Country Information - Indonesia

Indonesia has an area of 1.912.988 km² and consists of more than 17.000 islands. The country extends about 1.875 km from North to South and about 5000 km from West to East. Indonesia borders the Indian Ocean in the South-West. Bordering countries in the North are Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Palau. Papua New Guinea and East Timor border Indonesia in the East and in the South it is Australia.

Approximately 88% of the population are Muslims, 8% Christians, 2% Hindus, 1% Buddhists, and 1% belong to natural religions.

Indonesia has a population of about 230 million people and therefore is the fourth most populous country in the world. The annual increase in population mounts up to 2%. More than half of all inhabitants live on the main island Java which makes up 6,6% of the total area of Indonesia. There are about 30 main ethnic groups in Indonesia:

Javanese (41,7%)

Sudanese (15,4%)

Malaise (3,4%)

Madurese (3,3%)

Batak (3,0%)

Minangkabau (2,7%)

Betawi (2,5%)

Bugis (2,5%)

The biggest minorities are Indonesians with Chinese ( about 4 million), Indian and Arabic descent.

The island Java has already been settled 1,8 million years ago. The inhabitants of Indonesia mainly descend from Mongolic-Caucasian peoples.

5th century: first Buddhist influences

from the 7th century: Buddhist kingdom of Srivijava on Sumatra

from the 8th century: Buddhist Sailendra-dynasty

from the 15th century: increase of Arabic merchants and the beginning of conversion to Islam in various regions of Indonesia.

1498: Vasco da Gama discovers the sea route to India. Consequence: Europeans were not allowed to enter Indonesian areas.

1602: foundation of the united Dutch East-Indian company. Beginning of the colonial rule of the Netherlands over Indonesia.

1799: the Dutch government takes over the colony

1908: Extension of the colony over the complete Indonesian islands

March 1942: Japan occupies Indonesia

March 1943: Indonesia declares its independence

15th of August 1945: Japan capitulates

17th of August 1945: Independence of Indonesia. The first president of the Republic of Indonesia is Achmed Sukarno.

1947/48: War Netherlands – Indonesia

27th of December 1949: sovereignty of Indonesia

1807: Napoleon occupies Spain until 1813

17th of August 1950: change from federal into a centralized state

1965: after a failed putsch, the General Haji Mohamed Suharto commits a massacre to communists from which nearly 1 million people died

1967: Suharto accepts the office of the president

1998: economic crisis and first protests according to violent series in Jarkarta -> president Suharto steps back

1999: Abdurrahman Wahid becomes the first elected state president

2001: the daughter of Sukarno, Megawati Sukarnoputri, accepts the office of the president

12th of October 2002: Islamic terrorist attack on the island Bali

2004: Susilo Bambang wins the first direct presidential elections

Nearly half of the population of Indonesia works in agriculture. They produce palm oil, rice, peanuts, cacao, and coffee. A quarter of the Indonesian population lives below the level of poverty.

Although the economic system of Indonesia has market structures, many huge companies are state-owned. The country has many natural resources which many multinational companies take advantage of. West Papua has the largest gold mine in the world. Besides gold, especially liquid natural gas, copper, wooden products, textiles, and minerals are exported. Tourism is also an important source of income. Many tourists are from Australia, the USA, and Europe. However, the number of tourists has decreased due to repeated bombings and terror warnings in recent years.