The D.I. Jogjakarta generally and also as compared to other provinces has an exceptionally dense population. The census of 1930 showed that there were 492 inhabitants per square kilometre. Of the other provinces only central-Java reached the figure 400 per square kilometre. East - and West – Java were clearly less densely populated.
When considering the density in 1930 within the boundaries of the D.I. Jogjakarta we find it to be greatest in the plain parts of the area. This is the gradually sloping side of the Merapi, the region of the dabupatens Sleman and Bantul and the southern part of Kulon Progo (the former area of the Paku Alam, then called Adikarta). In the Sleman plain we find some ketjamatans with a density of around 900 inhabitants per square kilometre such as Kota Gede (Jogjakarta) of 900.18 inhabitants per square kilometre and Pandak of 897.47.
A survey of the density of the D.I. Jogjakarta in 1930 looks as follows table II – 5.
Table II – 5
Population density in the D.I. Jogjakarta in 1930 and 1955
The area of the kabupaten Gunung Kidul is the most sparsely populated part of the D.I. Jogjakarta. However in 1930 it was still nearly as densely populated as the most densely populated country in Europe viz. The Netherlands, which at the time had 232,2 inhabitants per square kilometre. A striking example of great density is the district of Kulon Progo, which is mainly mountainous, yet has a density of over 500 people per wquare kilometre. The soil outside the town is mainly used for agricultural purposes, vis. Rice-growth. Rice is the staple food and can only be grown in the wet fields. Therefore the figure denoting the number of Indonesian inhabitants per square kilometre of paddy-fields, when comparatively low, points to great area of ricefields in that region, and in places where it is comparatively high to a small number of ricefields, e.g. In Gunung Kidul. In Bantul and Sleman 43 per cent and 55 per cent respectively of the soil is used for paddy-fields, whereas this can only be realized for
4.7 per cent in the southern Mountains. In Kulon Progo 20 per cent of the soil is used for paddy-fields. The difference between the northern and southern parts of kulon Progo is clear. In the northern part there are over 2,800 inhabitants per square km. Of paddy soil, whereas in the southern part the figure is slightly over 2,000. Also the number of Indonesian inhabitants per square km. Of soil can be calculated. This figure denotes the density of the population in the region inhabited and cultivated by it. The grounds comprise wet and dry fields and the soil surrounding the houses that is used for agricultural purposes (pekarangan), so that the figures are all lower than those denoting the number of Indonesian inhabitants per square km. Of paddy-field. The lowest figure of Indonesians per square km. Of soil is found in Plajen (Gunung Kidul): 276.4. The more recent date made available by the chiefs of Agriculture office and of Civil Registration office D.I. Jogjakarta supply values which are more or less comparable after computation. The areas of the two Kabupatens differ slightly in size from the 1930 ones. We started out from the 1930 figures, so that in the sleman and Bantul areas is a divergence of about four square kilometres. So the 1955 figures concerning these areas are a bit too high, because 4 square km. Taken from Sleman and Bantul are now included in the town. The figures denoting the number of inhabitants come from the various lurahs desa, so that they are not so exact as the comparable one for 1930. We expect the former to be low. The reason for it will be discussed in another chapter. In 25 years time the density of the population has greatly increased. The number of people per square kilometre in the D.I. Jogjakarta already surpassed 640 in 1956. The figures relating to other areas in Java can be found in Table II – 6 and Table XII – 4.
Table II – 6
Population density in Java in 1930
