
Jayapura (formerly Hollandia (1910–1962), Kota Baru (1962–1963), Soekarnopura (1963–1968)) is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of Papua on the island of New Guinea. It is situated on the northern coast of the island and covers an area of. The city borders the Pacific Ocean and Yos Sudarso Bay to the north, the country of Papua New Guinea to the east, Keerom Regency to the south, and Jayapura Regency to the west.
With a population of 410,852 according to the official estimates for mid 2024 (comprising 218,356 males and 192,416 females), Jayapura is the second most populous city in the entire island of New Guinea, after Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea. During the 2010–2020 decade it was also the fastest-growing city in Indonesia, with the population increasing by 55.23% between 2010 and 2020.
Jayapura is the fourth largest city by economy in Eastern Indonesia—after Makassar, Denpasar, and Manado—with an estimated 2016 GDP at Rp19.48 trillion. Jayapura has a very high Human Development Index (HDI) at 0.801.
Not yet available in English; shown in Indonesian.
Kota Jayapura, sebagai ibu kota provinsi, dihuni oleh warga yang berasal dari beragam suku bangsa. Suku bangsa mayoritas di kota ini adalah suku pendatang atau non Papua asli. Data Sensus Penduduk Indonesia 2010, penghitungan berdasarkan penduduk jenis kelamin laki-laki, maka penduduk asli orang Papua sebanyak 47.987 jiwa (35,13%), sementara orang non asli Papua sebanyak 88.600 jiwa (64,87%). Suku asli Papua umumnya merupakan suku Sentani, Tobati, Biak, dan lainnya. Kota Jayapura masuk kedalam wilayah adat Mamta. Sementara suku lain non Papua asli termasuk Jawa, Makassar, Bugis, asal Maluku, asal Nusa Tenggara Timur, Batak, Minahasa, Tionghoa, dan lainnya.
Pasar Sentral Mama-Mama, Kota Jayapura Pasar Yotefa, Abepura Pasar Koya, Muara Tami Pasar Hamadi, Jayapura Selatan Pasar Inpres Tanjung Ria, Jayapura Utara Pasar Kaget, Kotaraja Pasar Expo, Waena Pasar Perbatasan Skow, Muara Tami Pasar Pertigaan Koya-Arso, Muara Tami
Jayapura is Sanskrit for "city of victory" and was named by Suharto as part of the de-Sukarnoization. Nowadays, there are calls from some citizens, government officials and academicians, to rename the city to better reflect the locals like the naming of Youtefa Bridge. Some suggestions include Kota Tabi as the city is in the customary region of Tabi, Port Numbay, or just Numbay as "Port" is English and not a native word. The word "Numbay" comes from the river Numbay which flows to the city. It has the meaning "clear water" while "Tabi" means "sunrise" in the local Kayo Pulau language.
During the Dutch colonial era the city was called Hollandia, based on the Holland region. In 1945, the Dutch made Hollandia the capital of then Netherlands New Guinea. After the territory was handed over to the United Nations Temporary Executive Authority, on 1 October 1962, the city went by a dual DutchKota Baru (New Town). When Indonesia took control over the city on 1 May 1963, it became solely Kota Baru. In 1964, the city was briefly renamed Sukarnopura, after then-President Sukarno, until the end of 1968, when it acquired its present name.
Hollandia Haven or Hollandia (now Jayapura) port in 1947 Before its inclusion into the colonial government of the Dutch Indies, the location of present-day Jayapura was known as Numbay. Before the arrival of the Dutch there was an active trade in Numbay, centered on the Island of Metui Debi and the area where the former Gereja Pengharapan ("Church of the Favor of God") stood on Sam Ratulangi Road, being most active between 1897 and 1905. The mode of the trade was through barter for spices, cassava, salted fish and bird-of-paradise. The society of Numbay, or Tabi in general, was led by an ondoafi (chief of the tribe). By 1849, the Numbay region was a tributary of the Tidore Sultanate.
On 28 September 1909, a detachment of the Dutch navy under Captain F.J.P. Sachse came ashore at Humboldt Bay near the mouth of the Numbay river. Their task was the systematic exploration of northern New Guinea and the search for a natural border between the Dutch and German spheres on New Guinea. Their camp along the river was called Kloofkamp, a name still in use as the name of an old district of Jayapura. Forty coconut trees were cut down for the establishment of the camp. They were bought from the owners at a cost of one rijksdaalder per palm.
On 7 March 1910, the Dutch flag was raised and the settlement was named Hollandia. On the other side of the bay there was already a German camp, Germania-Huk (German Corner), which is now uninhabited and part of Indonesian territory. Hollandia was the capital of a district of the same name in the northeast of West New Guinea. The name Hollandia was used until 1962.
The northern part of Netherlands New Guinea was occupied by Japanese forces in 1942. Allied forces drove out the Japanese after Operations Reckless and Persecution, the amphibious landings near Hollandia, from 21 April 1944. The area's Naval Base Hollandia, served as General Douglas MacArthur's headquarters until the conquest of the Philippines in March 1945. Over twenty U.S. bases were established and half a million US personnel moved through the area.
In mid-January 1960, 29-year-old Australian ocean rower and eccentric bushman Michael 'Tarzan' Fomenko was kept in Hollandia by Dutch authorities while they liaised with Australian authorities on what to do with him. Fomenko had arrived in Dutch New Guinea in December 1959 in a dugout canoe which he had paddled from Queensland through the Torres Strait for some months prior.
Jayapura was struck by the Aitape tsunami after the 1998 Papua New Guinea earthquake.
Looking east to Yos Sudarso Bay, showing the floating village of Tobati (left) and Engros (right), just to the south of Jayapura. The topography of Jayapura varies from valleys to hills, plateaus, and mountains up to above sea level. Jayapura overlooks the Yos Sudarso Bay. Jayapura is about in land area, and is divided into five districts. Around 30% of the area is inhabited, with the remainder consisting of a rough terrain, swamps, and protected forest.
The district of Muara Tami, which covers the eastern half (52.4%) of the city's area, up to the national border with Papua New Guinea, is relatively unpopulated with only 4.6% of the population, and serves as an outlet for the Tami River ("Muara Tami" means "mouth of the Tami") and other rivers originating in Keerom Regency to the south and emptying into the Pacific to the north. It comprises the administrative villages of Holtekam (in the northwest and thus closest to the urban area of Jayapura city), Kampung Mosso (in the east, bordering on Papua New Guinea), Koya Barat, Koya Tengah, Koya Timur, Skow Mabo, Skow Sae and Skow Yambe, of which Koya Barat and Koya Timur have the status of urban kelurahan and the others are classed as rural desa.
Jayapura has a tropical rainforest climate (Af) with heavy rainfall year-round.