

Photos: Jakarta by Antonyus Bunjamin, Pexels License; Ottawa by Dennis G. Jarvis, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped.
Jakarta or Ottawa?
Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.
Choose Jakarta for
- prices
- food and drink
- nightlife
What lies behind each score is written up on Jakarta’s own page.
Choose Ottawa for
- nature and the outdoors
- getting around
- families
What lies behind each score is written up on Ottawa’s own page.
Scoreboard
Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.
What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Jakarta and Ottawa.
Your match
Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.
Too close to call, level with your weighting
Wins on prices and food and drink with your weighting.
Wins on nature and the outdoors and getting around with your weighting.
What matters to you?
When should you go?
Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.
Jakarta in July
Ottawa in July
Daytime high, °C
Rainfall in the month, mm
Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Jakarta: 1991-2020 normals, Jakarta / Observatory (1.1 km from centre). Ottawa: 1991-2020 normals, Ottawa CDA RCS (5.3 km from centre).
Before you go
| Measure | Jakarta | Ottawa |
|---|---|---|
| Official language | Indonesian | French, English |
| Currency | Rupiah (IDR) | Canadian Dollar (CAD) |
| Sockets | CF50 Hz | AB120 V, 60 Hz |
| Driving side | Left | Right |
| Time zone | UTC+7 | UTC-5, UTC-4 in summer |
| Emergency number | 112 | 911 |
| Elevation | 91 m | 70 m |
| Main airport | Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK)20 km from centre89 non-stop destinations | Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport (YOW)12 km from centre46 non-stop destinations |
| Public holidays this year | - | 11 days |
By the numbers
| Measure | Jakarta | Ottawa |
|---|---|---|
| City population | 11,135,191 | 1,017,449 |
| People per km² | 16,821 | 366 |
| Museums within 10 km | 44 | 20 |
| UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km | 0 | 1 |
| Swim season, months above 21 °C | 12 months | - |
Where else could you go?
Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Jakarta or Ottawa somewhere new.