Living In Indonesia Living in Indonesia Guides for foreign residents in Indonesia since 2007

Governmental Structure

A presidential representative democratic republic

Indonesia is a republic in which sovereignty rests, in principle, with the people. That principle was suspended for four decades: founding president Soekarno declared "Guided Democracy" in 1957, and Soeharto's New Order then entrenched the military in political life and reduced the population to a "floating mass" with little real power. After Soeharto resigned amid mass protests and financial collapse in 1998, the loosely worded 1945 Constitution was amended four times between 1999 and 2002, growing from 37 articles to 73.

The principal reforms of that period:

  • a two consecutive five-year term limit on the presidency, to foreclose any return to one-man rule;
  • greater legislative power relative to the president;
  • regional autonomy, devolving substantial authority to provinces and regencies;
  • constitutional protection of human rights;
  • direct elections at regional, legislative and presidential level;
  • 20 per cent of the state budget reserved for education;
  • an independent judiciary, with a new Constitutional Court and Judicial Commission.

The state comprises three branches of government — executive, legislative and judicial — alongside a set of independent organs.

State Organs

  • The Presidency
  • The People's Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat)
  • The House of Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat)
  • The Regional Representatives Council (Dewan Perwakilan Daerah)
  • The Supreme Court (Mahkamah Agung)
  • The Constitutional Court (Mahkamah Konstitusi)
  • The State Audit Board (Badan Pemeriksa Keuangan)
  • The Corruption Eradication Commission (Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi)
  • The General Elections Commission (Komisi Pemilihan Umum)
  • The Judicial Commission (Komisi Yudisial)

Branches of Government

Executive. The president is head of state, head of government and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, limited to two consecutive five-year terms. The president appoints the cabinet, whose members need not come from the legislature or from political parties. Since October 2024 the office has been held by President Prabowo Subianto, with Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka. Their 2024–2029 "Merah Putih" (Red and White) Cabinet is markedly larger than its predecessors, built around seven coordinating ministries; a 2024 law removed the previous statutory cap on the number of ministries.

Legislative. The most active chamber is the House of Representatives (DPR), directly elected from party lists. Following the February 2024 election it seats 580 members, up from 575 in the previous term. The DPR passes laws, holds inquiries and oversees the state budget. The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), once the supreme body that elected the president, now functions largely as an umbrella for the DPR and DPD; it may still amend the Constitution and, in defined circumstances, remove a president. The Regional Representatives Council (DPD) has four non-partisan members per province and may propose legislation but not enact it.

Judicial. The Supreme Court (MA) is the highest court of appeal and oversees the general, military, administrative, religious and commercial courts, independent of the other branches. Three organs sit outside the three branches: the State Audit Board (BPK) audits state revenue and spending; the Constitutional Court (MK) rules with finality on the constitutionality of laws and on disputed election results; and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigates and prosecutes major graft.

Local Government

Under Soeharto, Indonesia had 27 provinces, including the later-seceded East Timor. It now has 38. Four were carved from the Papua region in 2022: South Papua, Central Papua and Highland Papua were split from Papua province, and Southwest Papua (Papua Barat Daya) from West Papua — the latter, gazetted in December 2022, is the newest province.

Regional autonomy, now governed principally by Law No. 23 of 2014, gives provinces and regencies broad powers to legislate for themselves. The central government retains only five domains: foreign affairs, defence and security, justice, monetary and fiscal policy, and religion. Everything else is a local responsibility.

Nine provinces hold special status. Aceh has sharia law and its own local political parties. The six Papuan provinces hold special-autonomy status, with dedicated funding. Yogyakarta is a "special region" (Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta) whose governor is its hereditary sultan. Jakarta is a special region governed by its own statute. Law No. 2 of 2024 renames it the "Special Region of Jakarta" (Daerah Khusus Jakarta, DKJ) and recasts it as a national economic hub rather than the seat of government — but that change takes effect only when the president issues a decree relocating the capital to Nusantara (IKN) in East Kalimantan. No such decree has been signed. At the time of writing Jakarta remains the legal capital and still styles itself DKI (Daerah Khusus Ibu Kota); the Constitutional Court confirmed this position in May 2026.

Administrative Subdivisions

Province: led by a Governor (Gubernur) with a provincial legislature (DPRD I).

Regency and municipality: a regency (kabupaten) is led by a Regent (Bupati), a municipality (kota) by a Mayor (Walikota); both have a district legislature (DPRD II).

District: each district (kecamatan) is led by a District Head (Camat).

Subdistrict: classified either as kelurahan (urban, led by an appointed Lurah) or desa (rural, led by a popularly elected Kepala Desa). Naming varies regionally — Aceh uses gampong, West Sumatra nagari.

Community associations: below the village sit the Rukun Warga (RW, roughly a hamlet) and the smaller Rukun Tetangga (RT, a neighbourhood of some 30 to 50 households). Rukun means "harmonious". Their heads — Pak RW and Pak RT — are unpaid but locally influential, and are elected by resident households. The RT head is the first point of contact for many everyday documents: proof of residency, letters supporting applications for identity papers and the like. This is the layer of government a foreign resident deals with most often.


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