{{short description|Indonesian administrative division}} {{Administrative divisions of Indonesia sidebar}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}} A '''regency''' ({{langx|id|kabupaten}}{{efn|Old spelling ''keboepatén''}}; {{IPA|id|kabuˈpat̪ɛn}}), sometimes incorrectly referred to as a '''district'''{{efn|Example of this incorrect usage is in machine translation services such as Google Translate. "District" to refer to regencies is incorrect as "districts" legally refers to what is called ''kecamatan'' or ''distrik'' in Indonesian}} and previously known as '''second-level region''',{{efn|{{langx|id|kabupaten daerah tingkat II}}, this was the official name until the implementation of Act Number 22 of 1999.}} is an administrative division of Indonesia, directly under a province and on the same level with city (''kota''). Regencies are divided into districts (''Kecamatan'' in most of Indonesia, but known as ''Distrik'' in Indonesian Papua,<ref>{{cite act |type=Law |prefix=Number |index=21 |date=21 November 2001 |legislature= |title=Undang-Undang Republik Indonesia Nomor 21 Tahun 2001 tentang Otonomi Khusus Bagi Provinsi Papua |trans-title=Republic of Indonesia Act Number 21 of Year 2001 on Special Autonomy for Papua Province |jurisdiction=Indonesia |reporter=LN |volume=135 |publication-date=2001 <!--parallel=TLN No. 4151, LL Setneg 37 HLM--> |pinpoint=ch. 1 § 1.k | |url=https://peraturan.bpk.go.id/Home/Details/44901/uu-no-21-tahun-2001 |language=id}}</ref><ref>{{cite act |type=Law |prefix=Number |index=23 |date=2 October 2014 |trans-title=Republic of Indonesia Act Number 23 of Year 2014 on Regional Government |title=Undang-Undang Republik Indonesia Nomor 23 Tahun 2014 tentang Pemerintah Daerah |jurisdiction=Indonesia |reporter=LN |volume=244 |publication-date=2014 <!--parallel=TLN No. 5587, LL Setneg 212 HLM--> |pinpoint=ch. 1 § 1.24 | |url=https://peraturan.bpk.go.id/Home/Details/38685/uu-no-23-tahun-2014 |language=id}}</ref> or ''Kapanewon'' and ''Kemantren'' in the Special Region of Yogyakarta). The average area of Indonesian regencies is about {{convert|4,578.29|km2|abbr=on}}, with an average population of 670,958 people. Most regencies on the island of Java has their regency capitals as the titular name of their regency.
The English name "regency" comes from the Dutch colonial period, when regencies were ruled by {{Lang|id|bupati}} (or regents) and were known as {{Lang|nl|regentschap}} in Dutch ({{Lang|jv|kabupaten}} in Javanese and subsequently Indonesian).<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MioSAAAAMAAJ&q=Kabupaten+pembagian+wilayah+indonesia|title=Departemen Dalam Negeri, tugas, fungsi dan peranannya dalam pemerintah di Daerah|author=Indonesia Departemen Dalam Negeri|date=1985|publisher=Departemen Dalam Negeri|language=id}}</ref> {{Lang|id|Bupati}} had been regional lords under the precolonial monarchies of Java.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RF0tAQAAIAAJ&q=Sejarah+Bupati+Hindia+Belanda|title=Perkembangan fungsi dan struktur pamong praja ditinjau dari segi sejarah|last=Koesoemahatmadja|first=Djenal Hoesen|date=1978|publisher=Alumni|language=id}}</ref> When the Dutch abolished or curtailed those monarchies, the bupati were left as the most senior indigenous authority.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=stIjAAAAMAAJ&q=Sejarah+Bupati+Hindia+Belanda|title=Sejarah birokrasi pemerintahan Indonesia dahulu dan sekarang|last=Suwarno|first=P. J.|date=1989|publisher=Penerbitan Universitas Atma Jaya Yogyakarta|isbn=9789798109010|language=id}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WpJQCwAAQBAJ&q=Sejarah+perkembangan+Bupati&pg=PA15|title=Sejarah Kebudayaan Bali: Kajian Perkembangan dan Dampak Pariwisata|last1=Raharjo|first1=Supratikno|last2=Munandar|first2=Agus Aris|date=1998-01-01|publisher=Direktorat Jenderal Kebudayaan|language=id}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gjRfRCdfk8QC&q=Sejarah+Bupati+Hindia+Belanda|title=Sejarah nasional Indonesia: Jaman kebangkitan nasional dan masa akhir Hindia Belanda|date=1975|publisher=Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan|first=Marwati Djoened|last=Poesponegoro|language=id}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DmFwAAAAMAAJ&q=Sejarah+Bupati+Hindia+Belanda|title=Tradisi dan transformasi sejarah Sunda|last=Lubis|first=Nina Herlina|date=2000|publisher=Humaniora Utama Press|isbn=9789799231338|language=id}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RF0tAQAAIAAJ&q=Sejarah+perkembangan+Bupati|title=Perkembangan fungsi dan struktur pamong praja ditinjau dari segi sejarah|last=Koesoemahatmadja|first=Djenal Hoesen|date=1978|publisher=Alumni|language=id}}</ref>
==Etymology== thumb|200px|Portrait of a Javanese regent in gala uniform ({{circa|1900}}). The Indonesian title of {{Lang|id|bupati}} is originally a loanword from Sanskrit, a shortening of the Sanskrit title ''bhumi-pati'' (''bhumi'' भूमि '(of the) land' + ''pati'' पति 'lord', hence ''bhumi-pati'' 'lord of the land').<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oJBiDwAAQBAJ&q=bupati+sriwijaya&pg=PA134|title=Handbook Pemerintahan Daerah|last=Setiawan|first=Irfan|date=2018-06-29|publisher=Wahana Resolusi|isbn=9786025775185|language=id}}</ref> In Indonesia, {{Lang|id|bupati}} was originally used as a Javanese title for regional rulers in precolonial kingdoms, its first recorded usage being in the Telaga Batu inscription, which dates to the Srivijaya period, in which ''bhupati'' is mentioned among the titles of local rulers who paid allegiance to Sriwijaya's kings.<ref>Casparis, J.G., (1956), ''Prasasti Indonesia II: Selected Inscriptions from the 7th to the 9th Century A.D.'', Dinas Purbakala Republik Indonesia, Bandung: Masa Baru.</ref><ref name=":0" /> 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 in January 28, 1892, when the Dutch East Indies government established the Landarchief. The first landarchivaris 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.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://anri.go.id/profil/sejarah | title=Sejarah }}</ref>{{Failed verification |date=March 2026 |talkpage=Talk:Regency (Indonesia)#Relevance of ANRI link? |reason=Source appears to be about archives, not regencies}}
==Pre-independence period== [[File:Sosroningrat, regent van Djapara.jpg|thumb|Sosroningrat, Regent of Jepara 1881–1905]] 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 {{Lang|id|bupati}} (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 {{Lang|id|bupati}} 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.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S25wAAAAMAAJ&q=hubungan+residen+bupati+hindia+belanda|title=Kembali ke jatidiri bangsa: Sumpah Pemuda Indonesia, Proklamasi 17 Agustus 1945, Pancasila, dan Undang-Undang Dasar 1945 : sejarah, filsafat, dan refleksi pemikiran kebangsaan|last=Pakan|first=Djon|date=2002|publisher=Millennium Publisher|isbn=9789799437525|language=id}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GchcDwAAQBAJ&q=hubungan+residen+bupati+hindia+belanda&pg=PA197|title=Kepemimpinan Pemerintahan Indonesia: Teori dan Prakteknya|last=Adiwilaga|first=Rendy|date=2018-05-01|isbn=9786024751227|language=id}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NzBwAAAAMAAJ&q=hubungan+residen+bupati+hindia+belanda|title=Bupati di Priangan: dan kajian lainnya mengenai budaya Sunda|author=Pusat Studi Sunda|date=2004|publisher=Pusat Studi Sunda|language=id}}</ref>
The relationship between those sides was ambivalent: while legal and military power rested with the Dutch government (or, for a long time, with the Dutch East India Company) 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.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yqCHCgAAQBAJ&q=hubungan+%22asisten+residen%22+bupati&pg=PA162|title=Ragam Pusaka Budaya Banten|last=Hatmadji|first=Tri|date=2007 |publisher=Direktorat Jenderal Kebudayaan|isbn=9789799932402|language=id}}</ref> After the independence of Indonesia in 1945, the terms {{Lang|id|bupati}} and {{Lang|id|kabupaten}} 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 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, which was found in the Nakhon Si Thammarat province of Thailand. 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<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.kompasiana.com/jatikumoro/5fec498dd541df6b12392cc3/prasasti-ligor-jejak-historis-raja-jawa-di-semenanjung-melayu-pada-abad-kedelapan-masehi#:~:text=Isi%20pokok%20tulisan%20prasasti%20Ligor,Caitya%20untuk%20Padmapani%2C%20Sakyamuni%2C%20dan | title=Prasasti Ligor, Jejak Historis Raja Jawa di Semenanjung Melayu pada Abad Kedelapan Masehi | date=30 December 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.kompas.com/stori/read/2021/05/30/204231679/kerajaan-sriwijaya-letak-raja-raja-masa-kejayaan-dan-peninggalan?page=all | title=Kerajaan Sriwijaya: Letak, Raja-raja, Masa Kejayaan, dan Peninggalan Halaman all | date=30 May 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://rasindogroup.com/prasasti-hujung-langit/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528110223/https://rasindogroup.com/prasasti-hujung-langit/ | url-status=usurped | archive-date=28 May 2022 | title=Prasasti Hujung Langit - | date=7 February 2022 }}</ref>
==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 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.<ref>{{cite web|first=Yosua|last=Sitomorang|url=http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/strategic-asia-when-it-comes-to-regional-autonomy-in-indonesia-breaking-up-should-be-harder-to-do/377006|title=Strategic Asia: When it comes to Regional Autonomy in Indonesia, Breaking Up Should be Harder to Do'|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120928141937/http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/strategic-asia-when-it-comes-to-regional-autonomy-in-indonesia-breaking-up-should-be-harder-to-do/377006|archive-date=2012-09-28|work=The Jakarta Globe|date=9 June 2010}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Fiscal decentralization and regional income inequality: evidence from Indonesia|journal=Applied Economics Letters|volume=27|year=2020|issue=17|doi=10.1080/13504851.2019.1683139|first=Matondang Elsa|last=Siburian|pages=1383–6|s2cid=211438210 }}</ref>
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.<ref>{{Citation | last = Hill | first = Hal | date = September 18, 2013 | title = Power shift in Indonesia | publisher = The Australian | url = http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/opinion/power-shift-in-indonesia/story-e6frgd0x-1226721251403 }} </ref> Direct elections for regents and mayors began in 2005, with the leaders previously being elected by local legislative councils.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Kwok|first1=Yenni|title=Indonesia Scraps Regional Elections|url=https://time.com/3431596/indonesia-regional-direct-elections-democracy-prabowo-subianto-joko-jokowi-widodo/|access-date=4 May 2018|magazine=Time|date=26 September 2014|language=en|quote=pushed to have district chiefs, mayors and governors indirectly voted in by local parliaments, as they were in 2005.}}</ref>
==Statistics== As of 2025, there are 416 regencies in Indonesia, and 98 cities. 120 of these are in Sumatra, 85 are in Java, 37 are in Nusa Tenggara, 47 are in Kalimantan, 70 are in Sulawesi, 17 are in Maluku, and 40 in Papua.<ref>{{cite news |title=Jumlah Kabupaten dan Provinsi di Indonesia |url=https://www.kompas.com/skola/read/2020/01/08/150000469/jumlah-kabupaten-dan-provinsi-di-indonesia?page=all |access-date=14 July 2021 |work=KOMPAS.com |date=8 January 2020 |language=id|first=Arum Sutrisni|last=Putri}}</ref>
==See also == * List of regencies and cities of Indonesia * City status in Indonesia * Subdivisions of Indonesia * Regency seat * Other similar administrative divisions found outside Indonesia: ** County (United States) ** Ceremonial counties of England ** Municipalities of Mexico ** Departments of France ** Provinces of Spain ** Provinces of Italy ** Districts of Germany
==Notes== {{Notelist}}
==References== {{reflist}} {{Articles on second-level administrative divisions of Asian countries}}
Category:Regencies of Indonesia Category:Types of administrative division