Bekasi

Bekasi
City
City of Bekasi Kota Bekasi
Other transcription(s)
• Sundanese	ᮘᮨᮊᮞᮤ
View of Bekasi Al-Barkah Mosque St. Servatius Church Patriot Stadium
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname(s):  Kota Patriot (City of the patriots)
Motto(s):  Bekasi Maju, Sejahtera dan Ihsan (Bekasi for the Developed, Prosperous, and Good people)
Location within West Java
Bekasi City Location in Java Show map of Java Bekasi City Location in Indonesia Show map of Indonesia
Coordinates: 6°14′06″S 106°59′32″E / 6.2349°S 106.9923°E / -6.2349; 106.9923
Country	Indonesia
Region	Java
Province	West Java
Government
• Mayor	R. Gani Muhamad (acting)
• Vice Mayor	Vacant
Area
• Total	213.12 km2 (82.29 sq mi)
Elevation	11–81 m (36–265 ft)
Population  (mid 2023 official estimate)
• Total	2,513,669 (3rd)
	[1]
Time zone	UTC+7 (Indonesia Western Time)
Area code	(+62) 21
Vehicle registration	B
Website	bekasikota.go.id

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Bekasi (Indonesian pronunciation: [ˈbəkasi], Sundanese: ᮘᮨᮊᮞᮤ) is the city with the largest population in the province of West Java, Indonesia, located on the eastern border of Jakarta. It serves as a commuter city within the Greater Jakarta. According to the 2020 Census by Statistics Indonesia (BPS), Bekasi had 2,543,676 inhabitants.^[2] The (revised) official estimate for mid 2023 was 2,513,669.^[1] It lies within the largest metropolitan area in Indonesia (Jabodetabek). The city is bordered by Bekasi Regency (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 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".^[3] During the Dutch East Indies period, Bekasi was a part of Batavia residency. As a dormitory city, many middle class satellite areas have been developed in Bekasi,^[4] complete with their own shopping malls, schools, hospitals, club houses, water park, and shuttle bus services to central Jakarta. The large number of multinational companies has apparently attracted many expatriates (mainly Japanese and Korean) to settle in Bekasi.^[5]