The Javanese (Ngoko Javanese: ꦮꦺꦴꦁꦗꦮ,[6] Madya Javanese: ꦠꦶꦪꦁꦗꦮꦶ,[7] Krama Javanese: ꦥꦿꦶꦪꦤ꧀ꦠꦸꦤ꧀ꦗꦮꦶ,[7] Ngoko Gêdrìk: wòng Jåwå, Madya Gêdrìk: tiyang Jawi, Krama Gêdrìk: priyantun Jawi, Indonesian: suku Jawa)[8] are an ethnic group native to the Indonesian island of Java. With approximately 100 million people (as of 2011), they form the largest ethnic group in Indonesia. They are predominantly located in the central to eastern parts of the island. There are also significant numbers of people of Javanese descent in most provinces of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Suriname, Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands.

The Javanese ethnic group has many sub-groups, such as the Mataram, Cirebonese, Osing, Tenggerese, Samin, Naganese, Banyumasan, etc.[9]

A majority of the Javanese people identify themselves as Muslims, with a minority identifying as Christians and Hindus. However, Javanese civilization has been influenced by more than a millennium of interactions between the native animism Kejawen and the Indian Hindu—Buddhist culture, and this influence is still visible in Javanese history, culture, traditions, and art forms. With a sizeable global population, the Javanese are considered significant as they are the fourth largest ethnic group among Muslims, in the world, after the Arabs,[10] Bengalis[11] and Punjabis.[12]