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History shows that Jawa Barat is the first province in Indonesia, referring to a statement from Staatblad number 378. In 1950, West Java province officially became a province of Indonesia.
On October 17, 2000, Banten was separated from Jawa Barat and made into a new province.
West Java (after Banten separation) has the population of 35.500.611 (2000 estimate) and area of 34736 kmē.
West Java borders Jakarta and Banten province to the west, and Central Java to the east. To the north is Java Sea. To the south is the Indian Ocean. Unlike most other provinces in Indonesia which has their capitals in coastal area, West Java's capital Bandung is located in highly mountaneous area and completely surrounded by mountains.
In addition to the official language Bahasa Indonesia, the other popular language spoken is Sundanese. In some areas near the southern borders to Central Java, Javanese is spoken. The ethnic language spoken in Cirebon and nearby areas ( Majalengka , Indramayu , Sumber ) is Cirebonese which is a mix between Sundanese and Javanese. In some remote areas, Bahasa Indonesia is not well understood.
List of West Java's kabupaten (municipals) and their respective capitals:
List of cities that has the status of level two district (daerah tingkat dua) in West Java:
Raw natural resources:
Plantation areas:
Several dams built mostly for generating electrical power.