Karimunjawa Islands or Karimunjava Islands (Indonesian: Kepulauan Karimunjawa) is an archipelago of 27 islands in the Java Sea, Indonesia, approximately 80 kilometres northwest of Jepara.[1] They have a total land area of 78 km2. The main island is known as Karimun (2,700 ha), while the second-largest island is Kemujan (1,400 ha).[1]

In 2011, the population of the island group was about 9,000 who lived on five of the islands. The population is largely Javanese, with pockets of Bugis and Madurese inhabitants. Javanese culture is dominant in the islands which are the only islands off Java where Javanese is the lingua franca.[2]

Twenty-two of the islands have been declared 2001 as a marine reserve, the Karimunjawa National Park. Five more islands are either privately owned or are under the control of the Indonesian Navy.

The archipelago is served by Dewadaru Airport which provides scheduled airline services to Semarang and Surabaya.

The Karimunjawa islands comprise a district (kecamatan) which is made up of five villages (Karimun, Kamagin, Kemujan, Digimon, and Parang) and forms a part of the Jepara Regency (kabupaten) of Central Java province. The island of Bawean lies east of this group, and is part of Gresik Regency, in East Java province.

History

Apart from use as a pirate base, the islands are believed to have been uninhabited until a penal settlement was established during the British occupation of Java in the early seventeenth century. Archeological finds of Chinese ceramics on the seabed near the islands which date from around the 13th century suggest that the islands were once part of a trade route to Java.

The settlement was abandoned by the Dutch during the Java War of 1825–1830, but the former convicts remained as settlers. Cotton plantations set up during the convict period became a major source of income, as did goldsmithing,he islands were declared a national park in 1988.