day and lasted until 1905. Officially, Indonesia's current regencies were established with the proclamation of Indonesian independence on August 17, 1945.


Pre-independence period

Regencies in Java territorial units were grouped together into ''residencies'' headed by exclusively European residents. This term hinted that the residents had a quasi-diplomatic status in relation to the (and indeed they had such a relationship with the native rulers who continued to prevail in much of Indonesia outside Java), but in practice the had to follow Dutch instructions on any matter of concern to the colonial authorities. Like the current system of government in Indonesia, the system of historical times is still in effect. The relationship between those sides was ambivalent: while legal and military
power Power may refer to: Common meanings * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power, a type of energy * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events Math ...
rested with the Dutch government (or, for a long time, with the
Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...
) under a Governor General in Batavia on Java, the regents held higher protocollary rank than the assistant-resident who supposedly advised them and held day-to-day sway over the population. After the independence of Indonesia in 1945, the terms and were applied throughout the archipelago to the administrative unit below the residency (''karesidenan''). In the Telaga Batu inscription, which was found in the village near
Palembang Palembang (, Palembang: ''Pelémbang'', Mandarin: 巨港 (Jùgǎng), Hokkien: 舊港 (Kū-káng), Jawi: ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. The city proper covers on both banks of the Musi River in the ea ...
and contains a worship of the king of Srivijaya, there may be the word ''bhupati''. The inscription is estimated to be from the end of the 7th century AD, Indonesia inscription expert Johannes Gijsbertus de Casparis translated ''bhupati'' with the term ''head'' (''hoofd'' in Dutch), the word ''bhupati'' is also found in the
Ligor inscription Ligor inscription is an 8th-century stone stele or inscription discovered in Ligor, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Southern Thailand Malay Peninsula. This inscription was written and carved on two sides, the first part is called Ligor A inscription, or also ...
, which was found in the
Nakhon Si Thammarat Nakhon Si Thammarat (, ; from ) is a city municipality (''thesaban nakhon'') located in Mueang Nakhon Si Thammarat, the capital of Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. Nakhon Si Thammarat Province is situated in the South of Thailand. It is about s ...
province of
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
. In the 17th century, Europeans called the area ''Ligor''. this inscription was identified in 775 AD 8th century AD, the term ''bhupati'' was used to refer to the king of Srivijaya Hujunglangit in the 9th century AD


Recent history

Since the start of the Reform Era in 1998 a remarkable secession of regency governments has arisen in Indonesia. The process has become known as ''pemekaran'' (division). Following the surge of support for decentralisation across Indonesia which occurred following the
fall of Soeharto On 21 May 1998, Suharto resigned as president of Indonesia following protests and riots across the country against his regime. His vice president, B. J. Habibie, took over the presidency. Suharto's grip on power weakened following severe eco ...
in 1998, key new decentralisation laws were passed in 1999. Subsequently, there was a jump in the number of regencies (and cities) from around 300 at the end of 1998 to 514 in 2014 sixteen years later. This secession of new regencies, welcome at first, has become increasingly controversial within Indonesia because the administrative fragmentation has proved costly and has not brought the hoped-for benefits. Senior levels of the administration expressed a general feeling that the process of ''pemekaran'' needed to be slowed (or even stopped for the time being), although local politicians at various levels across government in Indonesia continue to express strong populist support for the continued creation of new regencies. Indeed, no further regencies or independent cities have been created since 2014, with the last being Central Buton, South Buton, and West Muna regencies in Southeast Sulawesi, all created on 23 July. However, a paper on fiscal decentralization and regional income inequality in 2019 argued that fiscal decentralization reduces regional income inequality. Since 1998, a large portion of governance have been delegated from central government in Jakarta to local regencies, with regencies now playing important role in providing services to Indonesian people. Direct elections for regents and mayors began in 2005, with the leaders previously being elected by local legislative councils.


Statistics

As of 2020, there are 416 regencies in Indonesia, and 98 cities. 120 of these are in
Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...
, 85 are in
Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
, 37 are in
Nusa Tenggara The Lesser Sunda Islands (, , ), now known as Nusa Tenggara Islands (, or "Southeast Islands"), are an archipelago in the Indonesian archipelago. Most of the Lesser Sunda Islands are located within the Wallacea region, except for the Bali pr ...
, 47 are in
Kalimantan Kalimantan (; ) is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area, and consists of the provinces of Central Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan. The non-Ind ...
, 70 are in
Sulawesi Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Min ...
, 17 are in
Maluku Maluku may refer to: Places * Maluku Islands, an archipelago that is part of Indonesia ** List of the Maluku Islands * Maluku (province), a province of Indonesia comprising the central and southern parts of the archipelago * North Maluku, a provin ...
, and 40 in Papua.


See also

*
List of regencies and cities of Indonesia Regency (Indonesia), Regencies () and City status in Indonesia#Kota, cities (''kota'') are the second-level subdivisions of Indonesia, administrative subdivision in Indonesia, immediately below the Provinces of Indonesia, provinces, and above th ...
*
City status in Indonesia In Indonesian law, the term "city" () is generally defined as the second-level administrative subdivision of the Republic of Indonesia, an equivalent to regency (). The difference between a city and a regency is that a city has non-agricu ...
*
Subdivisions of Indonesia Indonesia is divided into provinces (). Provinces are made up of regencies () and cities (''kota''). Provinces, regencies, and cities have their own local governments and parliamentary bodies. Since the enactment of Law Number 22 of 1999 ...
*
Regency seat A regency seat () is a capital or seat of government of a regency in Indonesia. It is roughly equivalent of county seat in the United States or county town in the United Kingdom. Legally, regency seats are not administrative subdivisions of Ind ...
* Other similar administrative divisions found outside Indonesia: **
County (United States) In the United States, a county or county equivalent is an Administrative division, administrative subdivision of a U.S. state, state or territories of the United States, territory, typically with defined geographic Border, boundaries and some ...
**
Ceremonial counties of England Ceremonial counties, formally known as ''counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies'', are areas of England to which lord-lieutenant, lord-lieutenants are appointed. A lord-lieutenant is the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarch's repres ...
**
Municipalities of Mexico Municipalities () are the administrative divisions under the List of states of Mexico, states of Mexico according to the Constitution of Mexico, constitution. Municipalities are considered as the second-level administrative divisions by the Feder ...
**
Departments of France In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the Regions of France, administrative regions a ...
**
Provinces of Spain A province in Spain * , ; grammatical number, sing. ''provincia'') * Basque language, Basque (, grammatical number, sing. ''probintzia''. * Catalan language, Catalan (), grammatical number, sing. ''província''. * Galician language, Galician ...
**
Provinces of Italy The provinces of Italy ( ; Grammatical number#Overview, sing.  ) are the second-level administrative divisions of the Italy, Italian Republic, on an intermediate level between a municipality () and a regions of Italy, region (). Since 2015 ...
**
Districts of Germany In 13 German states, the primary administrative subdivision higher than a '' Gemeinde'' (municipality) is the () or (). Most major cities in Germany are not part of any ''Kreis'', but instead combine the functions of a municipality and a ''K ...


Notes


References

{{Articles on second-level administrative divisions of Asian countries Regencies of Indonesia Types of administrative division