Administrative divisions

Main articles: Provinces of Indonesia and Administrative divisions of IndonesiaAdministratively, Indonesia consists of thirty-three provinces, four of which have special status. Each province has its own political legislature and governor. The provinces are subdivided into regencies (kabupaten) and (kota), which are further subdivided into subdistricts (kecamatan), and again into village groupings (either desa or kelurahan). Following the implementation of regional autonomy measures in 2001, the regencies and cities have become the key administrative units, responsible for providing most government services. The village administration level is the most influential on a citizen's daily life, and handles matters of a village or neighborhood through an elected lurah or kepala desa (village chief).

Aceh, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, and Papua provinces have greater legislative privileges and a higher degree of autonomy from the central government than the other provinces. The Acehnese government, for example, has the right to create an independent legal system; in 2003, it instituted a form of Sharia (Islamic law).[54] Yogyakarta was granted the status of Special Region in recognition of its pivotal role in supporting Indonesian Republicans during the Indonesian Revolution.[55] Papua, formerly known as Irian Jaya, was granted special autonomy status in 2001.[56] Jakarta is the country's special capital region.
Indonesian provinces and their capitals
(Indonesian name in brackets where different from English)† indicates provinces with Special Status
Sumatra
* Aceh (Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam) - Banda Aceh
* North Sumatra (Sumatera Utara) - Medan
* West Sumatra (Sumatera Barat) - Padang
* Riau - Pekanbaru
* Riau Islands (Kepulauan Riau) - Tanjung Pinang
* Jambi - Jambi (city)
* South Sumatra (Sumatera Selatan) - Palembang
* Bangka-Belitung (Kepulauan Bangka-Belitung) - Pangkal Pinang
* Bengkulu - Bengkulu (city)
* Lampung - Bandar Lampung
Java
* Jakarta - Jakarta
* Banten - Serang
* West Java (Jawa Barat) - Bandung
* Central Java (Jawa Tengah) - Semarang
* Yogyakarta Special Region - Yogyakarta (city)
* East Java (Jawa Timur) - Surabaya
Lesser Sunda Islands
* Bali - Denpasar
* West Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Barat) - Mataram
* East Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Timur) - Kupang
Kalimantan
* West Kalimantan (Kalimantan Barat) - Pontianak
* Central Kalimantan (Kalimantan Tengah) - Palangkaraya
* South Kalimantan (Kalimantan Selatan) - Banjarmasin
* East Kalimantan (Kalimantan Timur) - Samarinda
Sulawesi
* North Sulawesi (Sulawesi Utara) - Manado
* Gorontalo - Gorontalo (city)
* Central Sulawesi (Sulawesi Tengah) - Palu
* West Sulawesi (Sulawesi Barat) - Mamuju
* South Sulawesi (Sulawesi Selatan) - Makassar
* South East Sulawesi (Sulawesi Tenggara) - Kendari
Maluku islands
* Maluku - Ambon City
* North Maluku (Maluku Utara) - Ternate
Papua
* West Papua (Papua Barat) - Manokwari
* Papua - Jayapura