Number of women, men balanced: Census

JAKARTA (JP): The ratio of men to women in the capital is almost equal, according to the 2000 official census.

According to data released by the Jakarta Statistical Office, Jakarta has 4,216,347 males, just slightly higher than the female population of 4,152,790.

According to the preliminary results of the census, East Jakarta is the most populous mayoralty in the capital with 2,344,594 people.

Compared to the other four mayoralties, East Jakarta saw a remarkable growth in population over the past 10 years. In 1990, the mayoralty was home to 2,067,213 people.

West Jakarta and North Jakarta also have seen significant increases in their populations. The mayoralties' populations in 1990 were 1,822,762 and 1,369,639, respectively. In the 2000 census these numbers were 1,909,837 and 1,434,671, respectively.

The other two mayoralties, Central and South Jakarta, both home to numerous government and private offices and upscale housing complexes and apartments, saw significant drops in their populations.

Central Jakarta lost almost 200,000 residents since 1990 and has a current population of 1,086,568. Meanwhile, some 123,000 people have left South Jakarta since 1990, leaving it with a current population of 1,790,113.

Governor Sutiyoso earlier announced Jakarta had seen a drop in its population from 9.4 million people in 1999 to 8.3 million in 2000, according to the current census.

The city's population was earlier predicted to reach 9.8 million by the end of this year.

In comparison, last year the population was 9.4 million, with around 681,000 people living below the poverty line.

This year, the census showed the number of people without permanent residences in the capital, including the homeless, ship crews and migrant workers, totaled 28,364 people.

Sutiyoso said the significant drop in the capital's population was possibly due to the fact that many Jakartans were choosing to live on the outskirts of the city, such as in Tangerang, Bekasi, Depok and Bogor, but were still working and engaged in other business activities in Jakarta.

"The price of land in Jakarta is higher, that's why people choose to live on the outskirts (of the city)," Sutiyoso said on Monday.

He added that another possible explanation for the drop was that people were less interested in moving to the capital ahead of next year's planned implementation of regional autonomy. (dja)