Who runs local government in Indonesia?
Since the 'big bang' reforms after 1998, Indonesia has become one of the most decentralised countries in Asia. Voters directly elect governors, regents and mayors, and their councils, and tens of thousands of rural villages (desa) elect their own heads and receive money directly from the national budget. Below the village are neighbourhood units (RT and RW) run by residents, and the law also recognises customary (adat) villages.
Republic of Indonesia · Unitary presidential republic (highly decentralised) · South-eastern Asia
The levels of government below the nation
| Level | How it is chosen | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Provinces (38; 34 in 2020 data, four new Papuan provinces created in 2022) | Governor and provincial council (DPRD) directly elected for five years; Yogyakarta's governor is its hereditary Sultan | Coordinates regencies and cities; the governor also represents central government. |
| Regencies (kabupaten, 416) and cities (kota, 98) | Regent (bupati) or mayor (wali kota) and council directly elected | Main service providers: schools, health, local roads, planning. |
| Sub-districts (kecamatan, about 7,250) | Camat, a civil servant appointed by the regent or mayor | Administrative arm of the regency or city; not self-governing. |
| Villages: desa (rural) and kelurahan (urban), about 83,800 in total | Desa head (kepala desa) directly elected by villagers; kelurahan head (lurah) is an appointed civil servant | Desa are self-governing units with their own budgets and the national Village Fund; kelurahan are administrative offices of the city. |
| Neighbourhood units: RW (rukun warga) and RT (rukun tetangga) | Heads chosen by residents (often by deliberation or a local vote) and recognised by the village or kelurahan | Unpaid community units for registration letters, security rotas, clean-ups and passing on information. |
Three questions about local power in Indonesia
Are local leaders elected?
Governors, regents, mayors, regional councils and rural village heads are directly elected. Camat and lurah are appointed civil servants. RT/RW heads are chosen locally by residents.
Which laws set up local government?
Regional and village government are set out in the Constitution and laws (Law 23/2014 on regional government; Law 6/2014 on villages, amended by Law 3/2024). Adat authority is recognised in principle, but its power depends on local regulations and registration; much of it works through custom.
Who are local leaders accountable to?
Voters choose regional heads every five years, and the Ministry of Home Affairs can review regional regulations and suspend officials facing charges. Village heads are checked by the BPD, by district audits and by the anti-corruption agency (KPK).
Traditional and customary authority
Article 18B of the Constitution recognises customary law communities (masyarakat hukum adat) and their traditional rights, and the 2014 Village Law allows a village to be registered as a customary village (desa adat), as in Bali where desa adat run temples, rituals and customary rules alongside the administrative village. Adat leaders often handle land, marriage and minor disputes. Aceh has special autonomy with sharia-based regional laws and a traditional Wali Nanggroe institution; Yogyakarta's Sultan is governor by law; and Papua has a Papuan People's Assembly (MRP) of adat, women's and religious representatives. Religious leaders such as kyai (Islamic teachers) and pastors carry strong moral authority but no formal power.
Community and neighbourhood power
Every village has a Village Consultative Body (Badan Permusyawaratan Desa, BPD) that agrees village regulations and budgets with the village head. Under the RT/RW system, each RT covers a few dozen households and each RW groups several RTs; their heads issue the cover letters residents need for official papers and organise night patrols (ronda) and mutual help (gotong royong). Family welfare groups (PKK) and community health posts (posyandu) are run by volunteers linked to the village government.
Points to know
- Law 3/2024 lengthened a village head's term from six to eight years, with a maximum of two terms.
- The number of regencies and cities rose from 303 in 1999 to 514 in 2017 through 'blossoming' (pemekaran), when areas split to form new units.
- The Village Fund sends national money straight to each desa, making village heads significant budget holders.
- Aceh is the only province allowed to apply sharia-based regional laws (qanun).
Local terms
- Desa
- A rural village with its own elected head and budget.
- Kelurahan
- An urban ward run by an appointed civil servant (lurah).
- RT / RW
- Rukun tetangga and rukun warga: small neighbourhood units led by residents.
- Adat
- Customary law and tradition of a community.
Sources
- Constitution of Indonesia 1945 (reinst. 1959, rev. 2002) (English text), Constitute Project, checked 14 October 2026
- Country profile: Indonesia, OECD–UCLG World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investment (SNG-WOFI), checked 14 October 2026
- Reconfiguring Local Leadership: Legal Policy Analysis of Village Head Term Extension under Law No. 3 of 2024, Rechtenstudent Journal, UIN Kiai Haji Achmad Siddiq Jember, checked 14 October 2026
See also: Indonesia's official statistics and leaders · the 10 levels of power.