Java is the most prominent island in Indonesia, as it is home to the archipelago nation’s capital, Jakarta. Java is also the most heavily populated island, with more than half of the country’s population. The government is currently trying to encourage migration to other islands to alleviate overpopulation problems, but this has sometimes caused conflicts between Java settlers and the natives of other islands.

Indonesians can often seem aggressive to Westerners. Due to long regimes of corrupt government, Indonesians have become accustomed to taking the law into their own hands, which often results in violence or formation of mobs on the streets over seemingly trivial matters. It is best to avoid conflicts when you see them occurring in the streets.

Java is home to hundreds of ethnic groups and languages, though the three major ones are the Sundanese, Javanese and Banyumasan. The primary native languages spoken on the island are Javanese, Sundanese and Madurese, though most people also speak Indonesian as a second language. The population is also overwhelmingly Muslim, though there are sizable Hindu minorities along the eastern coast, as well as small Christian and Buddhist communities.