Salatiga City Central Java Tops the 2025 Tolerant City Index

JAKARTA - SETARA Institute launched the 2025 Tolerant City Index (IKT) Report to promote good practices of tolerance in Indonesia, by designating Salatiga as the most tolerant city.

This report is the ninth publication since the IKT was first published in 2015. SETARA Institute Executive Director Halili Hasan in the IKT 2025 Launch and Award event in Jakarta, Wednesday, April 22, explained a number of dynamics in the national tolerance map.

Based on the results of the study, the ten cities with the highest tolerance scores were consecutively achieved by Salatiga, Singkawang, Semarang, Pematang Siantar, Bekasi, Sukabumi, Magelang, Kediri, Tegal, and Ambon.

"The entry of Tegal City and Ambon City in the top 10 IKT 2025 scores marks an important dynamic in the national tolerance map," said Halili commenting on the ranking results.

Halili explained that Tegal recorded a very significant increase in ranking, jumping from rank 39 in the 2024 IKT to rank 9 this year. One of the progress of the City of Tegal is supported by the regulatory foundation in the form of Regional Regulation Number 1 of 2024 concerning the Maintenance of Religious Harmony.

In addition to discussing the cities with the best achievements, Halili also highlighted the conditions of cities that are in the lowest position and the urgency of improving the tolerance ecosystem in the region.

"In general, the cities in the top 10 cities with the lowest scores on the IKT 2025 still face challenges in the aspects of political leadership (political leadership) and bureaucratic leadership (bureaucratic leadership) that are less conducive to the advancement of tolerance," said Halili.

The weakness of leadership often stems from the crystallization of favoritism towards certain groups as well as the formalization of regional regulations based on religion.

Nationally, this study recorded an average tolerance score of 4.97 in 2025. This figure increased by 0.05 compared to the average national score in 2024 which was 4.92.

The increase in the average score from a scale of 1-7 indicates that the tolerance condition in Indonesia is quite good and continues to show continuous improvement.

The study object of IKT 2025 includes 94 cities out of a total of 98 cities spread throughout Indonesia. The measurement relies on four variables that are elaborated into eight indicators, including government regulations, social regulations, government actions, and socio-religious demographics.