Villages of Indonesia

Number of rural villages in districts of Indonesia is usually varying from 40 to 50 villages. However, there are 9 districts in Indonesia with more than 60 rural villages or its variation, including:

• Abenaho, Yalimo Regency (108 kampungs)
• Dolok, North Padang Lawas Regency (86 rural villages)
• Lhoksukon, North Aceh Regency (75 gampongs)
• Peusangan, Bireuën Regency (69 gampongs)
• Krayan, Nunukan Regency (65 rural villages)
• Padang Tiji, Pidie Regency (64 gampongs)
• Pidie (town), Pidie Regency (64 gampongs)
• Padang Bolak, North Padang Lawas Regency (62 rural villages)
• Welarek, Yalimo Regency (61 kampungs)

The total number of villages in these 9 districts was 654, about 0.7% percent of 74,953 rural villages in Indonesia. However, Krayan District has subsequently been divided into three districts, containing 23, 17 and 25 villages respectively.

Types of villages

Kelurahan

Kelurahan is an urban village term primarily used in cities, but also tiny parts of regencies. It is commonly translated to English as subdistrict. The leader of a kelurahan is called lurah. Major cities in Indonesia such as Jakarta, Surabaya and Medan are entirely urbanised and thus no rural villages. A lurah is a civil servant appointed by the district head. According to the Regulation of the Minister of Home Affairs Number 31 of 2006, a kelurahan can be created with the following criteria:

• Java and Bali: having at least 4,500 residents or 900 families within an area of at least 3 km².
• Sumatra and Sulawesi: having at least 2,000 residents or 400 families within an area of at least 5 km².
• Kalimantan, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, and Papua: having at least 900 residents or 180 families within an area of at least 7 km².

A kelurahan must have a government office, an established transportation network, adequate communication facilities, and public facilities. If it no longer meets the above conditions it can be abolished or combined with other kelurahans based on the results of research and studies conducted by the city/regency government.

Desa

Desa is a rural village terminology used in the majority of regencies in Indonesia, but also in tiny parts of cities. However, several provinces have adopted their own terminology for their traditional villages (desa adat). The leader of a desa does not have a civil servant status and is chosen by the public through an election. According to the Law Number 6 of 2014, desa and desa adat are legal community units that have territorial boundaries that are authorized to regulate and administer government affairs, community interests based on community initiatives, original rights, and/or traditional rights recognized and respected in the government system of the Republic of Indonesia.

Variations of desa terminology in Indonesia include:

• Gampong in Aceh
• Nagari in West Sumatra^[a]
• Dusun in Bungo Regency (Jambi)^[b]
• Nagori in Simalungun Regency (North Sumatra)
• Kampung in some places in Indonesia:^[c]
  • Lampung (in Central Lampung, Tulang Bawang, Way Kanan, and West Tulangbawang regencies)
  • East Kalimantan (in Berau, Mahakam Ulu, and West Kutai regencies)
  • Provinces in Western New Guinea
• Kuwu in Cirebon and Indramayu regencies (West Java)
• Pekon in Pringsewu, Tanggamus, and West Lampung regencies (Lampung)
• Tiyuh in West Tulang Bawang Regency (Lampung)
• In Bali, there are two forms of desa, i.e. desa dinas (service village) and desa adat (cultural village). Desa dinas deals with administrative functions, while desa adat deals with religious and cultural functions.
• Lembang in Tana Toraja and North Toraja regencies (South Sulawesi)
• Kalurahan in Special Region of Yogyakarta
• Negeri (distinct from desa) in islands of Ambon and Seram (Maluku)
• Ohoi and Finua in Southeast Maluku and Tual (Maluku)