Two friends in a madrassa

Not to be confused with Japanese people.

The Javanese (Javanese Ngoko: Wong Jawa, Krama: Tiyang Jawi; Indonesian: suku Jawa) are an ethnic group native to the Indonesian island of Java. At approximately 85 million people (as of 2009^[update]), they form largest ethnic group in Indonesia. They are predominantly located in the central to eastern parts of the island. There are also significant populations in in most Provinces of Indonesia, in Malaysia, Singapore and also Suriname in South America.

Today, majority of the Javanese people identify themselves as Muslims. Because the Javanese civilization has been influenced for more than a millennia of interactions between the native animism and the Indian Hindu—Buddhist culture, there are traces of their influences in the Javanese history, culture, traditions and artforms.

The population of Indonesia according to the 2010 national census is 237.6 million, with 58% living on the island of Java, the world's most populous island.

Despite a fairly effective family planning program that has been in place since the 1960s, the population is expected to grow to around 254 million by 2020 and 288 million by 2050, falling to sixth behind Pakistan and Brazil sometime before 2050.

Indonesia includes numerous ethnic, cultural and linguistic groups, some of which are related to each other. Since independence, Indonesian (a form of Malay and official national language) is the language of most written communication, education, government, and business. Many local ethnic languages are the first language of most Indonesians and still important.