Provinces

Administratively, Indonesia consists of 33 provinces, 4 of which have special status (Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, Yogyakarta Special Region, Papua, and Jakarta Special Capital Region). Each province has its own political legislature and governor. The provinces are subdivided into regencies (kabupaten) and (kotamadya), which are further subdivided into subdistricts (kecamatan), and again into village groupings (kelurahan). Following the implementation of regional autonomy measures in 2001, the 440 districts or regencies 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 neighbourhood through an elected lurah or kepala desa (village chief).

The following is a list of provinces of Indonesia and their capitals, grouped by island region. The Indonesian name is given in brackets where it is different from the English.

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 - 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

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). Yogyakarta was granted the status of Special Region in recognition of its pivotal role in supporting Indonesian Republicans during the Indonesian Revolution. Papua, formerly known as Irian Jaya, was granted special autonomy status in 2001. Jakarta is the country's special capital region.