Yogyakartaruns on a handful of strong industries. If you’re job-hunting or weighing a move, here’s where the opportunities (and the big-name employers) are.
Top industries & employers
Higher education & research
Universitas Gadjah Mada, UNY, UII, Sanata Dharma, ISI Yogyakarta, UPN Veteran
UGM is one of Indonesia's two or three leading universities and the city holds hundreds of thousands of students — education is not an industry alongside others here, it is the base of the economy.
Tourism & heritage
The Kraton, Prambanan, Borobudur an hour away, Malioboro's hotel strip
Yogyakarta is the cultural capital of Java and the base for two UNESCO World Heritage temple complexes, which is why hotel development and its groundwater demand became a political issue.
Crafts & creative industries
Kotagede silver, batik workshops, leather wayang, furniture and ceramics exporters
Kotagede has been a silversmithing quarter since it was the Mataram capital, and the export craft economy remains a genuine employer rather than a tourist performance.
Arts, film & contemporary culture
ARTJOG, Biennale Jogja, ISI Yogyakarta, a dense independent gallery scene
Yogyakarta produces a disproportionate share of Indonesia's contemporary artists and its gallery and studio scene is the strongest in the country outside Jakarta.
Technology & outsourcing
Software houses and development shops clustered around the universities in Sleman
The combination of a huge engineering graduate pool and the lowest wage base in Java has made Yogyakarta a substantial back-office and software development location for Jakarta companies.
Healthcare & medical training
RSUP Dr. Sardjito, Panti Rapih, Bethesda, RS JIH
Sardjito is a national referral hospital and UGM's teaching hospital, which gives a city of this size an unusually deep medical specialist base.
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