Indonesia is an open economy which ranks 15th globally in terms of nominal GDP and 29th in terms of foreign trade value.

Indonesia is divided into 34 provinces which are the highest tier of local government, followed by regencies and cities, districts and rural or urban villages. The largest province in terms of population is West Java, followed by East Java and Central Java. The most densely populated province is the Special Region of Jakarta (DKI Jakarta), while the biggest in terms of area is Papua. DKI Jakarta is the most active region in terms of foreign trade with around one-third of all exports and half of all imports. The Indonesia Premium Database offers foreign trade data by volume and value on provincial and port level.

DKI Jakarta is the most prominent region in terms of foreign trade. In 2020, 31.7% of Indonesia’s total export value and 50.9% of all import value came from DKI Jakarta. While the share of exports has been rising, the share of the imports has been declining.

The nine biggest export regions of Indonesia made up 82.8% of the total export value in 2020. Exports from DKI Jakarta amounted to USD 53.7tn, followed by East Java (USD 19.2tn) and Riau (USD 13.8tn).

In 2020, 92.7% of the total value of Indonesian imports was concentrated into nine regions, with DKI Jakarta importing goods valued at USD 72tn, followed by East Java (USD 20tn) and Riau Islands (USD 11.3tn).

In 2020, for the first time in two years, Indonesia registered a trade surplus, at USD 21.7tn. Among the biggest trade hubs, the most significant contributor to the positive trade balance was East Kalimantan with a surplus of USD 11tn, followed by Central Sulawesi (USD 6.6tn) and South Kalimantan (USD 5.4tn). DKI Jakarta posted a large trade deficit for the same period, at USD 18.3tn, but this deficit was almost half the one recorded in 2019.

Indonesia’s exports and imports both declined on an annual basis in 2020, by 2.6% y/y and 17.3% y/y, respectively. Among the regions with the largest share in total foreign sales, Central Sulawesi’s exports grew the strongest, by 26.5% y/y, while East Kalimantan’s declined the sharpest, by 24.2% y/y. For the same period, imports to the Riau Islands grew by 15% y/y, while Central Java recorded a 30.6% y/y decrease.

At the end of 2020, Riau and DKI Jakarta recorded the biggest growth in export value among the biggest export hubs, at 12.6% y/y and 18.4% y/y in December, respectively. The value of imports to Banten grew by 25.4% y/y in December 2020, followed by Riau Islands (9.9% y/y).

Tanjung Priok is the busiest port in DKI Jakarta and by extension in the whole country. As of January 2021, over 80% of all DKI Jakarta exports and over 70% of all imports were handled by that port, followed by Sukarno Hatta.

Sign in to access all datasets for this insight piece here. Alternatively, you can learn more about the CEIC Indonesia Premium Database - the premier source for everything you need to know about the Indonesian economy, housing an unprecedented wealth of information revealing the drivers of this market.