Demak (Javanese: ꦢꦼꦩꦏ꧀) is a regency located in the Indonesian province of Central Java, on the northern coast of the island. It is bordered by Jepara Regency and the Java Sea to the north, Kudus and Grobogan Regencies to the east, Grobogan and Semarang Regencies to the south, while to the west are Semarang Regency and the city of Semarang, to which the administrative district (kecamatan) of Mranggen within Demak Regency is essentially suburban, while the adjacent districts of Karangawen, Guntur, Sayung and Karangtengah are also within Semarang's sphere of influence. The regency covers an area of 995.32 km2 (384.30 sq mi) and had a population of 1,055,579 at the 2010 Census[3] and 1,203,956 at the 2020 Census;[4] the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 1,240,510 (comprising 625,934 males and 614,576 females).[2] The admoinistrative centre is the town of Demak. It was originally the centre of the Demak Sultanate, once a dominant power in the region. Due to its strong relation with the spread of Islam in Java and the Wali Sanga, it is sometimes referred to with the nickname Kota Wali.
The area was a part of the Majapahit Empire during its zenith around the 14th century. The city itself was founded sometime in the late fifteenth century, possibly by a Chinese whose descendant later became the Sultans of Demak. The first Sultan was known as Raden Patah, who was a vassal of Majapahit until 1478.[5] The city was founded as a seaport, next to the now-nonexistent Muria Palaeostrait (which separated Java from Muria Island - now Mount Muria), although silting has now entirely turned the waterway into land.[6] The Sultanate expanded in the expense of the declining Majapahit and its fragments, conquering the coastal region of Tuban around 1527 and reaching inland areas as far as Malang by 1546.[5] As the capital, the city became an important center for trade and the spread of Islam across the island, and a base of the semi-apocryphal Wali Sanga. Upon the decline of the Sultanate, the region was conquered in turn by the Pajang and Mataram Sultanates.[7] The seaport began to silt sometime in the 17th century, diminishing the region's importance as a seaport.
Semarang Residency in 1889. Demak is the area with the coastline facing northwest towards the Java Sea.
Dutch East Indies Era
Direct VOC presence in Java started upon their capture of Jayakarta (now Jakarta, then Batavia) on 1619. In the 18th century, a massacre of ethnic Chinese in Batavia triggered a war between VOC and Mataram, resulting in the latter's defeat and cession of the north coast of Java, including Demak, to VOC.[8] Upon the latter's dissolution on late 1799, administration of the area along with the rest of VOC's territory was transferred to the Dutch Government while Mataram was reduced to several fragmented states in the south coast of Java, including Yogyakarta and Surakarta.
In 2014, the gross regional domestic product of the regency was Rp 14.078 trillion (US$1.133 billion) or Rp 12.73 million per capita (US$1025),[10]: 369 with the agriculture and manufacturing sectors being the largest contributors. Rice is the most important agricultural produce, with 608,532 tons harvested in 2016 from 69,975 hectares (172,910 acres) of cultivated land.[10]: 212
A 300-hectare (740-acre) industrial park is currently under construction, aimed to boost investment in the regency.[11]
Administrative districts
The Regency comprises fourteen districts (kecamatan), tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census[3] and the 2020 Census,[4] together with the official estimates as at mid 2023.[2] The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of administrative villages in each district (totaling 243 rural desa and 6 urban kelurahan - the latter all in Demak District), and its post code.
Kode Wilayah
Name of District (kecamatan)
Area in km2
Pop'n Census 2010
Pop'n Census 2020
Pop'n Estimate mid 2023
Admin centre
No. of villages
Post code
33.21.01
Mranggen
77.59
157,143
175,722
179,998
Mranggen
19
59567
33.21.02
Karangawen
81.71
82,814
94,653
97,572
Karangawen
12
59566
33.21.03
Guntur
64.28
72,312
86,122
89,845
Guntur
20
59565
33.21.04
Sayung
85.97
96,758
105,712
107,555
Sayung
20
59563
33.21.05
Karangtengah
56.44
59,075
68,781
71,284
Karangtengah
17
59561
33.21.12
Bonang
87.06
95,796
106,712
109,185
Bonang
21
59552 (a)
33.21.11
Demak
63.05
98,127
110,165
112,974
Demak
19 (b)
59511 -59517
33.21.06
Wonosalam
62.79
71,485
84,662
88,179
Wonosalam
21
59571
33.21.07
Dempet
63.94
51,092
59,689
61,922
Dempet
16
59573
33.21.14
Kebonagung
44.46
37,649
41,560
42,411
Kebonagung
14
59583
33.21.08
Gajah
53.73
43,014
51,735
54,126
Gajah
18
59581
33.21.09
Karanganyar
69.87
68,182
77,535
79,809
Karanganyar
17
59582
33.21.10
Mijen
55.00
50,305
58,287
60,323
Mijen
15
59584
33.21.13
Wedung
129.42
71,827
82,621
85,327
Wedung
20
59554
Totals
995.32
1,055,579
1,203,956
1,240,510
Demak
249
Note: (a) except for desa of Kembangan, which has a post code of 59511. (b) comprises the 6 kelurahan (Betokan, Bintoro, Kadilangu, Kalicilik, Mangunjiwan and Singorejo) and 13 desa.
The first five districts listed above are situated in the southwest part of the Regency (and thus adjacent to Semarang City), with an area of 365.99 km2 and 546,254 inhabitants in mid 2023. The remaining nine districts are situated further away from Semarang, with an area of 629.33 km2 and 694,256 inhabitants in mid 2023.[2]
^ abRicklefs, M.C. (2008). A History of Modern Indonesia since C.1200. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 38–39.
^Sunarto (2006). "Geomorphological Development of the Muria Palaeostrait in Relation to the Morphodynamics of the Wulan Delta, Central Java". Indonesian Journal of Geography.
^Soekmono, R. (1981). Pengantar sejarah kebudayaan Indonesia 3 (in Indonesian) (Edisi 3. ed.). Yogyakarta: Penerbit Kanisius. ISBN9789794132913.
