The ‘big durian’: one day in Jakarta, the world’s largest city

The UN has officially designated Jakarta the world’s largest city, home to 42 million. We explore a day in the life of the ‘big durian’. In December, the United Nations officially designated Jakarta the world’s largest city, hosting a staggering 42 million inhabitants. Michael Neilson speaks to several people who call the ‘big durian’ home – about the positives and the negatives – and how community and the city’s infamously dry humour get them through. Few things are more synonymous with Jakarta than the bright green jackets worn by the sprawling megacity’s more than a million ojek, or motorcycle taxi, drivers. Like tens of millions in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, ojek driver Dicky Rio Suprapto, 48, wakes at 4am to pray. After dropping his two teenagers at school, he begins a 12-hour day navigating one of the world’s most congested cities. Suprapto trained as an engineer, but has been out of formal work since 2017. After Covid-19, he turned to ojek driving, using ride-sharing apps. In a city infamous for its deadlock traffic, Suprapto says he has to be creative. Rather than relying on maps, he draws upon his decades of knowledge of the city’