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Kudus is a regency in Central Java province in Indonesia. Kudus Regency is located between 6° 51’ and 7° 16’ South Latitude and between 110° 36' and 110° 50’ East Longitude. Its capital is the town of Kudus. It covers a land area of 425.15 km2 and is thus the smallest regency on Java Island in area, and it had a population of 777,437 at the 2010 Census and 849,184 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as of mid 2025 was 891,721 (comprising 444,495 males and 447,226 females). It is located northeast of Semarang, the capital of Central Java.

Minaret of Kudus mosque. Photo from colonial period.

The town of Kudus was something of an important Islamic holy city in the sixteenth century. It is the only place in Java to have permanently adopted an Arabic name ('al-Quds', Jerusalem). Sunan Kudus, one of the nine Wali Sanga, was said to have been the fifth imam (head) of the mosque of Demak and a major leader of the 1527 campaign against 'Majapahit', before moving to Kudus.

The Mosque of Kudus (Masjid Menara), dating to this period, remains a local landmark to this day. It is notable for both its perseverance of pre-Islamic architectural forms such as Old Javanese split doorways and Hindu-Buddhist influenced Majapahit-style brickwork, and for its name al-Manar or al-Aqsa. The date AH 956 (AD 1549) is inscribed over the mihrab (niche indicating the direction of Mecca).

The administrative boundaries of Kudus Regency include: North = Jepara Regency South = Grobogan Regency and Demak Regency West = Demak Regency East = Pati Regency

Most of the Kudus Regency area is lowland. In part of the northern region stands a mountain, namely Mount Muria, with the peaks Puncak Songolikur (Saptorenggo Peak) (1,602 m above sea level), Puncak Rahtawu (Rahtawu Peak) (1,522 m above sea level), and Puncak Argojembangan (Argojembangan Peak) (1,410 m above sea level). The largest river is the Kali Serang, which flows westward, bordering Kudus Regency and Demak Regency. Kudus is divided by the Gelis River in the middle, with the two sections known as Kudus West and Kudus East. Kudus Regency is the smallest regency in Central Java but the richest, with a per capita income exceeding IDR 123 million.