The Dutch began to colonize Indonesia in the early 17th century; the
islands were occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945.
Indonesia
declared its independence after Japan's surrender, but it required four years
of intermittent negotiations, recurring hostilities, and UN mediation before
the
Netherlands
agreed to relinquish its colony.
Indonesia
is the world's largest archipelagic state and home to the world's largest
Muslim population. Current issues include: alleviating poverty, preventing
terrorism, consolidating democracy after four decades of authoritarianism,
implementing financial sector reforms, stemming corruption, and holding the
military and police accountable for human rights violations.
Indonesia
was the nation worst hit by the December 2004 tsunami, which particularly
affected Aceh province causing over 100,000 deaths and over $4 billion in
damage. An additional earthquake in March 2005 created heavy destruction on
the island of Nias.
Reconstruction in these areas may take up to a decade. In 2005,
Indonesia
reached a historic peace agreement with armed separatists in Aceh, but it
continues to face a low intensity separatist guerilla movement in Papua.
Geography of
Indonesia
Location:
Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Indian Ocean
and the Pacific Ocean
Coordinates:
5 00 S, 120 00 E
Area:
total: 1,919,440 sq km water: 93,000 sq km land: 1,826,440 sq km
Area comparative:
slightly less than three times the size of Texas
Land boundaries:
total: 2,830 km border countries: East Timor 228 km, Malaysia 1,782 km, Papua New
Guinea 820 km
occasional floods, severe droughts, tsunamis,
earthquakes, volcanoes, forest fires
Environment current issues:
deforestation; water pollution from industrial wastes,
sewage; air pollution in urban areas; smoke and haze from forest fires
Geography - note:
archipelago of more than 17,000 islands (6,000
inhabited); straddles Equator; strategic location astride or along major
sea lanes from Indian Ocean to Pacific Ocean
Population of
Indonesia
Population:
245,452,739 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 28.8% (male 35,995,919/female
34,749,582) 15-64 years: 65.8% (male 80,796,794/female 80,754,238) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 5,737,473/female 7,418,733)
Median age:
26.8 years
Growth rate:
1.41%
Infant mortality:
34.39 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 69.87 years male: 67.42 years female: 72.45 years
Muslim 88%, Protestant 5%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 2%,
Buddhist 1%, other 1% (1998)
Languages:
Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English,
Dutch, local dialects, the most widely spoken of which is Javanese
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 88.5% male: 92.9% female: 84.1%
Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic
of Indonesia former: Netherlands East Indies; Dutch East Indies
Government type:
republic
Capital:
Jakarta
Administrative divisions:
27 provinces (propinsi-propinsi, singular - propinsi), 2
special regions* (daerah-daerah istimewa, singular - daerah istimewa), and
1 special capital city district** (daerah khusus ibukota); Aceh*, Bali,
Banten, Bengkulu, Gorontalo, Jakarta Raya**, Jambi, Jawa Barat, Jawa
Tengah, Jawa Timur, Kalimantan Barat, Kalimantan Selatan, Kalimantan
Tengah, Kalimantan Timur, Kepulauan Bangka Belitung, Lampung, Maluku,
Maluku Utara, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Papua, Riau,
Sulawesi Selatan, Sulawesi Tengah, Sulawesi Tenggara, Sulawesi Utara,
Sumatera Barat, Sumatera Selatan, Sumatera Utara, Yogyakarta*; note - with
the implementation of decentralization on 1 January 2001, the 357 districts
(regencies) have become the key administrative units responsible for
providing most government services note: following the 30 August 1999 provincial referendum for
independence that was overwhelmingly approved by the people of Timor Timur
and the October 1999 concurrence of Indonesia's national legislature, the
name Timor Leste (East Timor) was adopted as the name for the political
entity formerly known as Propinsi Timor Timur; East Timor gained its formal
independence on 20 May 2002
Independence:
17 August 1945 (proclaimed independence; on 27 December
1949,
Indonesia
became legally
independent from the
Netherlands)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 17 August (1945)
Constitution:
August 1945, abrogated by Federal Constitution of 1949
and Provisional Constitution of 1950, restored 5 July 1959
Legal system:
based on Roman-Dutch law, substantially modified by
indigenous concepts and by new criminal procedures and election codes; has
not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
17 years of age; universal and married persons
regardless of age
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Susilo Bambang
YUDHOYONO and Vice President Muhammad Yusuf KALLA; note - the president is
both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice president were elected for five-year
terms (eligible for a second term) by direct vote of the citizenry.
Legislative branch:
House of Representatives or Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat
(DPR) (550 seats; members elected to serve five-year terms); House of
Regional Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Daerah or DPD), constitutionally
mandated role includes providing legislative input to DPR on issues affecting
regions; People's Consultative Assembly (Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat or
MPR) has role in inaugurating and impeaching president and in amending
constitution; consists of popularly-elected members in DPR and DPD; MPR
does not formulate national policy.
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Mahkamah Agung (justices appointed by
the president from a list of candidates approved by the legislature); a
separate Constitutional Court or Mahkamah Konstitusi was invested by the
president on 16 August 2003; in March 2004 the Supreme Court assumed
administrative and financial responsibility for the lower court system from
the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights; Labor Court under supervision of
Supreme Court began functioning in January 2006.
Political parties and leaders:
Crescent Moon and Star Party or PBB [Yusril Ihza
MAHENDRA]; Democratic Party or PD [Subur BUDHISANTOSO]; Functional Groups
Party or Golkar [Yusuf KALLA]; Indonesia Democratic Party-Struggle or PDI-P
[MEGAWATI Sukarnoputri]; National Awakening Party or PKB [Alwi SHIHAB];
National Mandate Party or PAN [Sutrisno BACHIR]; Prosperous Justice Party
or PKS [Tifatul SEMBIRING]; United Development Party or PPP [Hamzah HAZ]
Economy
Indonesia, a vast polyglot nation, has struggled to overcome the Asian financial
crisis, and still grapples with high unemployment, a fragile banking sector,
endemic corruption, inadequate infrastructure, a poor investment climate, and
unequal resource distribution among regions. Indonesia became a net oil
importer in 2004 because of declining production and lack of new exploration
investment. The cost of subsidizing domestic fuel placed increasing strain on
the budget in 2005, and combined with indecisive monetary policy, contributed
to a run on the currency in August, prompting the government to enact a 126%
average fuel price hike in October. The resulting inflation and interest rate
hikes will dampen growth prospects in 2006. Keys to future growth remain
internal reform, building up the confidence of international and domestic
investors, and strong global economic growth. In late December 2004, the
Indian Ocean tsunami took 131,000 lives with another 37,000 missing, left
some 570,000 displaced persons, and caused an estimated $4.5 billion in
damages and losses. Terrorist incidents in 2005 have slowed tourist arrivals.
Indonesia experienced several human cases of avian influenza in late 2005,
sparking concerns of a pandemic.
