Does the digital divide matter? Comparison between Java and the rest of Indonesia in developing smart villages

Indonesia faces development disparity issues, particularly between Java and the rest of the country. This uneven development has resulted in a digital divide between these regions. This study examines the digital divide in Java and the one outside Java through the perspective of smart village, which positions technology as an enabler for development, and identifies the contribution of smart village to village development outcomes in Indonesia. The Spearman Rank test is used to determine the correlation between the factors shaping the smart village concept in Indonesia and the Village Development Index. The main factors that influence smart villages in Indonesia are ICT and internal village factors. Findings showed that overall, smart village factors are significantly and positively correlated with village development, although the correlation is weak. However, there is a difference in the contribution of ICT factors to village development in Java and outside it. ICT factors significantly and positively correlate with village development outside Java, but the opposite is true in Java. This indicates that the smart village concept offers more significant benefits for outside Java regions through its role as a connector between regions with spatial inefficiencies and low population agglomeration. © 2024 Human Geographies; The authors.