Indonesia is moving its capital away from a sinking city
Greater Jakarta holds more than 30 million people, and parts of the city are sinking several centimetres a year as groundwater is pumped out from underneath it. North Jakarta has dropped metres in a few decades.
The government's answer is Nusantara, a new capital rising in Borneo, planned for millions of residents by mid-century. Ministries have started relocating; sceptics note that Brazil built Brasília and Rio stayed enormous anyway.
Capitals can move. Thirty million people mostly cannot. Jakarta's demographic weight will outlast its political title.
Related insights
Explainer
Gezira: canals built a state (Arabic)
مشروع ري عمره قرن يفسر كيف تحمل رقعة صغيرة من الأرض ستة ملايين إنسان.
2026-08-08
Explainer
Port Sudan's sudden weight (Arabic)
كانت ولاية البحر الأحمر إقليماً ساحلياً هادئاً، ثم غيّرتها الحرب وتحولات التجارة بسرعة.
2026-08-08
Explainer
Gedaref grows the sorghum that steadies the country
Mechanised rain-fed farming made this eastern state Sudan's grain marketplace.
2026-08-08
Explainer
Blue Nile state is Sudan in miniature
Fifty-plus communities, gold, a giant dam and hard statistics in one small southeastern state.
2026-08-08
Comments (0)